When Z was released in 1996 after protracted development, it was hailed as a real contender in a real-time strategy arena dominated by the giants, Command & Conquer and Warcraft II. Z put an unusual spin on what had emerged as the standard real-time strategy formula of "harvest-build-attack." Instead of mining resources, fighting for every scrap of ground, and constantly erecting new buildings to produce units, you fought over zones of control. You'd capture territory, and you'd gain control of its production facilities, which could then construct more robotic combatants for you. Capturing a territory provided a concrete, measurable reward for your efforts. Z also garnered attention with its quirky sense of humor. Not only did the game feature strange and colorful cutscenes, but it also actually cursed at you when you were losing. Z's new sequel, Steel Soldiers, in many ways feels trapped in 1996.

Winning battles requires taking and holding key territories.

Steel Soldiers picks up Z's silly sensibility and runs with it. Cartoon cutscenes, rendered in a deliberately old-fashioned comic book style, explain that the MegaCom Corporation and the TransGlobal Empire have recently inked a peace accord and established a demilitarized zone on Rigal, once a hotbed of fighting. It turns out that Rigal is little more than a backwater dumping ground for the military's rejects. Lazing about on cots and downing six-packs, these humanoid robotic grunts are sent into action despite the new governmental policy, thanks to a cigar-chomping gung-ho base commander.

When the fighting re-erupts, you have to save the day. You get an idea of the game's tone by the first mission's banal objective: rescue Brad and Clarke, two daft robot soldiers that talk more like stoned surfers than like soldiers. In the 30 single-player missions, you'll complete different goals that tie into the evolving story, such as it is, replete with hit-and-miss stabs at humor and lines like, "This cease-fire sucks!" The game also includes fairly full-featured skirmish and multiplayer modes.

Along with the less-than-reverent attitude of Z, Steel Soldiers again features the territorial control concept in lieu of resource harvesting. Territories are outlined with pastel-colored borders. When you move units into a new territory, fight off any enemies there, and grab a central flag, you gain control of the area. Winning a territory will boost your credit income, provide you with any (inexplicably abandoned) buildings already located there, and offer you room to erect new buildings. Each territory provides a different income multiplier, so some territories will become more strategically important because of the added credits they produce. The enemy can of course retake territories.

Apart from territorial control, most of the basic gameplay falls into the standard old-school real-time strategy formula. A command center (and sometimes a character from the story) is your one vital asset; lose it and you lose the mission. From this center, you create construction robots that build new structures like factories and gun emplacements, as well as heal combat units. Factories produce your combat units, and these factories feature the standard options like rally points and construction queues.

Some of the units add interesting tactical possibilities to the formula: The spy can infect enemy computers with viruses that cause base structures to malfunction, and the sniper can spot and shoot from much longer ranges than most units. The "teleport" structure can send units anywhere that you can spot on your radar or that you can at least see with one of your units. You can also destroy and repair bridges for tactical advantages. Since both sides have identical units, you don't get to develop special side-specific strategies.

The game's 3D environments look good, but aren't distinctive.

Despite some clever units, you'll spend much of your time building up your army instead of using it during the single-player missions. Because of the pacing and mission design, producing the most units the quickest usually wins the day. You'll often feel more like a factory foreman than a sly general. At least the need to control multiple territories to produce units effectively will encourage you to take the offensive instead of just twiddling your thumbs during mass production. Still, since the enemy artificial intelligence is both fairly competent tactically and improbably efficient at cranking out units, you'll usually be on the defensive and biding your time for a big final showdown despite grabs for nearby territory. Fortunately, the skirmish mode tends to be more balanced and more enjoyable.

While Steel Soldiers isn't particularly complex, a tutorial would have been helpful. At least you can choose from three difficulty levels, though even on the easy level, you'll sometimes find yourself against the ropes, reacting instead of acting. The lack of a game speed option doesn't improve that situation either. You can pause the game, but you can't issue orders while paused. Taken together, these design features often boil down to your having to click around as quickly as possible trying to coordinate your forces, rather than employing thoughtful tactics.