4-May-2004 Hadrian did it to keep the wild Scots out. China did it to fend off the Mongol hordes. The Russkies did it in Berlin to ward off the reactionary capitalist pigs. Indeed, building great big walls to hide behind has long been our first instinct when we feel threatened. And if the vision painted by Perimeter is anything to go by, this practice is set to continue far into the future.
Let me explain. Perimeter is an ambitious new real-time strategy game that takes its name from the impermeable energy shield that every base in the game is able to project. Looking something like a quivering mass of proton-charged jelly, this shield is your primary asset in Perimeter's interesting strategic formula.
A Game Less Ordinary It may seem unusual for a strategy game to focus on a kind of passive defence, but it's far from being the only unusual aspect of Perimeter - not by a long way. In fact, we'd go as far as to say that in terms of both gameplay and setting, this is one of the most adventurous and innovative RTS games we've seen for many a moon. The only question is, does that make it any good to play?The plot that underpins Perimeter is slightly hard to decipher. What we can tell you is that it all takes place in the far, far future. Humankind has spread from the Earth, but managed to overpopulate every planet they've come across. Consequently, and with the help of the Spirits (whoever they are), humanity has built the Frames: enormous colonisation vessels that house thousands, if not millions of people. Using these Frames, man has crossed into a newly discovered galaxy known as the Psychosphere, where competing human factions vie with each other (and the malevolent local wildlife) for somewhere to call home. Fine, whatever - we'll fight anyone, just point us to the guns.
Hold your robo-horses though, as before anything can be done in Perimeter, you need to level out some land. Buildings can only be constructed on land that's been flattened to 'zero level', meaning hills have to be lowered and valleys raised until you have a nice, contour-free plateau to work with.
To achieve this, Perimeter places under your command up to five Multi-Modular Platforms. These MMPs are your worker units, and each one can be told to act as either a Brigadier (for terraforming) or a Buildmaster (for building and repairing structures). Select some land for terraforming, and your Brigadiers will automatically dispatch a bunch of tiny, scurrying black nanobots to the area. Choose a structure from the build menu and slap it on the map, and your Buildmasters automatically spit out little floating dollops of energy that sail over to your new construction, each one bringing it closer to completion.
Build For Victory The way this building/terraforming system works means that you never have to control more than five worker units. And what's more, you rarely have to give them direct orders other than switching them between their Buildmaster and Brigadier functions. Like many aspects of the game, this system is initially confusing, but it's focused on eliminating micro-management, leaving you free to concentrate on the bigger picture.
Admittedly, there are one or two issues with the build queues. While you can have as many different types of buildings as you want assigned for simultaneous construction, you can only have one of each type queued, which is no help when you want dozens of a certain structure. Building laser turrets one at a time can become annoying, though it's hardly a deal-breaker.
Energy Drink Perimeter's sole resource is energy. Thankfully, you don't have to construct legions of workers to go out and get it - the generator buildings that also create your defence shield do it for you.
This single resource is the key to the game. You want to build or repair a structure or unit? You need energy. You want to power up your perimeter shield? You need energy. A single meter in the centre of the HUD shows how much power you have in reserve, and the rate at which it's growing or shrinking.
Each generator draws power from the land around it - provided it's been terraformed to zero level. This makes levelled ground precious in itself. Indeed, many of the game's more advanced weapon systems specialise in breaking up the land, wrecking the enemy's ability to generate power and construct buildings.
Famous Five The approach Perimeter takes to reducing micro-management in terraforming and construction is matched in the way you control your combat units.
When we tell you that the largest your army will ever grow to is five units (or squads), many may pale at the prospect of limited tactical options. But once again, Perimeter shows its unusual hand by allowing each of these units to be comprised of countless little soldier, officer and technician battle droids. One click, and these squads move - and fight - as one.
What's more, provided you have the right technologies, these units can be morphed into a whole range of more powerful specialisations, including tanks, aircraft and even vehicles that burrow beneath the ground. Each specialisation requires a different mix of the three basic units, but provided you have them in sufficient quantities, a squad can end up comprising a practically unlimited amount of little battle craft.
Morphing your units takes next to no time. Click the button, listen to the drum 'n' bass-style sub-bass sound effect, watch all those tiny soldiers and technicians liquidise like blobs of mercury, and then seconds later your new units are ready. Where a moment ago there were ranks of machine-gun armed basic troopers, there's now a squadron of hovering air-to-air Strafer units. The effect this ability to quickly and entirely change the composition of your army has on tactics is fascinating, though a little hard to get your head round (see 'Who Goes There?', left).
More Lemmings! Early on, your main opponent is the Scourge - the indigenous inhabitants of the Psychosphere. A fairly predictable foe, the Scourge pour forth from their nesting holes every so often and swarm towards your base, running into the nearest structure or unit and exploding like kamikaze space lemmings. The perimeter shield will keep this lot out (although heavy on your energy reserves), until you can construct enough defensive turrets to fend them off.
