Giants 102 - Game play: 1337ness becomes an art

To sum it up, you have the choice of playing three different races over a variety of game types. Single player offers hilarious cut scenes and I mean damn funny. I have not found a more humorous and appetizing game that combines superb graphics with excellent game play. Now before you take my word for it and run to the nearest CompUSA, as I know how excited you must be at this very moment, read what Planet Moon as to say about the game features.

- Play as each of three remarkably unique species : the technologically advanced Meccaryns, the ethereal and magical Sea Reapers or the ferocious Giant Kabuto - in intriguing story-driven missions with multiple cut scenes utilizing the in-game engine.

- Multi-player mayhem! Choose a favorite species or divide up teams for cooperative-play and let the frenzied battle begin with up to 9 (TBD) people over LAN, modem-to-modem or TCP/IP. In addition to the usual "Death Match" and "Capture the Flag" scenarios, Giants will also offer a unique multiplayer scenario for up to 9 players consisting of three teams (5 Meccaryns, 3 Sea Reapers and 1 Kabuto).

- Choose from various perspectives. The viewpoint changes depending on which character is selected, enhancing various styles of play. Perspectives include 1st person, 3rd person, "Kabuto-Cam" (view from inside the Kabuto's mouth looking out), and "Foot-Crunch".

- Battle on over 25 unique islands. Each island has a different mission objective that varies according to which character is being played. The player must be quick-witted to prove his dominance by burning, drowning, kidnapping, eating, and crushing his enemies for absolute power.

- Tap the resources of a fourth race. Get the "Smarties" (island natives) to work for you and have them build a pub for their own entertainment. In return, the "Smarties" will build you shops, vehicles, weapons, spells, and even a base!

- Unique indigenous life forms add to the "fun". While battling with the other 2 species, the player must also attempt to avoid encounters with various indigenous enemies such as the "Diggers" or the "Dactyls". The "Diggers" hide in the ground and attack the player as he approaches, while the "Dactyls" are bird-like creatures that swoop in and pick up the player, take a few bites, and then drop the player on the ground seriously wounded.

- Manipulate the landscape. Use the 3D rendered terrain as part of your battle strategy when you create attacking offspring as Kabuto, call-out a destructive Tornado as a Sea Reaper, or camouflage yourself as part of the landscape for surprise attacks as a Meccaryn.

- Combines action and strategy elements. Giants is definitely an action game, but RTS elements like resource management and base building have been implemented into the game play in a way never seen before in either the action or strategy genre. Giants also requires strategic thinking to exploit your enemies' weaknesses and manipulate your opponents against one another for control. The frenzied action ensues once your enemies' weaknesses are determined. For example, Kabuto depends on the Vimps for a food source to keep up his strength. The Sea Reaper can call in a tornado to sweep the Vimps away, leaving Kabuto hungry, weak and open for attack.

- Amazing revolutionary graphics and color scheme. Giants takes the player to beautiful and surreal worlds using a color scheme for its landscapes that is a major departure from other games and utilizes many new 3D enhancements like hardware transform and lighting, bump mapping, hi-res 32 bit textures, inverse kinematics, the borjoyzee physics engine and animation blending.

- Created by the team behind MDK and Earthworm Jim. The incredible graphics, frenzied action/strategy game play, and offbeat humor give the game the signature look and feel of the team's previous award-winning titles.

These features create a very appetizing and fulfilling game for most, if not all of the players that have tried Giants.