Darvond: Does Urban Assault count? It's an RTS where you're playing the role of a "Host Station", but you can also freely possess any vehicle you spawn while ordering your other squads.
I was just about to mention it! Nice to know that I'm not the only one on these forums who knows the game..
Darkness. . . The void calling my name. . . . And the evil, always pursued by the evil. . . These were my dreams . . . Back when I could dream. The machines, were desirous of me - valuing my fear as much as my mind. And because these were the good machines, our machines, the savior machines, I could not refuse their seduction. There were so few humans left in the years following The Big Mistake. Humans were too precious to send into battle when the OffWorlders came. And so we created the war machines, the savior machines. But to save us they needed a single human integrated into their empathic net. For it was the human's wetware that provided the passions of love for the planet, and enough fear to temper decisions. Oh, but humans were not meant to experience such power. When the click of a finger can create new machines, and when just one more click can send them into war, and when the empath net links you into all, as if you were living simultaneous lives, and suffering simultaneous deaths, the mind begins to retreat. So the machines, the good machines, the savior machines, have searched once again, and have come to you for the plan.
There will be those who call it a curse, but they were not chosen to be the human interface. And who among them could handle the unimaginable power of becoming one with the Host Station? After the upload surgery you will be completely wired into the free world's network of computers, able to synthesize intelligent tanks and aircraft with the click of a button.
From the Host Station, you are capable of creating drones using special equipment that converts energy into mass. These robot drones come in many forms including tanks, helicopters, and jets.
There are no humans actually sitting in the vehicles, but rather the vehicles are electronically controlled by the player.
In addition to robot drones, the Host Station can create buildings from its energy reserves. These buildings may be Flak Stations (gun platforms), Radar Stations, or Power Stations. As with any robot drone, you can take control of a Flak Station's gun turrets.
And that game is a rough gem. I love it. There are a hundred things I'd do differently and it has many irritating shortcomings, but it is a very unique game.
Of course, it is RTS/action hybrid and the AI is pretty dumb & slow (doesn't get things done too well) so it helps a lot to jump into action. But if you're playing it well, you still have that squad manager and map open at all times and you'll be commanding squads to conquer sectors and bring you constant reinforcements while you do the heavy lifting in first person. Incredible concept, makes for some of the most hectic gameplay I've seen.
