The Virons, a previously-unseen element of the Ground Control universe, is the second playable faction in the game, and fight ferociously with a never-before-seen method of attack. During combat, the Virons have the ability to meld several troops together to create new, stronger units, and to successfully defeat them requires the player to use a completely new set of skills. Rather than doing traditional battlefield reconnaissance to determine the composition of his opponent's army, the player will instead need to anticipate how his opponent will combine his units.
The Virons have an organic look to them, and the designers took inspiration from nature to design their appearance and behavior. For example, the main infantry unit, the Prime Clanguard, features a projectile weapon of molecular acid that swiftly eats through any known material. The Gas Centruroid, another basic unit, is armed with a spore-thrower that is capable of bypassing armor and cover bonuses.
"It is very satisfying to finally reveal this second playable faction," said Martin Walfisz, CEO of Massive Entertainment. "The entire development team has worked hard to design and implement the Virons, and playing as this faction is a very different gaming experience indeed."
Ground Control II: Operation Exodus combines the fast-paced action and stunning graphics of an action game with the tactical thinking of a real-time strategy game. In a departure from traditional RTS games, Ground Control II: Operation Exodus focuses on tactical combat with minimal time spent on resource management.
The game takes place on the Northern Star Alliance (NSA) home planet, Morningstar Prime, a distant colony world where you assume the role of a highly respected officer within the armed NSA forces. As Captain Jacob Angelus, you take command of a task force consisting of infantry, vehicles, tanks and aircraft. The survival of your people depends on the strategic and tactical choices that you make during the 24 missions long fight for victory against the Terran Empire and their newly discovered allies, the Virons.
Ground Control II: Operation Exodus is currently under development at Massive Entertainment and will be available for the PC in the second quarter of 2004. For more information, log on to http://www.groundcontrol2.com.