Not quite perfect, but still a great blend of strategy and action. You owe it a try, at least.
This is a great blend of strategy and action. It starts off pretty easy, but don't think this game is a walk in the park! You'll have to be at full alert if you want all of your team members through alive. And once they're dead, there's no return! They're dead forever, no 1-ups, so it pays off to get your best strategic thinking out!
The game design is simply great. You are a commander of sorts sitting on your butt and commanding a team of mercenaries in a rebellion against a dictator queen. There's a control panel with an overview map of the Arulco country. From there you can command your mercenaries around the world to do your bidding. But don't think they'll do the dirty work for you! If you want the best results, you'll have to get right into the action and guide their every move in turn-based combat. When you're not fighting, though, you can have them practice skills or train militia, or a bunch of other stuff. Or you can surf the internet. Yeah, really! Not the real internet, though, just a select few in-game sites where you can hire mercenaries, order weapons and equipment, arrange funerals or get your mercs insured. However, in order to get that gear you ordered, you'll need the airport under your control! All those details make the game feel more alive!
There is a **** of NPCs in the game to interact with, some might even join you if they feel like it. Others may be mercs hired by the enemy, or just plain old useless villagers. All of them have their own animated face and voice, making them so much more personal than just a blob walking about and spitting out some text when you click on them. The same goes for your mercs, all of them have their own voice, animated face, style and set of skills. Some of them are actually friends and "enemies"! You figure out what happens if you put two mercs who don't like each other in the same squad.
In order to get money for your operations, you'll need to take control of the mines in Arulco, granting you a steady income as long as you hold the mines. However, how much money you get depends on the people's belief in you. Sit around for a month and the loyalty will drop, leaving you with less money. Then you'll have to go kill some enemy soldiers or liberate a town or two to get the loyalty up again. But if you get too straightforward there's a greater risk of your mercs getting killed. You'll have to balance attack and rest if you want to be successful. And of course, if you leave your towns and mines unguarded, be assured the enemy will retake them before you even realize what happened.
There is also a helicopter pilot to be found. He'll fly you around arulco for a fee, and if you want full freedom, you'll need to take control of the enemy SAM sites, or he'll take ten times the fee for flying through unsecured airspace. Another detail that makes the game feel more alive.
Well, simply put, this is a pretty great game. Sure, it's pretty old now, but hey, who said old games can't be good? At least give it a try, you owe it that much.