We got some serious hands-on time with the game at the event. The SAGE 3D engine looks great and the unit design is polished, providing a good feel for the individual sides. I spent a lot of time playing the Chinese, utilizing their horde mentality and benefits for great effectiveness. There were only five maps available, but the maps that were shown did a good job of displaying the different terrain types and ambiance that will be available in the final game.

For instance, on a two-player Alpine map, you square off in mountainous terrain with an obviously Swiss-looking village in the center. There are train tracks running around the town. Normally in a game, those are there for window dressing, but here, every few minutes, an actual train would steam around the tracks. You actually had to be careful crossing the tracks or you could lose units. A nice touch.