People credit games like Dune, Warcraft and Command and Conquer as being the first real time strategy (RTS) games, but Herzog Zwei's got em all beat. It is such an incredibly well thought out and sophisticated game that some of the innovative features have yet to be replicated effectively in a single game even today.
- You were able to give your units a variety of orders including patrol so you didn't have to babysit every unit. AI pathfinding was still in its infancy in this game, but it wasn't too bad.
- A series of permanent "neutral" bases had to be captured to gain more money. Battlefield 1942/Day of Defeat both used this to great effect a decade later.
- Possibly the most inspired design decision is that you could partipate in the battle as a super unit -- a giant tank-like robot that could fight enemies on the ground and could also transform into a plane that could shuttle units all over the map.
It's hard to describe just how damn good this game is. If you still have a Sega Genesis handy and you enjoy a good RTS you have got to try this game.
