Maelstrom review

More apocalyptic clichés than you can handle

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Long past the time when most sensible gamers would have beaten a path back to Supreme Commander, Rise of Legends and Dawn of War, a modicum of excitement and originality finally shows-up in the wobbly bio-form of the Hai-Genti. Rock-pool aliens with abundant limbs and a penchant for H2O, they are just about weird and violent enough to distract you from the secondhand mission plots and the various AI and command-and-control deficiencies. Yes, Maelstrom manages to botch some crucial fundamentals. We’ve seen pollen-drunk bees navigate greenhouses more skillfully than some of the units in this game and how they path find their way from base to front. The lack of formations and the awkward squad creation system add to the chaos of battle in the same way that dead flies add to the protein content of soup.

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GenreStrategy
DescriptionRussia's answer to Introversion has gone from the exciting, dangerous Perimeter to the dull and crowded center.
Platform"PC"
US censor rating"Teen"
UK censor rating""
Release date1 January 1970 (US), 1 January 1970 (UK)
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