The game is set in space and in faux 3D (it looks 3D, but everything operates on a 2D plane, so it's almost 3D for 3D's sake), much like the recent Homeworld 2, although the similarities end there. The life and blood of everything in ToD comes from the small islands that are scattered evenly across the entire map. These islands can be colonised and then have various facilities constructed on them, and they can also be mined for resources. Wood and metal are mainly used for construction of units or buildings, with stone occasionally playing a part too; Coal is used as a fuel; Water is used in part as currency and will run the shields of the more advanced units; Crystal Moss is the main currency of the game, with which you can buy advanced units that you can't produce yourself, and also fuels some ships. The resources appear in varying amounts on each island, and are a finite resource, and so organising the mobile mining, and the resource transport units is the bread and butter of the game.

Obviously the aim of the game is to expand your empire as wide as possible, by colonising or just constructing unmanned outposts on islands. This would be entirely non-entertaining were it not for the fact that there are an awful lot of other players out there trying to do the same, and so you are going to come into conflict before very long. When you do, you can use the colonised islands as a base to launch your offensive actions from (all units have a finite fuel capacity, and therefore, a limited range), or as a front line of defence against the enemy (colonised islands can construct powerful defensive turrets).

   

The map itself is divided up into a grid, and when you have a unit, colonised island or outpost in any square, you can see everything else in that square, although getting information on enemy units or buildings may require you to get a little closer to them.

Because of the scale of the game, everything moves at rather a slow pace - each square can take between 5 and 15 minutes to get across, depending on the unit, which means that for a full scale assault, you are going to have to set aside an entire evening to properly command your units, and get defences in place for the inevitable backlash. Luckily the mining and transport units have a system whereby you can set them a route to follow as many times as needed, and drop off and pick up resources on their way. You can also queue up units and buildings to be constructed, which all goes to make the micromanagement of your empire somewhat easier. But you're still going to need to log on at least once a day for an hour to reorganise everything... and that's the games greatest problem.

Micromanagement takes up too much time, and as the hub of everything, it means that every action takes just too long to make this viable as a game where you can pop in for half an hour an evening and still make progress. It could take your strike force half an hour to get to their target, and then you have to spend an age waiting for the resource carriers to refuel your ships before you can move on to take out the rest of the forces in an area. Ultimately, if you want to drop in every couple of days, then you don't have a hope - someone that can log in far more regularly is going to overrun you (quite a few players are online 24hrs a day, with the game running in a background window on their desktop). Where's the strategy in that? The control system is rather awkward, and I'm sure that a lot of time and frustration could be cut out with some more development (although it seems the game has come on leaps and bounds since it's first appearance 12 months ago).

   

On the other hand, the game is fascinating on a human level. You can make and break alliances with other players, you can stab people in the back, you can trade resources. The possibilities for strategy in a political way are almost limitless. Be nice, be nasty, be a two faced lying git of a schemer. Make an alliance, agree to attack a bigger empire nearby, and then when your ally has sent their fleet out to attack, then turn your fleet around and capture your allies' unprotected islands.

On a small note, the graphics and sound are well below par for 2003, the sound especially. But you're not going to be playing this for the graphics.

I guess it's what you make of it, and sensibly Nicely Crafted offer an 8 day free trial of the game, after which it will cost you £5-£7.50 a month, depending on your subscription period (the client is free to download, or you can buy the retail box with updated graphics for £20 RRP, with two months free). For those that can log regularly, it's an absorbing experience, and one well worth giving a go. For a lot of people, it may just be a bit too involving for its own good.