Dark Reign is a well put together game with exciting challenging missions and fast paced action that gives a lot of fun
I found this game cheap a year or two after its release. I liked the name of it, Dark Reign, Future of War, seemed like a decent game and after playing through I was glad have gotten it. Actually this was my first RTS game I played so it was a new experience for me which by now is not the case.
At the main menu I decided I defiantly needed a tutorial which was very well made. Easy to work with and clear on instructions, I had what I needed to know in under an hour. From then comes the main story.
The game takes place in the distant future, where a crippled scout ship encounters a probe launched by Togra, the now deceased leader of the Togran civilization just before his death. As one of the last remaining Tograns, the player is presented with an opportunity to go back through time and prevent the death of the beloved Togran leader. However, he must first demonstrate his worth by playing out the battles between the Imperium and Freedom Guard forces that ultimately led to the decimation of the Togra's home planet. As these battles are played out, from either the side of the Imperium or the Freedom Guard the story is slowly revealed.
There are 12 missions that will be carried out by the chosen side before the final confrontation for destruction of the Togra's home planet in the final battle.
Playing Dark Reign is quite basic to manage. The player constructs buildings such as headquarters and training facilities and then produces offensive units such as infantry or tanks to attack enemy bases. Units and buildings have an associated credit cost that must be paid to build them. In the game, additional credits are earned by collecting shipments of water from fresh springs. What is also great is the amount of units you can create at a time. You can queue a single unit up to 11 which is much helped when dealing with harder missions later on. Also the speed of construction of buildings and units besides the super weapons (which should take time considering the amount of damage they do) don't take that long which makes for a fast paced game.
In the single player missions a number of objectives may be given to the player to complete before the mission is successfully completed, such as escorting a special unit or protect a particular building, in multiplayer games the only objective is to destroy all the enemies units and buildings. You can have up to 8 players on many different terrain maps by LAN, internet or direct modem connection which I’ve played before with some friends. It was very simple and easy to connect with each other and had plenty of great allied battles against the computer.
The game also comes with a construction kit which you can create maps and objectives on your own. It is very easy to use (one of the easiest battle editor's I worked with) which should consume you still after completing the game.
Gameplay comes with many different units and buildings which can be upgraded for more superior ones, as well as strategic options to use such as the waypoint formation which is an excellent method for units controlling themselves and make orders given depending on your choices. Such as guarding a specific area or patrolling it, if they encounter an enemy force they will chase them for a certain way then return to their position or setup tactical movements points for a unit, or units to follow. As well as single player mode, multiplayer is available which I heard there are huge clans playing which I never knew about so this game isn’t a loner. Also a instant action mode where you can have a free-play mode against the computer up to 8 players and also lets you play as the Togran side which only available else where in the final mission. You can also use the construction kit for some map creating which is fun and easy.
Graphics are quite good in the game. They are quite good, for its time, though it could have been slightly better, though it shouldn't disturb you from the game since you won't be concentrating looking at trees and more with action. Some look better than others but overall it's good. The movie clips are very good showing the world of Earth and the battles of each side.
Sound is not bad as well. At a lot of the time though you'll be hearing weapon fire from intense battles which may or may not get annoying to listen to after several hours of play. I particularly do enjoy it however music is included in the missions which spreads everything out. Music is decent; it's a good fit for the maps and well as the voices of units.
For Value it's very good. Though 12 missions may sound short, each are challenging and can take, (especially the final mission) hours to complete. Two sides to play with, each with different units and buildings. In instant action you can try out anything you didn't in the single player mode. Multiplayer is very fun to play with one, two or a group of people. Finally the Construction Kit, a nice add-on that should consume you for hours.
In the end Dark Reign is a fun, fast paced, challenging game that should prove worthy for people who like the genre. Although at this point of time there are many new great games. So if you are one who has an old computer looking for a cool game to play Dark Reign is one for you. At today's age people may leave this game behind but if see it in a cheap bargain pile somewhere, you should pick it up, it's a fun game to play.