Pretty soon, though, your major competition comes from the other human factions. With access to the same technologies and units as you, the computer AI fast becomes a tricky foe, making the Scourge seem little worse than a dose of space crabs.
None of Perimeter's maps are particularly big, meaning battles with enemy bases very quickly become confused, tooth-and-nail fights for survival. It's an interesting dynamic, as both sides extend their power and defence networks towards each other, looking to break into the opponent's infrastructure, capture energy cores and disable vital buildings. As your defences crawl towards each other, nanobots levelling the terrain as they go, the tangled combat gives off the feel of a far-flung First World War.
Visually, Perimeter is vivid and pulsating, showcased by an excellent 3D engine. Crackling energy beams link your generators, the ground surface is tangibly textured and pock-marked, and rockets and laser beams fill the sky when things kick off. Shadows, reflections and dynamic lighting all combine to good effect, and graphics-wise, there's really little more you could ask for from a game of this nature.
This visual élan is matched by some superb sound effects, from some pretty decent voice-acting to the riotous roar of battle. The audio range matches up well with the deeply futuristic feel of the game, and the resulting atmosphere is impressive.
The Future Of RTS? Perimeter is a technically excellent game, and you've got to give it to the developers for blowing away the cobwebs and trying to do something different. It's a fascinating, intricate and challenging sci-fi strategy title, and we're looking forward to seeing how it fares online.
Despite all that, the game does lack a certain warmth. With all these nanobots, power fields, alien landscapes and morphing robotic troopers, there's not much to latch on to, to identify with - especially early on. At times, you can feel as alienated by it all as the colonists crammed into their hulking Frames, hovering over hostile alien worlds and wondering if they'll see the blue globe of Earth ever again. Anyone who likes some sort of a hero, or even a few familiar reference points will feel a little on the outside.
It's also easy to feel a little lost and confused in the midst of a battle. Without many of the traditional indicators of success - control over resources, size of army and so on - it's bloody hard to gauge the balance of power at any given time.
For all its fascinating gameplay mechanics, Perimeter isn't quite one of those un-putdownable strategy games that you simply can't tear yourself away from, despite the fact that it's 4.30am on Monday morning and you're due at work in four hours. It is, however, an ambitious, pioneering effort that has plenty to offer the dedicated real-time strategy player. If you appreciate its ultra hi-tech scenario, you'll find plenty of enjoyment here.
PC Zone Staff
// Overview
Verdict
A weird and wonderful RTS that definitely pushes boundaries
Uppers
Innovative and impressive unit morphing system... ...Which encourages you to use different kinds of tactics Micro-management minimised Spectacular visuals
Getting yourself on the national grid is priority number one in Perimeter
Once you’ve got a nice bit of flat land and a good grid in action, you can use your perimeter shield to ward off enemy attacks until your forces are ready.
Generators have to link to each other or the Frame to function, so make sure you build them within the power radius of existing ones.
Once the ground’s been flattened, you can land your Frame and assign orders for your first generator to be built.
Things kick off on a new world with just you and your Frame hovering above the surface. First things first, mark out some land to be terraformed by your Brigadiers.
// Who Goes There?
No matter where they are, you can quickly morph any of your troops into a host of different craft and configurations. Scummer units burrow through the earth, boiling the terrain above them as they tunnel, disrupting energy collection and damaging buildings. Leech units drain power from enemy networks, potentially bringing down a perimeter shield. Disintegrators force enemy units to morph back to their basic states, while Unseens cloak nearby friendlies from enemy view. What this means is that the emphasis in battle, other than trying to outnumber your enemy, is quickly adapting to the situation by morphing your units to match your opponent's capabilities. This requires constant attention to areas of conflict, but by ensuring you've only ever got five squads on the go, Perimeter makes this more than possible. If you're a traditional strategist and like to construct front lines and defend the high ground, it's likely you'll find Perimeter's approach to battle tactics a little obscure. However, if you're open to a new challenge, this is a fascinating diversion from the norm.
Mortar units to aerial bombers at the click of a button.
// Missed Opportunity
Perimeter is set in the Psychosphere, a system of worlds connected like a complicated atomic structure. Each completed mission in the campaign game enables you to progress to the next world - but you have no choice as to which one. The design of the Psychosphere is excellent, and each world has more than one link to others, so it's a shame you don't even get to make the most elementary choices between missions. This campaign is linear with a capital 'L'.
An interconnected network of worlds – why can’t we choose which one to hit next?
Copyright 2006 - 2009 Future Publishing Limited, Beauford Court, 30 Monmouth Street, Bath, UK BA1 2BW England and Wales company registration number 2008885
Innovative and impressive unit morphing system...
