Of all of the booths at E3 this year, S2 Games' booth is the one where I spent most of my time. The Realtime Strategy-Shooter idea is so good I'm suprised no one has done it before, but now that the genre has finally arrived, I am totally pumped for what this genre has to offer.
To aide in the merging of two of my favorite genres, Savage has a very nice engine that is just as efficient from a God's eye view as a first- or third-person view. Also, there are two different factions you can choose from: Humanity (technology) and the Beast Horde (magic). There were only a few glitches and weapon strength is still unbalanced, but with some work I'm sure things will be right before the game's summer release.
As for the actual gameplay...what else can I say, it's great. You can choose to spawn as a soldier or play as a commander. As a soldier, you are hindered by your skills and your commander. When setting up to spawn, you can spawn as a more powerful unit depending on whether your commander has upgraded that ability, and you can only choose weapons and items that your commander makes possible. When you are commanded to attack another unit or approach a location, a translucent column will appear there, and people who follow commands are recognized at the end of the game.
The game for the commander is very much the same as a regular RTS. The only NPCs in the game are the workers, but all combat units are actual people - and it is fascinating to see your soldiers actually use tactics instead of blindly attacking. It is no longer a race to get the most units, and that is just what makes Savage so interesting.
Check back here for a full review when the game is released.
