Full Review

2 March 2004 - Real time strategy games have always been appealing to the vast majority of gamers. Not because the rules are normally simple to grasp, or the gameplay follows the age of format of chess, but because not matter what machine you use the likelihood is that you can run it, no matter how old your machine is. The trouble however is that every game can become the same as the last, with only the landscape changing.

In steps Desert Corps vs Afrika Rats a RTS from Digital Jesters. Digital Jesters used to be CDV, the kings of WWII RTS, in this country until a CDV closed the UK office and left the poor chaps to fend for themselves, a couple of Eastern European developers later and you've got yourself yet another World War II real time strategy game. This is not necessarily a bad thing but games should bring something new to the genre to be considered a contender. Unfortunately through all the looking and searching Desert Corps vs Afrika Rats just doesn't do that in the slightest.

The disappointing thing here is that it's the same old, same old. You play Axis or Allied forces across two campaigns and try to win the battle for the desert. There is a story mode that follows “Hero” characters from both sides through the missions and the death of these characters result in the end of said mission.

Missions usually insist of the “Take this Oasis”, “Hold that Ridge” and the whole event is a rather monotonous one as you fend off yet another invading army or hold that base from capture. Graphics and sound are average with plenty of cutscenes to annoy the most patient gamer.

VERDICT
If there were no other RTS games to play this would be a good game, it ticks all the boxes, storyline element is an interesting diversion and the graphics are ok enough to make you believe that you are playing on a desert landscape. However this isn't the only RTS to play. What this game lacks is inspiration. There is no magic, or anything special that would make you want to come back after your first outing and you can't help feeling that you'll be better off returning to previous CDV classics like Sudden Strike or going back further to the Dune II-inspired Command and Conquer Series to get your RTS fix. Not that we want to see a UK upstart software house floundering- luckily the DJ house has produced Trackmania since then, so we await the next RTS entry we may see from a company in better health.