There have been a couple of 3D real-time strategy games of late - Eidos's Warzone 2100 being worthy of note - and Activision are getting in on the act as well. Curiously, everyone's making the claim that theirs is the first truly 3D RTS...
Andy Smith

That's what Eidos said about Warzone 2100!
Close enough, and as Eidos got their game out a couple of months ago, I guess they should get the credit for it.

Too right! Er, what does it mean though?
That they've taken the RTS premise, a la C&C, and set it in a 3D environment where the terrain has an effect on how you play the game. In Dark Reign II, for example, you can have your troops hide under trees or battle in low gravity situations and use darkness to your advantage. The game's set in the 26th century and features some 25 missions that start on Earth and take you through the Solar System.

Oh. That's what this is then?
Sure is, although Activision are claiming that not only do the 3D environments affect the gameplay but that the game features true line of sight too.

Which is nice.
Isn't it. Dark Reign II also features dynamic cameras where you can zoom out of the action and get an overall picture of the battles and then zoom right down to unit level to watch them getting down 'n' dirty.

Tank-rushing. Yawn.
Cynic. Although DRII does have the key elements of RTS games, like base building, resource management and combat. The game's developers, Pandemic, are rather keen to shout about their squad-level AI. Troops co-ordinate attacks and cover one another like real teams. They've also improved the interface, making controlling your units a whole lot easier.