Score: 2
"A game with an axe to grind."
date: August 17, 2009
Never before have I seen a game with such a blatent political agenda as this, since it portrays the evironmentalists as god and the oil companies as the Satan incarnate. More on that later, 'cause right now I need to talk about the gameplay.
The gameplay is horribly sub-par, it is as easy as it is boring. All you do is drill for oil, occasionally placing troops to defend them, and if you want, corrupt the government. This may sound like alot, but considering the fact that the entire game is only a couple dozen minutes long, it's not. But my biggest complaint with the gameplay is that just when you start to have fun, it ends oh so suddenly. There is also no way to prolong the game, which utterly sucks.
The graphics are nice. I've definately seen better, but the graphical style still works very well for what it is. I also like that everything parachutes in when you order it, it's a nice touch!
If only I could say the same about the sound, basically there's no music and only a few sound effects. That pretty much says it all.
But by far, my biggest problem with the game is how overly preachy it is. The game's message is that if we abolish oil and destroy suburbia then we'll live a life of freedom and prosperity, and if not then we'll all die in a firey nuclear apocolypse. Wow, subtlety FTW!!!! Basically, if you choose to go the good-guy route and just drill without any sort of corruption involved, you'll lose the game since there are no controlable factors that can help you. All that'll happen is the government will continue to overtax you until all is lost. On the other hand, if you choose to be a total d-bag, you'll "win" almost invariably. So let me get this straight, the game is basically saying that the gov't will always treat the oil companies like crap and the only way to avoid it is to bribe them?
Bribery opens up much of the game and allows you to do stuff like oppress the American people for your own selfish gains, instigate tyranny in in Nigereia and Venezuela, screw evironmental laws in Alaska and invade Iraq for the sole purpose of stealing all their oil. So much for the benefit of the doubt, wouldn't you say? Now, I'm all for freedom of expression, but not when it's flat-out libel. You can't make a message in a videogame based solely on opinion, you can't demonize the other guys opinion using only your own as proof, and you most certainly can not make it interfere with the gameplay in ANY way whatsoever.
Overall, this game sucks. If you're looking for a good flash RTS, I suggest either Age of War or Mastermind: WC. They may not be flawless, but they're alot better than this piece of crap, they're not only much more fun to play, but they keep their opinions to themselves.
