Interface and Gameplay

Interface

Shattered Galaxy's interface is very straight-forward. If you've played an RTS before, SG won't be a problem. Right click to order units to move, click on an enemy unit to attack it, etc. You can attack-move (any game company that doesn't include that in an RTS deserves to be shot), set formations, and chat with players through the HUD. Thankfully, there are keyboard hotkeys for everything, as the fast-paced battles can't wait while you search for the right button to click.

One tool missing from SG is the ability to queue moves. You can't tell a unit to walk along a path you define, unless you do all the commands as it's moving. If this were a normal RTS, where you are in control of dozens of units, this would be a problem. In SG however, you're only in control of 6-12 units, so movement queuing isn't a big issue.

Unit pathing is always an issue in RTS games. Shattered Galaxy has average pathing, but it doesn't seem as bad as most RTS games since you're always micromanaging. If your units are faster than your allies', you'll have a tough time figuring out how to get around them. Smart players will micromanage the fast units around slow teammates. There are intermittent glitches when you order units - sometimes when you order a group of six units to attack a specific target, one of them will run in the opposite direction. A lot of these problems may be inherent in the server/client architecture - syncing 32 people with 6-12 units each is no small task. In the end pathing isn't so bad in SG, if you get used to the micromanagement.

Flying cover in the Crater

Infantry Battle

Gryphons pack a punch

Who needs sleep?

Shattered Galaxy is fun in that addicting, "screw-class-I-need-to-level" sort of way. Like MMORPGs, Shattered Galaxy constantly rewards players for spending time on the game. The more you play, the stronger your units and hero are. The stronger your units, the more you dominate battles. Everyone loves the feeling of obliterating other people in online games (a big reason people cheat). Just imagine how much more Counter-Strike addicts would play if they were allowed to get better guns if they played more often. Hence Shattered Galaxy can be just as addictive as Everquest for some people.

Why is this game so much fun? For starters the driving force behind SG, the player vs. player battles, is pulled off magnificently. It's not like a traditional RTS game where you can make as many units as resources allow, or a squad-based tactical game, like X-COM or Jagged Alliance. It's somewhere in between - you control a small squad of units, but you're in a much larger army (all of which is controlled by other players). This means that you need to rely on other players to win battles. Teamwork and cooperation is integral to success in Shattered Galaxy. Coordinating assaults, grouping up for defense, and covering your teammates are the norm. I like team-oriented online PvP games, like Team Fortress or team Starcraft. It's just like playing team sports, where you can celebrate winning with other people (rather than patting yourself on the back).

Moving out on offense

Defending a POC together

Ground units leave tracks

The Fools

Unfortunately, the good aspects of team gaming are always accompanied with the bad. Selfish players are the biggest problem. They're the guys who won't cover you because they want to keep their units alive to level them, or the idiots who run off to get kills instead of covering the POC. The equivalent of VIPs in Counter-Strike Assassination maps who suicide because they won't want to be "it." Llamas are unavoidable when you're playing online multiplayer games (too bad PunkBuster doesn't have a dumbass filter).

Battles are intense. The best example is last minute POC rushing. Since it takes 45 seconds to capture a poc, at 1:30 everyone rushes to capture or defend hotly contested POCs. Swarms of units descend upon innocent circles on the ground, while ticks of the 45 second count-down seem to grow longer and longer as time runs out. Your nerves are driven to the edge as you hope your units can withstand the pounding long enough to capture the POC. Or you hope that the upgrade to your flame throwers that you spent all your money on pays off. And sometimes all you can do is bite your nails when your units are dead and you can't reinforce for the remainder of the battle. Shattered Galaxy battles can be just as adrenaline pumping as a first-person shooter match.