A game with an at first simple-looking premise (An RTS with dinosaurs!), ParaWorld goes on to separate itself somewhat from its mediocre first impressions.
I will separate my review according to style of play:
Graphics enthusiast:
The graphics of the game are beautiful - lush, verdant forests and shimmering water give life to tropical paradises and frozen wastelands alike. If you like or at least can tolerate the RTS genre, this is a worthy purchase.
RTS veteran:
As an RTS, ParaWorld is capable, if somewhat bland. Gameplay follows the Age of Empires format almost to a T, with the technology ages and resource gatherers one might expect. The unit tree on the left side of the screen shakes things up a bit both from the interface standpoint and from the gameplay perspective - it gives a useful organizational tool, while offering some interesting strategic choices concerning what units to upgrade. (You can only have four level 4 units, and only one level 5 unit, so choose carefully!) The game is good if you're looking for a change of setting or just for a lengthy campaign to challenge yourself with.
The RTS novice:
This game is not an easy one. While the tutorial mission goes into enough depth to get started, about the start of the second or third mission you'll likely begin to be swamped by the ramping difficulty curve. I'd recommend trying a different, easier RTS before biting into ParaWorld.
The multiplayer maven:
I haven't played the multiplayer on ParaWorld myself, being more of a singleplayer sort of guy. It seems similar enough to WarCraft and its ilk; if you want to find out more about this, I'd suggest visiting various forums and looking at player responses.
Conclusion:
A somewhat tepid RTS with a few interesting innovations and a pretty shell, ParaWorld is probably a worthwhile purchase. If you're a graphics lover and a veteran of RTS games, it's well worth the look.
