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What is this... "third dimension" of which you speak?
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The vast majority of real-time strategy games to date have been basically two dimensional. Sure, Myth had hills, but to all intents and purposes you were marching around on a flat plane. Metal Fatigue, however, really does have three dimensions, represented by three different levels.
The bottom level is underground. Tap into lava lakes to provide energy for your main base, or tunnel across the map to launch a surprise attack on your enemy. Carve out an elaborate network of catacombs, or clear out huge caverns. Combots don't fit underground, of course, but other fighting and support units can, and a sudden eruption of vehicles in the middle of your opponent's base would be a perfect way of distracting him while your Combots move in for the main attack.
Next is the surface, a region familiar to all RTS players. The surface is where most of the action will take place in terms of fighting and building. Expand your main base, wage huge Combot wars, crush your enemy... the surface level is basically your average real-time strategy game, but with more interesting units.
Finally, there's orbit. Construct solar panels on orbital platforms, patrol with air fighters, or suit your Combots up with jetpacks and send them into upper-atmosphere battle. All three areas are important in Metal Fatigue, and controlling all of them is vital to success: you may have the biggest surface army and the best orbital platforms, but if your enemy tunnels right into the middle of your base and launches a surprise attack, you're pretty much out of luck.
Integrating the three levels was no real challenge for Zono. Switching between the levels is instantaneous, the minimap shows all three, and audio cues tell you what's happening where without you even needing to look at the screen.
One of the truly innovative features of Metal Fatigue is the pre-build stage. Before some missions, you're given time to plan out your base: place buildings where you want, move them around, customize and build units, and finally start the mission once you're completely ready. Critics say this eliminates the strategy from the game, but I've suffered once too many a Zerg rush in my day to agree with that. Giving players time to establish their base should actually increase the strategy, by creating a more level playing field. It won't matter how fast you can click the mouse to build units: what matters will be what units you create, how you customize your Combots, and how your base is organized.
Don't expect your usual strategies to work well in Metal Fatigue. You won't just be facing one AI, you'll be facing several, each with their own preferred tactics and style. Some are defensive, some like sneak attacks underground, some take the high road and try to dominate the skies. You won't be playing one type of mission either: the usual "kill the enemy" will be present, but you'll also have small squad commando missions, "capture the alien artifact" missions, and the always amusing "rescue this helpless group of miners before the enemy crushes them."
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