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Why TA:Kingdoms is a good game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: December 23, 1999
Author: Amazon User

I am a gamer, and I own every major RTS game since Age of Empires (including Tiberian Sun and Age of Kings), and let me tell you, TA:Kingdoms is one of the cream of the crop. The 3D graphics are the best of any RTS game ever, and so are the physics. The interface is very good, letting you do practically everything you could dream of with the click of a mouse and a couple key strokes. The sides are very different (second only to Starcraft), and the AI is very smart, with several interesting tactics up it's sleave. The support from Cavedog is second to none: downloadable maps, units, and huge patches (such as one which makes the game run much better on slower computers). Other companies make you buy add-ons to get this kind of stuff. One gapping error is the lack of a scenario editor, which I have to say is really unexcusable nowadays, but with good multiplayer support and a relatively long campaign, you can live with it. The worst Con, by far, is the system requirements. While the package states that you can play this game with a 233 P1, this is a very bad joke. You really need a P3 with 128 megs of RAM (unless, of course, you're willing to turn all the graphics options off). Overall, however, this is a definite winner: if you've got a real machine, and like RTS, buy this game.

The Good: Incredible graphics. Unbelievable physics. Great interface. Four very different sides. Good "humanistic" AI. Nice campaign. Very good support from Cavedog.

The Bad: No scenario editor. A HORRIBLE system hog.

Not as bad as advertised.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Why is everyone upset with this game? I'm not sure, but I'm not one of them. I guess everyone expected alot more than the original Total Annihilation and what they got was something designed a little better. Maybe a little too pretty. Here is what the game has going for it. Excellent detail to the each unit, building, and the surrounding terrain. A good story. Units with special attack features and some of these are really cool. The gameplay is pretty good also. The on-line gaming at boneyards. This is where the game really excels and is probably more competitive. What could've been better? The soundtrack wasn't very good. There was too much quietness when playing. And in some of the battles, the only way in was a narrow passage where only 2 units could stand side by side. the computer would just pack this passage way and it would take forever to get in (it took me over 7 hours on 2 such battles towards the end of the game). I would probably rate this closer to 3 1/2 stars, but I did enjoy this game. Lots of different characters and some pretty good battles.

not up to TA or the hype

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: November 25, 1999
Author: Amazon User

Amazon's review is accurate. The gameplay rewards the hedghog. Strong points from TA remain (unit ordering, squad numbering, ...)but if that is all there is, then TA is a better buy/choice.

If you are looking for a sequal to TA, this is NOT it!

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 8 / 12
Date: November 14, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I bought this game because I really loved playing TA (Total Annihilation). The user supplied maps and units for TA really made for a lot of variety, and I thought the graphics were cool. TA Kingdoms seemed really slow (as in not very interactive). The graphics were OK, but they seemed like a downgrade from the really crisp models they used in TA. It was annoying to have the computer fire at me from far off screen where I knew he could not see my units (this was a problem in TA too, but less of one, in my opinion). The setting for TA Kingdoms sounded exciting, but it seemed like the different Kingdoms had a very set way of doing things and once you figured it out you were all set.

Overall, I thought this was a pretty boring game. Go for TA instead.

Too generous?

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: September 06, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This game is so bad I hesitate with my second star. I would categorize this game as a great concept ruined by a bad game. While the movies are great and the wide variety and impressive uniqueness of the different players is truly an accomplishement the actual gameplay is crap. For one thing the sides aren't evenly matched. Play Veruna with even a small body of water and its a gauranteed massacre of the other side. Play Zhon, on the other hand, and expect to spend 5 hours on a single game before deciding to give up. Amazingly, the expansion pack fails to correct this problem at all! The game is pathetically slow and worse, the somewhat baffling placement of mana makes it impossible to fortify yourself in a base. Furthermore (and there's more) the unlimited supply of bafflingly placed mana is in-exhaustible, so the computer builds anthropomorphic bases with defensive fortifications every two feet. Try and set foot in one of them and your army of 30 is dead in 3 seconds! 30 is also the biggest force you can ever truly hope to assemble, by the way, because to control more than that is impossible, flatly impossible! While you can group units, ordering a group is ill-advised because while you may order them to move to a certain location on the way if they're ambushed by the enemy they'll just keep walking and not even fight back until they're all dead. Tell them to attack the enemy and they kill the unit you clicked on and then just stand to be slaughtered by the rest. Even setting them to agressive mode does little to combat the problem. I prefer turn-based strategy anyway, but this is truly a new low. This game sucks, it sucks hard. Won't someone ever make us a decent strategy game thats not sci-fi?

How Awful Can it Get?

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: August 29, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I got this game and rued it ever since. after seeing the graphics I first thought it was made before total annihilatoin (original), but later found out it was newer. The tech tree is dumb, and its hard to tell what the units are, i mean it's quite bad when you can't tell a difference between a horse and a rat.

Not Bad

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 08, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game was a lot like Warcraft II. Interesting story, and pretty fun to play. Much like any of the RTS, you build structures, create units, and try to wipe your enemy out any way you can. This game is certainly worth the 9 bucks Amazon charges, and while you are at it, pick up the Iron Plague expansion.

Cavedog should be ashamed...

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: December 15, 1999
Author: Amazon User

While TA: Kingdoms is a good overall concept, it's the little concepts of the game that destroy it. Location mana stones can be built on are very limited, and guarding each one spreads your forces too thin. If you have a concentrated force guarding a mana stone, so what? A powerful wizard spell can wipe the force out in seconds. The dragons, "the most terrifying and powerful of creatures" fall all too quickly under half-decent defensive structures. If you're looking for a good RTS game, get the original Total Annihilation, as it still stands up in the genre. This one was sugar-coated, and over-hyped...it doesn't do any justice to the TA franchise.

So-So Game

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: January 29, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Maybe it's just me, but I would have liked this game more if it had more choices and would have allowed one to focus more on the creation of their cities. It's too war based, and I know a lot of people like that, but I like to be able to create somewhat of a notable empire, and it's hard to do that when you're being attacked every second. The graphics are very high quality for this kind of game, but I wish they would have offered more battlefields. There aren't too many and most of them are kind of bland compared to the few that are really good. It also would have been nice if there were more civilizations to choose from, and although there are some very creative creatures, it would have been better if there had been more. There are too few choices in general, and the actual strategy seems too simplified. I was very excited about this game, but unfortunately, I got bored of it much too quickly. Just to give you an idea of the kind of stuff I like... Hero's of Might and Magic and Civilization II... both of which I could play for days. This game did not measure up to these at all, beyond it's graphics, and I bored of it within a couple hours. It had/has a lot of potential, but unfortunately ended up to be a let down. Maybe if they made some ad-ons for it, it would be better, but then the strategy is still kinda too one dimensional.

Slow moving and tedious

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: October 27, 2001
Author: Amazon User

After Total Annihilation, this was a HUGE disappointment. In particular, the way all units trudge slowly along, even when under fire makes it look like even they cannot be bothered. I certainly can't.
Slow to load, slow to run, slow to play, loaded with portentous music and yet totally unabsorbing. A typical games consists of spending a very long time making huge numbers of utterly undistinguished units then watching them amble slowly into battle. Rarely do enough make it to achieve anything. Then it's time to start all over again.
On balance, I would rather watch my screen saver. Which is odd, since the original TA is still my all time favourite (and most frequently played) game. Bring on TA2!!

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