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THIS GAME GOT GAME!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 30
Date: June 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Although I have not yet played the game (release isn't 'till July) I know for a fact that the game will be one of if not THE greatest games of the year. I have played the original Dark Reign, and the sequels before and they were really interesting and totally fun. The game is easy to learn to play and was a smash hit. With the free floating camera, campaign editor, multiplayer levels, and everything else, I know for a fact that THIS GAME GOT GAME!

Yes! Another Tiberian Sun!

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 11
Date: June 23, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game reinvents real time strategy with such revolutionary concepts as resource gathering and the mother of all tactics: The Tank Rush! These terms might be foreign to you now but when you get into the game, you will see the beauty of building up fast and bum rushing your opponents. This game takes its roots from such classics as Warcraft 2 and Command and Conquer. Isn't it strange that so few games have been made to model those? Well, the wait is over. Start up your resource collectors and get ready to click. The long awaited sequel is waiting at your neighborhood store.This game takes its roots from such classics as Warcraft 2 and Command and Conquer. Isn't it strange that so few games have been made to model those? Well, the wait is over. Start up your resource collectors and get ready to click. The long awaitted sequel is waiting at your neighborhood store.

Don't you hate reviews from people who haven't PLAYED it?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 16
Date: July 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Given the pre-release hype from game sites, I was really anticipating this game as the contender for the best RTS this year. I'm pretty disappointed.

The good first: The game looks very nice. It has that same techno-organic look as Battlezone 2, not surprising since the same guys did it. It runs fairly nice, aside from the crashes. The framerate and overall running is probably the smoothest I've ever seen on a 3D RTS, even Homeworld. The interface is also quite well thought out, and a step forward over other 3D RTS's, particularly the ease of camera movement.

Other than that, the game is a dog. Sorry, fanboys, but I have to call it like I see it. Gameplay is a real snoozer: Tons of dicking around and not much combat. Everything is just deliberately slow--aircraft move as slowly as infantry on foot, et cetera. If you are looking for fast, furious, exciting gameplay, this is not the place to find it.

The unit pathfinding is set up in such a way that they all move one at a time so that they don't obstruct each other. Thus, you'll move one unit, and if any others are in its way they will all, agonizingly, move one at a time to new positions so the mover can get through. In any movement of groups this problem is ten times as bad. You'll watch in frustration as your units get ripped to shreds while they stupidly maneuver into position before they start returning fire.

No real story is going on here; there are no characters and nothing happens inside of a mission to alter the plot. There are some vague cutscenes between the missions, but they're so irrelevant that you could have just played the missions and made up your own story to string them together.

Overall, I regret having bought the game. I can't recommend it unless you're compelled to get an RTS fix.

Think Again

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: July 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Now that I have played the full version game, my previous review was written based on the beta version, I have changed my mind DRASTICALLY. THIS IS THE BEST RTS EVER MADE. If you are a beginnging rts player this game can be made easier with amazingly easy to operate difficulty settings. But for hardcore gamers and rtser this game offers so much. Superb lighting, special effects and realistic day night system make this game excellent its very easy to control your camera once you get the hang of it,(Which usually takes about 5 minutes to get the hang of) it is great because you can go from top down to directly behind a unit(YA is does look sick). The multiplayer is very easy to start and to get playing in games. I love this game, but my opinion doesn't matter unless you want a good one so but the game. Right now dont wait if you do your only hurting yourself, see I dont care if you buy the game but you should. Oh ya and if you need any help my email is spencer@joesmail.com and my screen name on the game is Joe Grady. Hope to see you there.

Gorgeous & stately, not fast paced

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: July 13, 2000
Author: Amazon User

There's probably a strategy game for every type of gamer, and as gaming guide for BellaOnline, I've seen quite a few. Dark Reign 2 is gorgeous, and is for the thinking strategist.

