Zero-K: Free Open Source RTS Game - Page 3

When I came to Zero-K a few years back, I thought it was just another TA clone with improved graphics. It turns out that I have a weird taste for RTS graphics and Zero-K's graphics supposedly suck. Either way, this game is about depth if anything. I've played over 5000 matches, yet there are still strategies and tricks to explore.

I'm mostly a fan of competitive play, so this is what this review focuses on.

Comparing ZK to other strategy games, you'll notice that it has a lot less rules. While there is a very basic economy that needs to be carefully maintained for competitive play, there are hardly any "wrong" openings. In the early game it's very important to scout your opponent's opening and react accordingly, as games can be decided very quickly. This phase demands good micro and APM to make the most out of the few units you have.

Mid-game is where the game becomes really strategically demanding. You have to keep watching the enemy to make sure you're not getting countered. Meanwhile battles are happening all over the map, and you need to keep them going. If you're not keeping your enemy busy, he will simply outeco you. Battlefields leave reclaim, and you need to build defenses and constructors to secure it. While other games allow you to build a base and defend it, competitive ZK is all about map control. If you're not holding at least half of the map, you're probably losing. This phase requires you to zoom out and leave units to themselves. Strategic positioning of units and buildings is key.

Over time, players will start fortifying their half of the map into what is effectively an oversized base, and battles will become more expensive to fight. This phase rewards complex strategies and attack plans as most normal assaults will only yield little territory. Not many games get this far without being decided beforehand, but if they do, they're definitely the most interesting for me. At this stage, units and buildings are easily affordable and it's up to the player to choose the best combination. In some games this can go as far as building a unit launcher using the game's physics to catapult units behind enemy lines. Although there's a near infinite ways to win the end-game, there are similarly many ways to lose. Thus this phase requires the most experience and foresight in how each move will play out.

So if you don't mind the APM heavy first five to ten minutes (which is still much less than games like SC2), the mid- and end-game allow you to zoom out and focus on strategic decisions more than in any other game.