On a more prominent note, the graphics engine to Ground Control II really kicks ass. There is lush, varied terrain, impressive weather effects (that actually affect units and weapons), and an awe-inspiring skybox, with an impressive level of detail on the backdrop that just makes you want to sit back and stare – there’s even, without spoiling too much, an impressive orbital battle that can be seen on the final mission. Even the water is highly detailed, with reflections of the sky, surrounding terrain, and even some other objects, depending on graphical settings. Framerates stayed consistently smooth on my XP2500+ / Radeon 9600 Pro gaming setup, though with the large variety of configuration options, the game can even be scaled way down to run adequately on a mid-range GeForce 2 system. Load times are fairly brief, and the game is alt-tab friendly. Troops and vehicles look very nicely detailed up close, and most of the animation complaints I had from the demo (like the odd “moonwalking” syndrome) appear to be gone. My only real complaint here is a lack of destroyable buildings littering the landscape, each of which used to have some manner of really cool detail or animation – now most of the buildings are either used for shoving your troops into for cover, or just background detail.

Just like the original Ground Control, GCII’s voice actors carry the characters in an excellent manner, with everyone like Jacob Angelus and even the gung-ho Major Grant presented in a highly believable manner. The game’s sound effects library is very thorough, with loud wheezing mechanical engines, clomping footsteps from marching infantry formations, loud thumps from artillery and explosions, and some really nice overall weapon effects. The music selection is pretty good too – not great, but good. I was a huge fan of the original game’s audio tracks, but GCII takes on a more hardened military theme. It’s not bad, but my personal style preferred the old stuff.

Ground Control II really isn’t the kind of sequel I was expecting. Yes, it is an enticing title that definitely is not completely lacking in “fun”. The campaign is lengthy, has a good storyline, and the varying levels of difficulty and challenge will probably keep hardened RTS addicts playing for a long time. The fact that multiplayer offers a big competitive map selection, as well as a full co-op mode through the main campaign (and even a skirmish mode versus bots for you offline freaks) expands replayability even more There’s a lot of things that GCII definitely did right (or tried to), but, as someone who wanted a true sequel to the original Ground Control that continued to break away from the generic mold things like the Command & Conquer series has become, I was ultimately disappointed. This game is worth investigating for any casual RTS fan, but don’t expect a true sequel or anything overwhelmingly groundbreaking.