August 30, 2007 - Gamers who have been around for a few years have seen some Russian games ported over to us English-speaking users. Games like Cossacks and S.T.A.L.K.E.R. are of particular note due to their widespread popularity and the unique concepts injected into their respective genres. Unfortunately, Russian made games also have a reputation for unforgiving difficulty, poor translations, and quite often, bugs.

So when a copy of Perimeter: Emperor's Testament was handed to me by my Editor at a staff event to review, the vodka in my system could not resist the call to play the fresh Russian-style RTS contained on the CD's. As an expansion to an already existing franchise, Emperor's Testament had some promise, or so I thought.

Firstly let me say that the manual is nearly useless. The grammar and syntax makes it nearly unreadable, and many of the units and buildings mentioned in the manual have different names in the game. Thank goodness there are pictures to fill in the gaps.

Upon playing the game I was simply overwhelmed by the strangeness before me. Superficially it is like any other RTS out there: build structures, units, and crush the enemy. The view is top down, and the camera can be rotated and zoomed in and out to extreme levels. The battlefield can be observed from the ground to get the perspective of the units on the ground or from high in the sky where almost the whole map can be seen.

The features that differentiate it from the rest of the RTS pack make it a unique experience, but not always enjoyable. The graphics will not impress you. They are a few years old but fully 3D and there's a unique sci-fi look to keep it interesting. The sound effects are unsurprising "pew pew pews" made from laser beams with no real punch to be found. If you can imagine the sound a sci-fi organ would make while a sleeping cat rolls around on its keys, that's the whole of Perimeter's music right there. The helpful voice that informs you when you are under attack and other helpful tips has a grating robotic sound to it. Another annoyance is a strange gameplay decision: there is no fog of war. The whole battlefield can be seen at all times, so neither you nor your opponent can ever have the element of surprise.

Let's cut to the single-player campaign. You are the artificial intelligence controlling a frame (base structure) under the command of the Emperor (goatee wearing bald guy with the robotic voice). By the Emperor's command you guide your frame through the multiverse and carry out his orders on the sponges that you land on. That's right sponges. The terrain in the game is sponge-like and completely formable by the player.

Flatten it, carve trenches, build it up, it's all possible with the sponge. The terrain is one of the primary resources, and obstacles of the game. By using your former units to flatten the terrain, your builder units can now erect buildings on the flat spaces. The twist is that you can only have a total of five formers or builders. So you can focus on clearing terrain or on building.

The buildings in Perimeter are for the most part familiar to the RTS genre. The main base structure, called the frame, is where the game starts. The frame can float until an appropriate site for a base is found, and then it can be installed. Once installed the frame gathers and provides energy in a radius but only on flattened terrain. Within the frame's power radius unit production buildings, static defences, and technology buildings can be placed.

The frame's power radius is not that large and any buildings or units built will quickly be draining your power reserves. However there are no collector units to scramble around the map to gather power crystals. Perimeter takes a unique approach to resource management. If your formers have flattened enough space, your builders can construct an energy core to gather energy from the flat ground and supply buildings with power. Once built, an energy core transmits a visible line of energy back to the frame or the next core in the chain leading back to the core.

Cores can also be used defensively or offensively. Besides building defensive lasers and rockets around them, cores can defend themselves by erecting an energy shield that protects everything within its power radius, but this quickly drains power reserves so it pays to be very selective when and where the shields are used. When used on the offence, cores can capture enemy structures. By interrupting your opponent's power network and inserting your own core in its place, you will capture all the buildings in the area and they now become part of your own power network.