The game sets the forces of the JDA against the Sprawlers. Each side has similar units - 'guardians' and 'rumblers' as ground units, trikes, tanks, medics, you name it. The uniqueness for this game isn't in its basic makeup or the thought behind it - strategy games by their nature share a basic manner of working. What really makes the game stand out is its design, and its graphics.

Instead of the old pixel-based systems, where graphics were drawn dot by dot (and therefore looked very fuzzy on high quality monitors), newer games are done with actual objects being drawn. Dungeon Keeper 2 is an example of this. With an object having sides and textures and angles, it will look crisp no matter how high you resolve the screen. Also, objects of this type can easily be modified to react to game events.

Meaning ... you can blow craters in the ground! You can climb up gorgeously rendered mountains, with slight crevices for you to fit through. Your units range themselves along hilltops to fire down at fortifications. The snow falls as your troops sneak along a treeline, concealing themselves within its branches.

What a treat to watch and play!

The general layout for the interface is well done - you probably can't go too wrong with this after all of these years of strategy games. People have pretty much figured out what works and what doesn't work. However, how many strategy games let you zoom in and out and around as much as you wish with the observer camera? Your map shows the general location of troops and bases, and within that map you have complete control of your camera - zoom in close to the action, from floor level. Look high overhead a full assault. Follow along behind your troops as if you were really there!

What general could ask for more - a way to coordinate large groups of troops easily, plus the ability to see the action from a soldier's point of view. It's great!

The sound and day-night cycles are equally as good. The personality of the troops is well done - the Go Go trikes call out, "Yeah, Baby!" when you give them orders, and you're alerted when "The Sun emerges from its sleeping place." The cut scenes help build the atmosphere and get you involved in the various plots going on. This isn't just about killing off the enemy. It's about preserving your way of life, and discovering what has been hidden.

I agree that for the Command & Conquer-style action lover, the excitement simply isn't there. Units chug along. Units get stuck on each other. The pace is much slower, more like chess than a battle scene from "Ran".

I definitely enjoy this game not only as a great game in its own right, but also a good indicator of what strategy games to come will look like, as machine speeds catch up to the ingenuity and creativity of modern day game designers. With the bar raised on display, perhaps all styles of strategy game will shortly look this gorgeous.

Almost a classic...but still a good game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 3
Date: July 17, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying that Dark Reign 2 isn't the only 3D-RTS game out there. There are at least two others - Ground Control and Earth 2150. Both games are getting good reviews, and it looks increasingly as though Dark Reign 2 is the going to be the only 3D-RTS to get some very bad reviews. Why? Part of that is due to bad timing, since Ground Control and Earth 2150 were released first. The other reason is because there are deficencies in gameplay that should've been corrected before they were released.

This game was made by Pandemic, the same people that created Battlezone 2 (BZ2). This was a game that was prone to crashes (especially on NVIDIA videocards) and was infested with all manner of game-crashing bugs. Basically, BZ2 was a game that could've been a classic if it hadn't been for those horrible bugs.

Fortunately, Pandemic have obviously learned from their mistakes. Dark Reign 2 isn't the crash-prone mess that BZ2 was. In fact, it's the only 3D-accelerated game that can be played straight out of the box - no patches required. So the extra months of quality testing were definitely worthwhile.

However, Dark Reign 2 does fall down in one important area - gameplay. The developers have obviously put a lot of effort into the appearance of the game, but failed to pay attention to gameplay. For instance, many of the missions require your units to navigate narrow valleys, and the pathfinding AI isn't up to the challenge. It's ridiculous seeing a squad of scorpion tanks jostle for position in a narrow valley. The poor pathfinding AI really shows in the last two missions, which take place in a large (and very beautiful looking city). I had to bring a scaver (which is a repair bot) to a particular location. Instead of making a beeline for that location, the unit careered over the entire map...and then got blown up by enemy units.

The other deficiency is in the very short single player campaign. The Sprawler campaign only has ten missions, whereas most strategy games give each side at least 15 missions. I suspect that either Pandemic is relying on players to create their own missions, or they're going to release an expansion pack. Nevertheless, that's no excuse for creating such a short single player game.

