Games section

5. Review: Exodus

After Napalm and Earth2140 Exodus is the third candidate for the title "best realtime strategy game". Exodus is delivered in a normal box with CD, manual and registration card.

The CD contains installation scripts in English, Polish and German and a directory with some extras: a free shoot`em up, a report about the making of Exodus (in Polish), screenshots of the new game, WB pictures and AMP skins. The installation runs without problems. After running the setup program the game can be started.

The game starts with the logos followed by the intro. Itīs not as impressive as the one in Earth2140 but of good quality. Here the whole background story is told, in English but with a Polish accent. The film sequences help to understand the story. Here is a short summary:

In a few days the first and largest part of a destroyed planet will hit the Bataar and change that planet into a burning ball. Freight and battle ships are carrying the technicians and equipment of the Moroi away from Bataar. The main ship has equipment to open a superspace tunnel to reach the destination more quickly.

The expedition is aiming to reach the second planet in the system of Antares, reported to be a mining colony of the Zeldsī. The evacuation can begin.

In the game one takes over the role of one of the parties, Moroi or Bataar, and fights in the "last war".

After loading the game you are given your first mission. Here comes the first (unintentional) laugh. The Polish accent in the intro was just funny but this is unpardonable in the translation. It is so bad that the game fun suffers.

So have a guess what your mission is and start to play. On the top is a status line. The main part of the screen is occupied by the playing field, on the right side is a radar that lets you reach every point on the map. And here is all you need for expansion, say erecting buildings. This window can be hidden.

In the beginning there is not much to see, just a part of the landscape is visible, the unknown parts are invisible. There are just some divisions and the HQ to see. You have a mission to fulfill and a HQ to protect. For this you need more divisions but they do cost money. To get this you need a mine and a factory.

This sounds a bit complicated but youīll soon get used to it (and every realtime strategy fan knows it, anyway), and can pay attention to the important thing: the battle. But first some technical stuff: The sound is ok. The music on the CD is atmospheric and the sound effects are good, too. The spoken words are unnecessary.

The graphics are not as good as Napalm or Earth. Ok, Exodus runs on a 68030 but only in LowRes and even on a 68060 HighRes is not really smooth. That doesnīt mean that the graphics are bad but that its two competitors are better. Next time Iīll compare the three games with all advantages and disadvantages and then we will see.

But donīt judge a book by its cover: the fun is also important. Iīm afraid that there is not much of it. The handling is too unusual for real action. To move a division I click the left mouse button. Then a requester appears and I decide what the division will do (run from A to B and back, attack or go to a destination and stay there). Then I fix the destination with the right mouse button. Imagine this procedure in a battle with several divisions. This is my personal opinion, maybe someone has been waited for ever for this kind of handling.

The design of the levels is good but due to the artificial intelligence Iīve been in several dangerous situations. The divisions cannot "see" any obstacles. They shoot in the direction of enemies even when there is a tree, a mountain or a friendly division between them and the enemy. Sometimes this is fatal.

To put it in a nutshell, Exodus is not the quiet tip it has been. I would only recommend this game to someone with a 030 who really wants an rts game. I recommend trying the demo first. Exodus has good parts but is not really a competitor to Napalm or Earth2140. In my opinion Exodus is not so good but Iīm prepared to discuss this point if someone has an opinion why Exodus is worth playing. Just write to us and make your point.