All style and no substance, this RTS-lite offering from Crytek Black Sea fails to impress. While Worldshift is highly polished, the developers opted to ignore many standard RTS conventions such as elevation, cover and multiple resource types without adding any unique gameplay mechanics of their own. The good: Outstanding graphics and cinematics on par with Dawn of War 2 or any given Blizzard title. Excellent soundtrack and voice acting which varies from passable to good. The bad: Real-time Strategy games should be about strategy! Completing the single-player missions involves following glowing green arrows from waypoint to waypoint, being sure not to move too quickly to avoid getting surrounded. Battles consist of making sure units are close enough to be covered by pulsing area effect abilities from the hero units and just waiting for one side or the other to bite the dust. While multiplayer features a ladder, collectible items and the full range of features, it won't take long for a game with one resource, one building and about a dozen units per side, including the heroes, to lose its appeal. Verdict: 3/5 for great graphics and decent sound but uninspired gampeplay design.

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