The real time strategy genre has stagnated. After the sublime Company of Heroes the genre has reached a complete standstill, unsure of its next move. Do they pursue the real time tactics of games like Company of Heroes and Dawn of War? Or do they regress back to the base building, homely safety of games like Age of Empires and Rise of Nations. I had hoped they would tread new ground in the middle; exploring ways to expand the genre. Clearly I was alone in that hope.
Etherium, the new game from Tindalos Interactive and Focus Home Entertainment, has opted for the second of the two approached I listed above. The game goes back to base building, but with a twist of zone capturing Company of Heroes style rushing and subversion. Unfortunately the balance isn’t right and, as such, the game is falling on deaf ears. Unsure of who its audience is, Etherium is going to struggle.