First and foremost, No Man’s Land is an RTS, and as such, you can expect the standard methods of unit control, asset allocation and resource management. What makes No Man’s Land unique is the fact that these units and resources change as you play through the history-inspired scenarios. Most of the scenarios are purely fictitious, but care has been taken to ensure that they maintain their sense of realism by forcing you to use only those units and resources from the chosen time period. If you’re playing during the first period of American colonization, for example, you can either play as the Native Americans, who are fierce fighters but are heavily outgunned, or as the Spaniards, who plan on taking the land any way they see fit. Later levels, such as the Wild West, have you bringing in cowboys and gunslingers to mop up the native opposition. Each side (Spanish Conquerors, English Settlers, Native Americans and three others) has a few special abilities and "heroes", which are powerful fighting forces for their respective sides.

Graphically, No Man’s Land isn’t the crown jewel of RTS titles, but it’s certainly no slouch either. A much-appreciated zoom mode allows you to get close to the action, which becomes increasingly necessary as the battles get bigger and tighter. When playing the early demo level, we found the zoom to almost be a requirement as the Natives and Spaniards dog piled on one another in combat. Without the zoom, you’ll lose your first hero rather quickly in the morass of bodies.

The units in No Man’s Land all look good, with plenty of detail so you can tell the Spanish apart from the English during a heated battle. Environments, while sometimes a little too dark to show off their details, exhibit plenty of historical touches, like the torches burning inside an encampment or mast-mounted battle flags billowing in the wind during a naval battle.

With its emphasis on historical elements, you’ll find that No Man’s Land offers more than your standard RTS. All sides bear unique strengths that reflect their historical legacy, such as the powerful Spanish Armada, which serve to enhance the realism of the game. There are some creative liberties taken with the game design to make it a more sweeping cinematic experience, but overall No Man's Land is an  enjoyable romp through American history.