Crossfire: Legion aims to fill the gap left by Starcraft and C&C: Red Alert

rockpapershotgun.com:

Age of Empires IV. WarCraft III: Reforged. Company of Heroes 3. The team at Blackbird Interactive has watched the recent return of the classic RTS games with interest - vested interest, in fact. Tasked by Korean developer Smilegate with transposing their Counter-Strike-style shooter Crossfire to the strategy genre, Blackbird believes it has identified a hole yet to be filled. A nostalgic need to be catered to.

“I argue that in the recent resurgence, we haven’t yet come across an RTS game that offers players an experience comparable to StarCraft or Red Alert,” says game designer Maurice Grela. “We’re hoping to fulfill that gap.”

What does that mean for Crossfire: Legion? Units that burn rubber. Simple build queues, and harvesters that can be left largely to their own devices. “We believe that streamlining the building experience will allow players more cognitive capacity to focus on the combat loop,” Grela says. The designer has a background in the FPS genre, which reflects the snappy pace of Legion - a game of feints and fast retaliation between distinct factions.

“Global Risk provides a familiar, comparatively simple army-building strategy,” Grela continues. “Combined arms, with an emphasis on quickly reinforcing fallen units. Black List provides sets of mechanics that allow them to ambush, outflank and limit the combat efficacy of their opponents.”

Blackbird knows what they're talking about. Founded by key Relic staff, the developer is the current custodian of the Homeworld series, and is bringing “almost two decades of tested knowledge and lessons” to bear on Legion. “Many of the designers, and the lead of Crossfire: Legion, are avid wargamers,” Grela says. “Not only does the studio have a strong RTS knowledge base,