It takes a real strategy fan to appreciate this game.
Yes, it's another RTS game. Yes, it has the same basic feel of many RTS games of the past. However, that is where it stops. The unit management is totally new, and it really works great. Not to mention that being able to use a Raptor or Triceratops against your enemy is pretty darn cool.
So let's talk the good first, shall we? To start off, you have the story, which although not movie-material, it works for this game. If you are hasty to say this is too far fetched, I hope you aren't a fan of the Dawn of War or Battle for Middle Earth series. Next you have graphics and sound. The game looks quite well. I wouldn't go as far as to say it's one of the best looking RTS games out there, but it could easily be compared to Rise of Legends. The sound is pretty good, too, although the voice acting is a little off. And of course, you have the gameplay. The HUD is totally new. I own and have played most strategy titles to date, and have never seen a display quite like this. It really makes unit managing easy, organized, and clear to read. The game also ticks along at a quite nice frame rate, even on a mediocre PC, while still having the visual details high.
Of course, there is always going to be the bad. First, you have the script and voice acting. While the music and ambient noise of the game is nice and realistic, the voice acting is very cheesy and the script is, let's just call it corney. Why any game developer thinks that a person, espically the token hero, would make wisecracks like these is beyond me. Besides that, the only other "bad" (though I only found it to be a minor annoyance) thing is that it takes 3-4 missions for the game to really pick up, but that can be said about most RTS titles. ParaWorld probably isn't for everybody. Many casual gamers or those who don't play many strategy titles probably wouldn't care for this one, because if you aren't used to the genere, you proably won't do very well with this game or it's unit organization. However, if you are a fan of the strategy genere or are willing to put a little time into learning about them, this is definately a title to own.