And finally, my least favourite aspect of Dark Reign 2 is, oddly enough...the graphics. This is purely a matter of personal taste. I've noticed that Pandemic give their objects a rounded soft-focus look that I'm not too comfortable with. I've never really liked the polygonal look of most objects in 3D-accelerated games...even Quake 3 has the same appearance (curved surfaces notwithstanding).

Let's not forget that DR2 is still a real-time strategy (RTS) game. And there are plenty of classic RTS's that it will be compared to. The original Dark Reign is an obvious choice. So is the now-classic Starcraft, which is the true benchmark that any Science-fiction RTS must aspire to. Starcraft had an excellent storyline, but the unit control was too primitive. Dark Reign 2 has the opposite problem - a poorly thought out single-player storyline but excellent unit controls.

In conclusion, Dark Reign 2 could've been a classic. It's the only game I've bought in the past two years that can be played straight-out-of-the-box, which even Diablo 2 can't lay claim to. And it has an excellent graphics engine. But it's the pathfinding AI and the too-brief single player game that really lets it down. Dark Reign 2 is, unfortunately, no Starcraft. But that shouldn't stop PC gamers from giving this one a fair go.

SP look elsewhere -- MP read on

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 6
Date: August 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Matt Dunphy and the amazon.com reviewer obviously don't play online multiplayer games (nor do they understand the RTS genre very well). For an RTS game, DR is very good at the one thing online gamers care about -- online multiplayer. The single player missions are terrible -- if you want single player, stick with Starcraft and you'll be pleased. If nothing less than fluid online games of 3 v 3 will keep you happy bring on DR2. The balance is good (too early to say great) and the net code is very solid. Games involving over 10 people are anything but rare on WON.net. Lots of customization for community made maps and "mods." Not the fastest paced RTS around, but definitely faster than Total Annihilation and Tiberium Sun -- on par with Starcraft.

Bottom line -- its a good buy for now and could be the last solid RTS game for a long time. Much better than Earth 2150. Ground control is a different game (real time tactical rather than strategy), but is a better choice if you enjoyed Myth more than Starcraft. My $.02

All Hype No Substance

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 0 / 4
Date: August 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

At first look the game is beutiful. I'm a die-hard RTS fan and I am glad that the genre is moving toward 3D (Ground Control, Earth 2150, etc). The real problem with the game is the gameplay itself.

First I'd like to point out that the camera model or 'perspective' as it is called is severely lacking. The camera can only be position up, down, left, and right. With many passages in the game on a 30-45 degree angle it is very hard to view the action. I wish Pandemic would have allowed the freedom to rotate the camera a full 360 degrees (maybae by holding the Shift, Alt, or Ctrl keys while moving the mouse.

Secondly the missions just are not fun! There is no fast and frantic gameplay. Taelon extraction and unit creation is just too slow.

the first dark reign is cheaper

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 1 / 5
Date: August 18, 2000
Author: Amazon User

you could easily be equally entertained by any game from the past decade as you could by this game. There is nothing new or exciting (alright i have to admit that techno music really gets me into the commonly abused post-apocalyptic theme of genetically engineered superhumans killing each other with "blasters";"rail guns",etc.) But the graphics are nice. And um, the textures are decent, and can easily be viewed with that nifty camera. But when you actually play, there is nothing to do, but use the same old tactics from starcraft or dark reign or whatever. I did have fun with those snipers though =]

Absolutely Disappointing

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 2 / 5
Date: October 08, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I played the first dark reign and its expansion and got hours and hours of enjoyment, espically the humorous, rebel traning missions, however dark reign 2 just doesn't cut for me.

I think the 3D environment is a bit distasteful and the game maps are generally cluttered with useless obstacles. Units move too slow, buildings take up too much map real estate, and resource run dry to quickly.

There however one redeeming quality about the game I enjoy very much and that is the music.

Don't spend your money on this one, stick with the first dark reign.

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