Oil Rush Review

Waterworld is a different take on post-apocalyptic life, one where the breakdown of civilization doesn't lead to desolate wastes but instead results in a watery grave. Gaming has largely ignored this sort of apocalypse, but Oil Rush brings such a world to life in a real-time strategy/tower-defense blend. And while it's nice to see a game venture somewhere so distinct, the end result isn't all that different from Kevin Costner's flop. It's interesting and somewhat diverting, but this merging of RTS with tower defense doesn't open up as many strategic options as you may imagine it would.

The Earth is awash in water, the effects of global warming melting the polar ice caps. In this world, humanity clings to the few outcroppings of rock that are tall enough to rise above the waves. Yet the most precious commodity isn't land--it's oil. Yes, society still thirsts for the same fossil fuel that caused the downfall of civilization. Oil, you see, is what drives your war machine. Boats, planes, and helicopters are the tools the various factions use to consolidate their control over their territories--and to acquire more oil.

Your faction, The Sharks, is led by The Commander, an aging man whose sunken features bear a striking resemblance to Grand Moff Tarkin. (And they share a similar sinister streak.) Low on oil, The Commander sends you out on raiding missions to secure oil rigs and production platforms to bolster and improve your forces. You start most missions with platforms and/or oil facilities and can kit out platforms with weapons towers. You can use machine guns for small targets, artillery for larger targets, and rockets to knock down copters or planes, but you must assign units to protect oil facilities. Platforms also spawn units, depending on the type of production facilities they contain. Piranhas are jet-ski-like fast-attack units that can swarm foes but are easy to pick off. Angler boats have cannons and provide a greater challenge. Hammerheads look like landing craft from World War II, and these units are fantastic for assaulting enemy platforms. You gain access to other units, such as the stingray helicopter and the barracuda submarine, as you advance through the missions, conquering technology from other factions.

The game's RTS elements consist of sending units to platforms and oil facilities. You click on a platform to assign units, and you can send everything, keep 50 percent behind, or send out just 25 percent to probe a foe's defenses or to bolster another platform's protection (of course, you can send half your forces, and then half again, to attack with 75 percent of your might). You can also deselect a type of unit to keep it behind, which gives you more control over the disposition of your forces. Once you point your forces to the enemy, you have no control over what they attack; you hope that the units take out targets that they are best suited for engaging (such as angler boats firing their cannons at artillery placements or large vessels). You also have a tech tree with a variety of active and passive abilities that can give your units a boost. Passive abilities increase weapon damage, armor, and speed. Active powers can demoralize the enemy, give your units a damage boost, increase construction speed (handy when you're repairing destroyed towers), or call down a strike of napalm to burn your foe.

You can build five defensive towers around each of your platforms, choosing from bunkers, artillery, and antiaircraft missiles. The cones indicate towers that you can upgrade.

Oil is important because it powers your platforms and abilities. While you may continue to spawn units (the platforms do this automatically until they hit their limit; it's similar to the creation of AI creeps in multiplayer online battle arena games such as League of Legends), you need oil to build your towers and use your active abilities. You also need oil to upgrade your towers. Fortunately, most maps have plenty of oil rigs and storage facilities for you to conquer, though on some maps, the strategy focuses on managing your forces with limited oil--or no crude at all.