Fast-forward to E3 2000 in Los Angeles where Microprose (at the Hasbro booth) showed off the completely new version of the game after a year's absence at the 1999 show. The Unreal engine is gone and the game has now taken the form of a real-time tactical simulation that plays along the lines of Mech Commander or Dogs of War, where players choose their units, equip them and then make a planetary drop to battle the "bugs".

For those that have no knowledge of either the film or the book, the premise is a war between humans and the Arachnids, a race of questionably intelligent bugs, during the Third Terran Space War. Players take the role of lieutenant and lead a handful of small squads of troopers against this alien adversary. Much like in Dogs of War, or even Close Combat for that matter, players shouldn't plan on treating their soldiers like cannon fodder but instead should work to use them wisely as they gain experience and will fight better than raw recruits. However, the Arachnids, whose main advantage seems to be their vast numbers and relentless attacks, will no doubt mean lots of green troops will be under the player's command!

The early missions play out much like the film, with the player's forces lightly armored much like the Mobile Infantry units in the film. As the squads gain experience, and depending on the mission objectives, the weapons and armor options increase until the point that each trooper is like a mini-tank and is somewhat like the units in Heavy Gear and capable of causing some serious devastation to the enemy. Individual soldiers can also be trained for specific duties like scout, combat engineer or even medic.

As stated previously, the gameplay has transitioned from third person action to squad-based tactical and players will be provided with a scrollable and zoomable isometric perspective of the battlefield. The game, which is now in beta as I write this, has come along quite well since it was shown at E3. While all of the playable missions seemed to take place in desert locales, this is in keeping with the film and novel's settings and the bugs seem to like those desert planets that don't really seem to be worth fighting over! The individual bugs are completely inspired from the film and the gameplay really invokes the sense of being overwhelmed like in the film's invasion of planet K.

The game's AI can be intense to say the least and the bugs will attack relentlessly without worrying about the casualties that they take. Some war gamers might question the bug's style of attack, but it does seem to be in keeping with that race's style of attack, which is somewhat consistent in both the novel and movie. Future Sky Marshals should not plan on playing this game by making those types of relentless attacks against the bugs however, and players should take advantage of game's ability to issue specific orders on how to best attack, whether it is to rush the enemy or hold a position and let the bugs rush that ground.