Like everyone tormented by the classic rock radio station pandemic of the mid-80s, I experience hysterical blindness at the mere mention of Pink Floyd, Led Zeppelin, Bob Seger, and David Bowie. So I didn't exactly rejoice upon finding out that Sierra had decided to name its latest real-time strategy epic after the first two words in the Thin White Duke's "Space Oddity." The fade to black actually started to kick in as soon as I clicked on the setup icon. And since this is the same publisher that popped Yes out of carbonite last year to do the soundtrack for Homeworld, I figure I had good cause.

Thankfully, Ground Control the PC game has nothing to do with progressive rock. There's no Major Tom, no protein pills, and not even any "floating in a most peculiar way." Unfortunately, that's about the only good news I can offer. There's just not much of a game beneath the smart assed pop culture references that litter these paragraphs. Beyond a really sharp interface and perhaps the best 3D engine ever to grace an RTS title is nothing but repetitive gameplay, interchangeable units, and missions that require a high boredom threshold to get through.

It doesn't start off this way. Ground Control begins by overwhelming the player with a great story, an interface that the programmers at Massive Entertainment crafted while monks chanted "ease of use" in the background, and truly spectacular visuals. The plot is well served by a backstory in the manual and the heavy use of military briefings and personal log sequences while the game progresses. The setting is the 25th century, when humanity is dominated by two warring factions-the profit-at-all-costs Crayven Corporation and a religious faith called the Order of the New Dawn. You step into the single-player game fighting for the Crayvens on the contested world of Krig-7B as Major Sarah Parker. After 15 missions in her boots, you switch to the Order and continue the campaign as Brother Jarred Stone.