When it comes to graphics in this game, a few words come to mind.  Gorgeous. Beautiful. Stunning. ...and it gets even more incredible if you have the hardware to run the game at higher resolutions. The island environments have a very other-worldly, almost surreal, look to them that really take you in and transport you to another world. The islands themselves are surrounded by serene, translucent waters, and sit under a lovely sky with a sun too bright to stare into. Just don't take my word for it, you really have to see the graphics for yourself.

Giants' fully 3D environment allows you to submerse yourself in the game completely. You can climb and slide down hills, trees or boulders caught in a crossfire are destroyed, large explosions make the ground ripple with shockwaves, trees sway in the breeze, ...

Unfortunately, there is a downside to Giants' wonderful graphics - they are a bit on the buggy side. Sometimes when the game is loaded, some of the textures are missing leaving some of the creatures as fuzzy blue wireframes. Then the next time the game is played, everything is fine. This is quite annoying as it either detracts from the game's incredible environment or forces the player to restart the game in an attempt to fix the problem.

There are additional occasional anomalies with the graphics, such as clipping problems (a creature may appear to be partially buried in a hillside). I was disappointed and mildly annoyed when they cropped up, probably because these anomalies broke the illusion that I was on another world and not merely playing a game.

Giants' musical score is excellent and fits with the game perfectly. It does a great job of setting the mood of being in an exotic, other-worldly location and does so subtlety, without ever being tiresome or annoying.  The sound effects are also quite well done. The sounds of individual weapons are unique - you can tell what you are being attacked with and from where just by listening. All of the game's other sounds - from the thundering hooves of a herd of Vimps to the light splish-splash of your feet as you run through shallow water - enhance its environment and add brilliantly to its overall feel.

Now about the question of whether or not Giants is a strategy game. It does have base building and resource gathering elements, but these alone do not a strategy game make. Strategy gamers may be frustrated by the lack of flexibility in base layout, and by the need to personally perform resource gathering duties. Also, the player does not have a myriad of units at his/her disposal. Part of the fun of RTS games is the many strategic options available. This is not the case in Giants, where you are your one and only offensive unit. Because of these factors, I tend to think of Giants as an action game with some strategy elements.

So will a strategy gamer enjoy Giants? I'd have to answer that question with a qualified 'yes'. Strategy purists will probably not enjoy the game's heavy action emphasis, and so should probably pass on this game. Those willing to try an original approach to action/strategy will probably find the game to be a lot of fun.

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