If the gaming industry is any indication, the future is going to be a very depressing time to live in. If things like giant robots from Japan or nuclear warfare don’t become the end of us, then apparently we’re just all going to eventually die from the cancerous-giving rays of Mr. Sun. At least, that’s the kind of message being pushed forth by Sun Age, a new and upcoming RTS title developed by “Vertex4” (who seem to be relative newcomers to the market), and published by Lighthouse Interactive (known for the awesome-tastic Sword of the Stars). What follows is my field report after landing some time playing a limited pre-release version of the game.

Sun Age takes place in a desolate future where the Sun is on the verge of dying. Thanks to this, the Earth has gradually been reduced from its once lush state to a toxic, radioactive wasteland. Realizing that this might pose a somewhat troubling health risk, a large mass of people band together into a Federal nation and start setting up self-contained domes to protect from the hazardous elements. Unfortunately limited spacing and resources have forced them to expel a great deal of the Earth’s population, resulting in a gradual uprising of mutants. The end result is a desperate struggle for survival, and dominance over what’s left of humanity’s dying home planet.

The very first thing that struck me as interesting about this game is the exclusive use of 2D graphics. In fact, just about everything in the game is rendered by old-style two dimensional sprites, rather than fancy-pants modern day 3D models. While this has the obvious downside of fixed camera angles and an almost complete reliance on the quality of the artists rather than the technology used, the benefit is that the system requirements become much lower by default, and the game still has the potential to look gorgeous providing the right effects are in place.

With Sun Age, the environments from the few levels available in the beta looked very impressive, with stark artistic contrasts between the fortified, metallic defensive perimeters around a given dome, and the sandy wastelands around it. Sprite and particle effects get some heavy use to help keep the combat interesting and exciting, and each unit has been drawn from many angles to avoid any jarring transitions when it turns around.

I only have two complaints so far: The first is the lack of a zoom feature, as being unable to zoom in and out of the battlefield makes the game feel a little inflexible and hard to get used to at first. The second lies just in the raw limitations of a 2D-based animation system; for all the angles and frames of reference the art team has implemented, the units still feel and look choppy while in motion – this adds a slightly dated feel to the game. My hope is that this might be polished up a little prior to release, but given how the game apparently has already come out in the UK this most likely won’t change.

Graphics are just a small piece of the equation however. The gameplay in Sun Age isn’t quite your standard-fare RTS rush formula. The early missions don’t even have you building bases at all, but rather focusing on small-unit tactics. Once base constructing does come into play however, you will quickly learn to rely on the novel power grid system. In order to function, any building must either be connected to your HQ, or to a relay tower. Power is transmitted from your HQ to any relay towers, which leads to an interesting game mechanic; you can technically build just about anywhere, but the buildings are useless unless you have a chain of relays set up from your main base to the structures in question. This means any practical assault will involve probing for weak spots in the target’s power grid to shut down any outlying defenses or facilities that have been set up.

Meanwhile, the tech tree is advanced by investing the resources harvested from the wastelands into upgrades and enhancements for your units. This ties directly into the `dual mode functionality referenced in the game’s hype; each unit has an alternate specialty which becomes unlocked through these upgrades. General infantry for example switch to a slow-firing, but much longer-range sniper mode; while the recon buggies sacrifice their weaponry for a larger visual radius (the two units compliment each other nicely this way). Some more exotic modes can also be unlocked too, such as the basic Federal tank being able to link in to a nearby power reactor for a much stronger attack – and so far I’ve only brought up examples from the first race out of the available three (Federal, Raak-Zun, and Sentinel), each of which has their own unique flair on the dual-mode functionality.