$20 Game of the Week: Perimeter (PC)

Although it was released in 2004, Perimeter has managed to give the real time strategy genre something different and unique. Everything from its storyline to its gameplay make it stand out from other RTS titles.

Perimeter takes place in the distant future. Science and religion have become one, with humanity being governed by a governing authority known as the Spirit Council, a group of spiritual and scientific leaders. Foreseeing the Earth’s eventual destruction, the group has discovered a new plane of existence known as the Psychosphere, a realm made up of worlds which were shaped by human thought. Using massive space ships called frames, the spirit council begins to move humanity to a new promised land. However, some of the humans begin the revolt against the spirit council, and form off into 3 factions: The Harkback who wishes to go back to earth, The Exodus, who remains aligned with the Spirit Council and their mission to find the promised land, and the Empire, who wishes the rune the Psychosphere itself. Making matters worse, an the frames are attacked by an alien menace known as the Scourge, an alien race shaped by our thoughts and fears.

Keep in mind, in Perimeter the main goal is expansion as opposed to simply wiping out the enemy. Don’t get me wrong, there is plenty of combat, but it takes a back seat to expanding your power base. You link your frame with energy cores, and the trick is to use transmitters to expand the energy field. The energy field also serves to activate your shield, and protect your structures from an impromptu scourge attack until you get combat units ready. However, your structures need to be on flat land in order to work, and the worlds are chock full of hills, mountains, and valleys. Thus, you’ll have to terraform the land. It’s easy to do, and thanks the the game’s voxel graphics, it’s awesome to watch. It’s almost as if the land itself being used as a resource, rather than having to gather resources. The units you use are unique as well. Although your combat units can’t do much on their own, they can merge with each other into more complex units. The unit and enemy AI tends to be lacking at times, especially when the scourge attacks. There is also a bit of a learning curve, but once you master it, it’s fun to come up with unique strategies to work the land and develop your base’s power structure.

Perimeter offers RTS fans a new experience that you don’t find in other RTS titles (and this includes Starcraft and Command and Conquer). It’s too bad the the sequel New Earth, received a lackluster reception. Fans of the genre should check it out, and it’s available for $10 at Gog.com.