Ground Control is a real-time tactics video game created by Massive Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 2000. The game centers on a conflict between two groups competing for control of a planet and a set of alien artifacts found on its surface. Players take the role of an officer for each group, using advanced military units and different strategies that involve their units, the environment, and careful planning to achieve their goals.
An expansion pack for the game was released later in 2000. The following year, the game and its expansion were re-released together as a collection called Ground Control Anthology. The original game led to a sequel titled Ground Control II: Operation Exodus, which was released in 2004. This sequel improved the game's graphics and gameplay features.
Gameplay
The game allows players to control the camera completely, letting them view each mission’s battlefield from any angle, such as from above or from the ground level of a unit. Since it is a real-time tactics game, Ground Control does not include systems for managing resources or economies, which are found in some real-time strategy games like Command & Conquer. This means players cannot use strategies like rushing with tanks. Instead, players must use tactics with the units they have to complete mission objectives.
Before a mission starts, players must choose which troops to bring. These troops are divided into squads that must be loaded onto orbital dropships. Once the mission begins, the squads are transported and deployed onto the battlefield (except in some cases). Players cannot call for reinforcements during a mission, so choosing the right troops is important. Each dropship can carry up to four squads, depending on progress in the single-player campaign. Each squad must be made up of units from one of four categories: vehicles, support, aircraft, or infantry, and each unit has a specific role within its category. The Command APC is an exception; it must be brought on every mission but does not take up space for other squads.
Each unit type has strengths, weaknesses, and specific roles. To succeed, players must combine different units. For example, a player might use heavy armor to break through enemy defenses but need infantry and anti-air units to protect them from enemy fire. Players can decide a squad’s role based on the unit type they choose. For example, heavy armor might be used to attack enemy defenses, while anti-air units protect them, or scout units might be used to find targets for artillery. While most units from the two factions have similar functions, some units differ. For example, Crayven Corporation units use heavy armor and traditional weapons, while Order of the New Dawn units use hover systems for speed and energy weapons for more damage. The Order’s Templar Infantry are all-female soldiers with anti-tank missiles that cannot attack infantry, while Crayven’s Jaeger Infantry are snipers useful for scouting.
Each unit, except the Command APC, can choose one special weapon and one piece of equipment for a mission. These items have limited uses. Special weapons include mortars, anti-tank rockets, and tactical nuclear warheads, which can help a squad perform its role better or defeat enemies it would otherwise struggle against. Special equipment includes items like medkits, repair kits, image intensifiers, and stationary turrets. Most special items can be used two to three times per mission, while some powerful abilities can only be used once.
After selecting troops and deploying them, players must use tactics to make the most of their units. Flanking enemies—attacking from the side, rear, or above—is effective against armored units, which are weaker to attacks from those angles. High ground gives units a better view and increases accuracy and sight range, which helps artillery. Suppressive fire, where enemies fire less accurately when under attack, can weaken strong opponents. Infantry can suppress heavy units like tanks even if the tank’s armor prevents damage. Stealth can be used by hiding in shadows or foliage, making scouting important to avoid ambushes. Friendly fire is also a risk, as units might accidentally attack allies if not placed carefully.
If players use tactics to protect their troops, surviving squads earn experience and medals after completing a mission. These improve the squad’s abilities later in the campaign. If a squad is destroyed, it is replaced at the end of the mission unless the player is on an easier difficulty level. In that case, the new squad starts with less experience.
Plot
After the end of the Third World War, which is called "The Sixteen-Minute War" in the game, humans rebuild Earth and begin colonizing other planets in the galaxy. Earth is now governed by the Global Central Command (GCC), a group of elected leaders that includes representatives from large corporations that gained power after the fall of old Earth nations. Even though the GCC created rules to manage conflicts, fighting between groups working on colonization continues often because of disagreements over resources and trade routes. By the time the game starts, two groups helping with colonization—Crayven Corporation and the Order of the New Dawn—begin competing for control of a distant planet called Krig 7-B.
— From Ground Control manual – 47 pages PDF included with the game
Major Sarah Parker, an officer for Crayven Corporation, is sent by Enrica Hayes, a director on the company's starship called the CSS Astrid, to lead operations on Krig 7-B. During her mission, Parker fails to save a defector from the Order named Bishop Delondre, but she receives a data disk from him that reveals details about an Order operation called "Project Garm." Later, while protecting a Crayven facility, Parker's team finds an alien relic called a "Xenofact," which leads Hayes to order the destruction of Order bases that have found other Xenofacts. After the Order's warship, the WCS Clergy, is forced to leave the planet's orbit, Crayven forces destroy the Order's final base in the northern polar region of Krig 7-B and gain control of a large Xenofact. Satisfied with Parker's work, Hayes orders Crayven forces to eliminate any remaining Order members on the planet.
