Are you tired of gaming buzzwords yet? Too bad! Here’s a handful: full 3D engine, real-time strategy, advanced AI (why do they all promise that?), and free-form camera. Dark Reign 2, stewing now for two years, looks like it will be ready this year, and is very different from Dark Reign. The developers promise many play tools will be included in the interface to make life easier. Waypoints, patrols, build queues, deployment routes, and even more unit AI options than Dark Reign had should indeed help.
The Activision spokesman at E3 felt one of the things Dark Reign needed was a distinguishing look. This is not your father’s Dark Reign, but it might be the bastard brother of Total Annihilation, the game that beat Dark Reign to pieces in 1998 but whose company didn’t survive long enough to birth a legitimate sequel. Neither Total Annihilation nor Dark Reign had a freeform battlefield camera, which was the next logical step for these games to take, along with beefing up graphics to modern 3D standards. Dark Reign 2 might be stepping into the ring at a good time, before Warcraft III and Sacrifice.
Developed By: Pandemic Studios
Published By: Activision
Genre: Strategy
Web Site: Dark Reign 2
E.T.A: Summer 2000
