Our story is not one of providence … not one of divinity or evolution from the primordial slime. Those stories we leave for the humans.

Created by the human Fraziel, originally there were five goblins who served as laborers for what would be the Great Machine, a contraption designed to bring them great power. But in the passage of time, more goblins were created and the clans grew. They scattered throughout the land of Ogriss, collecting resources. They viewed it as a good life.

But that which started as a good life was soon changed.

Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde is an Xbox title from Jaleco, which chronicles the way the world changed for the race. The game is a little slower paced than most real-time strategy titles, but does offer a different look and feel to the genre.

There are basically two ways to play the game. The two modes of play are campaign and skirmish. The campaign mode is for the single player, while the skirmish mode is more of a free-form game pitting two players against each other.

The game begins simply enough with some basic tutorials for moving your clan. Each clan is headed by a commander and each has a specific set of missions. The levels are referred to as rooms. The commander appears as a blue glowing spot, but the clan will gather about him quickly. Each level is based on a series of missions or conditions which must be met along the way. Some of the missions are not adequately explained as you begin to move through the game, but there is a way to check to see what tasks await you. And upon completion of the tasks, you will get a check mark in the upper left hand corner to indicate you have completed a mission.

The basic gameplay involves setting waypoints for your horde to move to. When you come across an object that can be destroyed, or attacked, you place a waypoint on it. Your horde will move into position and attack, using the weapons at their disposal. Some are melee, some are missile (rock throwers).

As the game progresses, you will be given more tactical command of the units. Initially, taking control of a clan is also a matter of placing your commander near them and creating a waypoint. Want to attack enemies? Plant a waypoint near them.

But just when you think you have that done, and the game is about to be overly simplistic, it changes. You can take direct control over your units and move them without creating a mess of waypoints throughout the mapboard.

In addition to the goblins, there are other units that can be controlled, like stone giants – powerful titan creatures that unleash devastating attacks.

Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde boasts rich environments and terrific animation. The camera can get hung up on environmental elements and hinder panning the area. The game also features pop-up prompts from the commander, which are not as well done as the game itself. The game’s sound is solid and the goblins have their own language, which does a nice job of setting the mood of the game.

The game play itself can be rather simplistic. Each room you enter on a mapboard has a task, or several tasks, which must be accomplished in order to move to the next room. These tasks are often of the destroy variety, either in terms of the environment or enemies. In this regard, the game is very linear in design.

Goblin Commander does attempt to step off the standard RTS path and does bring a different slant to the genre. It has a few stumbles along the way, but does provide a solid strategy experience for the platform.

Gameplay: 8

The game is a little linear, but the game moves seamlessly from one area to the next.

Graphics: 8.4

The camera can get hung up on the environment and not afford a 360-degree panoramic view of the mapboard. It does have a zoom feature though and by zooming in, you will be treated to solid animation and creatures.

Sound: 8.1

The goblins have their own language, with subtitles of course, and while the dialogue itself can be a little weak, the language gives it life. The musical score is quite good and the effects are consistent with the genre.

Difficulty: Easy/Medium

While the rooms may offer a challenge, the overall structure of the game is rather easy on players. You are given tasks in a room and have to accomplish that to move on. The game gets progressively tougher as you go.

Concept: 8

This is a game that is a little slower paced than most titles in the RTS genre, but the developers did a good job of building a game that was somewhat player friendly. It could use a better mission system though.

Multiplayer: 7.8

The game offers two-player head-to-head competition on the same machine.

Overall: 8.1

Goblin Commander: Unleash the Horde has some elements that are very typical of the real-time strategy genre, but does manage to break out occasionally for new slants on the theme. The game has been kept rather simple in terms of controls to allow players to jump right in and go with a minimal time spent in learning the game. The mission interface could have been better. But if you are looking for an RTS with imagination, this is definitely worth a gander.