In the span of two years many things can change. For instance many people might graduate from school, buy a house, or even get married. The gaming scene has changed also with the release of additional handheld consoles to the release of new “next-generation” consoles. One thing that has remained the same is the innovative gameplay of a game entitled Perimeter. This was one of the first really unique and innovative games that no one has really seemed to borrow elements from. Read on to find out more about this stand alone expansion pack and why you should check it out.

This expansion takes up shortly after the first game ends. The story so far is about humanity descendants that are traveling through a dimension known as the Psycho-sphere. They started this journey thousands of years ago by the guidance of a race known as the Spirits. So the humans created huge flying cites that held hundreds of thousands of people called Frames through this dimension. As time passed on three factions evolved: the Harkbacks, who wanted to go back to Earth; Empire, who wanted a permanent home in this dimension, and the Exodus who wanted to find a completely new home for the people.

Since the end of the first game, the Exodus have left, but the other two are still at each other’s throats trying to destroy one another. To help the Empires ambitions, he creates a Mechanical Spirit to help colonize the sponge worlds in this dimension. While doing this they found various mysterious Frames dating back several centuries as well as an alien race. Do you have what it takes to survive? This game will take you through up to twenty five missions to find the answer to this question.

All of that jargon sounds really decent but many of you might wonder what really makes this game unique and different from other Real Time Strategy games on the market. The one thing that makes this game truly different from all other games is that it allows you to terraform (change) the land around you, which allows you to come up with plenty of strategies to use against your enemies. The reason why you have to terraform the land in the first place is in order for the nanotechnology to work; the land must be at the “Zero-Layer.”  Besides raising or lowering the land level for energy extraction, players can use this for strategic purposes, such as setting traps for the enemies. When you hear about this you might think this is really “gimmicky” and at first it might even feel that way, but the deeper you get into this game you will realize how much it does affect the game as you create unique strategies to defeat your enemies.

Even though I am a really big fan of RTS games, one thing that annoys me is heavy resource management games. I completely dislike having to worry about collecting numerous resources such as energy, water, gold, lumber, food, and various other combinations of the above. I prefer games where the game revolves around getting to the action faster, and thankfully Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament caters to my taste. The only thing players will have to worry about with the land is that you collect the energy on it to create your various units to help your cause. This makes each game that you play unique because you constantly terraform the land so you can use it to your own desire, unlike many other games where everything always remains the same.

Unit creation in Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament is different and a welcomed change as you will have only three basic units to create: officers, soldiers, and technicians. From that point on you will have to build different research facilities to merge and morph these three unit types to create your own personalized army. While this is not the first time a game offers you this choice it is always a welcome change especially if you are playing against another human player because you will never know what units the player will throw at you. Will it be helicopters, tanks, rockets, or any of the various other unit types. This always keeps you in suspense of what your attackers will do, and makes you be prepared for anything.

When Perimeter game out, you had to have a really powerful PC in order to run this game in all of its glory. Two years later the graphics still look really well, but there have been many other games released since then that look a whole lot better. I am not saying that this game does not look good, but the benchmark has been raised once again and this game falls slightly under it. With that being said the environments that you will do battle in look really nice and the laser fire and special effects really fit this game.

The sound effects for this game are something that you would expect to hear, from laser fire to other futuristic noises. The music has a nice beat to it but it will not take your breath away like some other RTS games do with their orchestra sound. Another thing that made the game work is that the voiceovers really fit each of the characters that they were portraying.

Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament is rated Everyone 10+.

The system requirements are as follows:
Windows 98SE / ME / 2000 / XP
1.0 GHz or greater processor
256 MB of RAM
4X or faster CD ROM
4.3 GB of disk space
64 MB Video Card
Direct X 9.0c

Gameplay: 8.7
Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament will take a little time to get used to, from the controls, terraforming landscapes, and creating a strong offence or defense. Once you do get the hang of all that this game has to offer you will find it highly enjoyable.

Graphics: 8.5
It is a shame that this expansion came out two years after the original game because this game looks great but if you compare it to other games that have just been released it just can’t compare. What it does offer you is nice looking art and unit animation.

Sound: 8.6
The music and sound effects fits this game really well. They really give this game a real “sci-fi” feel to it as you are partaking in the many battles that you will face.

Difficulty: Medium
The game’s unique nature might take a while to get used to, but once you do you will find it highly enjoyable. Also, just like any RTS game, the difficulty is scalable to fit your gaming skill level.

Concept: 9.0
I really enjoyed the terraforming aspect of this game because it makes it so different from all of the other RTS games that are currently on the market. What is even better is that this does not feel gimmicky in its application to the rest of the game.

Multiplayer: 8.0
This game is really fun to play against other people. I just wish there were more options in the multiplayer to really take advantage of this games unique aspects. 

Overall: 8.5
If you enjoying playing unique Real Time Strategy games, then you will want to pick up a copy of Perimeter: Emperor’s Testament because you will not regret that decision.