This is how a great real strategy game should be...
The graphic of maps is nice because is full of nature and it is another strategic thing that you can use bushes,tree or tall grass to cover your soldiers from a point of view to make them not visible to enemy so they cannot attack you. There are 2 campaigns Russian and American that are the main factions of the game so you can view the story from two opposite point of view which is great and there are only few games where you can do this.
The story is done great for a strategy game and all characters are characterized,they are not clones like the other similar games.
The story of the game is one but you see it in different way that allow you to ending the game in 3 ways (they are 4 but 2 are the same with only the final video different).The units are unique they have all different levels of the 4 abilities so there are units more powerful than others and if you lost them you don't lose (except for the 2 protagonists) but in later missions you may have serious troubles that you have to fight using weaker units that convince to keep them alive for making the game a lot easier.
The AI is very under some aspects like if you have a non military or wounded unit it try to escape from fight ...the thing not good is if the units don't see the danger so they may die following another when they are trying to heal/repair others... but this game is released in 2001 the AI is above average for that year. The RPG element allows you to customize your units in different ways so make the game non linear, thing that the other strategy game don't do.
This games haven't big bad aspects unless some little bugs corrected by the patches.
I will never regret that I have bought this game, this game values more than the others sold at higher price.
In my opinion this game deserves a total of 10/10 not less the strategy game should be like this.