To get things started, I figured I'd give a quick defense of my first GameRx review. After an associate of mine read my review of Dark Colony on the RSC blog, they mentioned that having identical sides shouldn't be a feature of an RTS. I agree with this to a point, but I also think that this overlooks some important changes in the gaming world over the past fifteen years, especially in the genre of real-time strategy.
Feel free to disagree, but I don't think this is a very consistent standard. It's not a perfect comparison, but I don't think anyone would call chess, checkers, or backgammon unfair or dull specifically on the grounds that both sides are evenly matched. Similarly, the first two Age of Empires have essentially equivalent teams with the exception of high-tier unit availability. The first two installments of the franchise are right up there with Dune II in terms of shaping the genre. Sometimes, there's something to be said for balance through simplicity.