To stop Crayven from winning control of Krig 7-B, two Order officers, Deacon Jarred Stone and Paladin Magnus (Stone's commanding officer and a close friend), gather surviving troops to launch surprise attacks against important Crayven targets. Despite knowing they are fighting a difficult battle without the help of the Clergy, Stone and Magnus recover data that explains more about Project Garm and Delondre's reasons for defecting. Soon after a high-ranking Order leader named Aegeri arrives on the WCS Retribution with reinforcements, Magnus disappears. Although Aegeri questions some of Magnus's choices, he tells Stone to continue attacking Crayven forces. During an attack on a Crayven airbase, Magnus contacts Stone for a secret meeting and gives him Delondre's ID code and other codes to access all information about Project Garm. After the mission, Stone learns that both the Order and Crayven want to control the Xenofacts on the planet.
After a well-organized Crayven attack is stopped and the Order secures a Xenofact, Aegeri and Hayes meet and agree to a temporary truce, forming a joint team to study the Xenofacts. Feeling betrayed, Stone reunites with Magnus to stop the alliance from gaining full control of the Xenofacts. However, their hidden base is attacked by Crayven forces, and Magnus sacrifices himself to help Stone and his troops escape with the help of Parker, who had discovered that Aegeri and Hayes had met weeks before the truce was announced. Working with Magnus's friend Cole, a Crayven agent, they learn that the Xenofacts on Krig 7-B were created by an ancient alien civilization over a million years ago as part of a galaxy-wide system to stop invasions. Each Xenofact contains a powerful war machine that can only be activated from Krig 7-B. The group realizes that both Crayven and the Order want to control the system to dominate the galaxy, and that Aegeri and Hayes plan to use it together.
To stop this, Stone, Parker, and Cole launch a final attack on the largest Xenofact, killing Aegeri and destroying the artifact with special explosives. The attack also destroys the Retribution and forces Hayes and the Astrid to leave the system. As Parker, Cole, and Stone celebrate their victory and try to find a way to leave Krig 7-B, Hayes reports her failure to use the Xenofacts to her boss at Crayven Corporation. Her boss tells her there are still other ways to control the galaxy as the Astrid drifts through space.
Reception
The game received "mostly positive reviews" according to the website Metacritic, which collects reviews from many sources. Jim Preston from NextGen praised the game's gameplay and graphics, calling it "beautiful," "easy to use," and "simple."
The staff of Computer Games Magazine nominated the game for their 2000 "Best Real-Time Strategy Game" award. The winner of that award has not been announced. The game also came close to winning GameSpy's "2000 Best Strategy Game" award, which was given to The Sims. The staff wrote: "Great graphics, sound, and multiplayer features — what's not to like?" The game was nominated for "Best Graphics, Technical" and "Best Strategy Game" awards at GameSpot's 2000 Best and Worst Awards. Both awards were won by Giants: Citizen Kabuto and Shogun: Total War. It was also nominated for the "Best Real-Time Strategy Game" award at the CNET Gamecenter Computer Game Awards for 2000, which was won by Sacrifice.
In 2003, writer Mark H. Walker reported that the game "did not sell well." He estimated that it sold only a few thousand copies.
Legacy
In 2000, after the game Ground Control was released, Sierra announced in August of the same year that an expansion pack called Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy was being created by Massive Entertainment and High Voltage Software. This expansion was released in October. It continued the original story by focusing on Sarah Parker after a major conflict. The expansion added 15 new missions, a new group of soldiers called the Phoenix Mercenaries, and unique weapons that used fire. It also included new units for existing groups, more types of terrain, new maps for multiplayer games, and cutscenes that were not made using the game’s engine. The following year, the expansion and the main game were sold together in a package called Ground Control Anthology.
In 2004, a sequel called Ground Control II: Operation Exodus was created by Massive Entertainment and released by Vivendi. The game improved its graphics and story, and it added faster gameplay that matched newer real-time strategy games. A new system was introduced where players earned points by destroying enemies and capturing areas. These points could be used to get new units or call in support weapons for one of the game’s groups. Before the sequel was released, Vivendi made the original Ground Control game available for free online as a promotion.
In 2008, Vivendi still owned the Ground Control franchise after merging with Activision Blizzard. This merger led to Massive Entertainment being sold to Ubisoft in November 2008. In July 2009, Vivendi sold the franchise to Rebellion Developments. Rebellion announced plans to create a new game for the series, but no official updates have been confirmed since then.
In 2009, the Ground Control Anthology and Ground Control II were re-released by GOG.com, a digital store. In 2015, Rebellion made both games available again on Steam, another online platform.
In 2017, a player-created expansion called Ground Control: The Aftermath was released. This unofficial mod continues the story from Ground Control: Dark Conspiracy and leads into Ground Control II: Operation Exodus. It includes 18 new missions. Though not officially made by the game’s developers, the mod offers gameplay, story, and design similar to the original games.