Transforming vehicles, aqua crazy aliens, and gigantic mechs of Voltron proportions left us anxious for more after playing the latest preview build of KDV Game’s real-time strategy, Maelstrom.

We realized that Maelstrom was more than meets the eye once we played a few missions with the techno-crazy Ascension. Relying heavily on their advanced technology, each of their buildings can transform into vehicles, meaning that you can move your base about the map as you expand your forces. Vehicles can also transform into alternate forms. For example, the Viper – a lightly armored buggy ideal for scouting – can quickly transform itself into a stationary gun turret. Send a bunch of Vipers into an enemy base and transform them into turrets to destroy it from within before your reinforcements arrive to finish the job.

The Hai-Genti may remind players of the Zerg from Starcraft at first, but their unique ability to flood the map with water makes them stand out as one of the most innovative and exciting armies we’ve ever had the pleasure of commanding in a real-time strategy game. Water resource tiles are scattered throughout each map and the Hai-Genti can build mutagen pumps over them which slowly floods the surrounding area with water. In one mission, we submerged an Ascension base in a bubbly bath of death before invading it with our main forces.