ew Terra, only recently colonized by the handful of people
who survived Earth's annihilation by an asteroid, is itself being
destroyed by "the Blight"--a terraforming technology run amok.
Despite this threat, the colony has polarized into opposing
factions, Eden and Plymouth, and both are racing to build a new
starship and escape. But resources are limited and cooperation
unthinkable, so as the Blight spreads the two sides turn to
humanity's favorite pastime: war.
Outpost 2 is a real-time strategy game in which
players must manage a colony, research and build a starship, and
fight off (or raid) the other side. Play revolves around
building and commanding Structures and Vehicles. Structures are
mines, warehouses, residences, labs, etc., each of which performs a
function vital to the colony's survival and growth. Vehicles do
the brute work: hauling cargo, bulldozing roads and building new
Structures. Combat vehicles do the fighting. To succeed,
players must simultaneously mine metals to build materiel,
research new technologies, maintain adequate supplies of energy
and food, and above all keep their colony's morale up. This
wouldn't be so hard were it not for the constant enemy invasions
and the host of natural disasters that plague New Terra.
The primary game consists of progressively more difficult
scenarios that play out the saga of one colony. This begins with the initial
panicked evacuation to escape the Blight and includes regrowth, raids
on the enemy for technology, and more evacuations, culminating
(hopefully) in the completion of a new starship. There's also a
colony growth game without the Blight, and up to six networked
players can compete in a variety of scenarios from a resource
race to total war.
Nice design, but two opposite sides have never been so alike
The monumental challenge of saving humanity single-handedly is
mitigated by Outpost 2's intelligent and handy interface, which
allows rapid access to vital information. Reports on colonists,
resources, morale and more give a clear snapshot of the colony at
all times, and they help identify areas that need improvement. Vocal
cues from an assistant AI alert players to breaking events, and
hitting the space bar centers the screen on the cause of the
alert. This simple feature is astonishingly useful, making it
easy to respond to crises without floundering around. The game
also looks great: the structures are gritty and utilitarian, with
small animations that keep the screen lively without being too
busy.
Sierra also went the extra light year by giving the game an
original and engaging story, which constantly propels players
forward, creating the feeling of a desperate race for survival.
The scenarios are well balanced between management and combat, and
for added color there is a story written by professional SF
writer J. Steven York, which follows the game's plot.
Despite the originality, though, it's quite disappointing that
the scenarios for Eden and Plymouth are exactly the same.
This is the story of two groups with wildly different
philosophies--why can't their scenarios be different, yet still
interlock? As it stands, after playing one side there's no need
to play the other--it's the same game with differently-colored
buildings. But that shouldn't keep gamers from choosing one side or the other and diving into this otherwise excellent game.
