Dark Reign 2

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Dark Reign 2

Developer(s)	Pandemic Studios
Publisher(s)	Activision
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date	June 30, 2000
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer, Campaign
Media	CD
Input methods	Keyboard and Mouse

Dark Reign 2 is a 3D real-time strategy PC game released on June 30, 2000 by Activision and Pandemic Studios. Being a prequel to the Dark Reign PC game, Dark Reign 2's storyline focuses on what has come before the conflict in the first Dark Reign. The game featured a Campaign Mode, online Multiplayer, and an Instant Action mode, as well as above-average graphics for its day.

1 Initial Response
2 Story
3 Multiplayer
4 Instant Action
5 Screenshots
6 External links

[edit] Initial Response

Fans of the original Dark Reign game were surprised by Dark Reign 2 and its different core gameplay mechanics (and the addition of a 3D engine). Low sales despite aggressive marketing show that it failed to live up to its predecessor. Indeed the original Dark Reign community has stayed true to the first installment in the series and still plays actively online using community funded servers. For more information visit [1].

[edit] Story

The two opposing factions introduced in Dark Reign 2 are the Sprawlers (which later evolve to be the Freedom Guard faction of Dark Reign) and the Jovian Detention Authority a.k.a. JDA (which evolve to be the Imperium faction). The two sides are caught up in a conflict spanning Earth's 26th (and final) century. Frequent seismic activity has indicated the instability of Earth, and Earth evacuation plans are being made.

The struggle between the Sprawlers and JDA is, at its heart, the struggle between authority and freedom, government and proletariat. As the earth reeled into ecological collapse, the JDA established large dome cities to protect the citizenry from the harsh conditions outside. However, they left behind all those who would not succumb to their dictatorial will: the Sprawlers. The disenfranchised Sprawlers are now left in the outside world, bathed in the harsh conditions of a dying planet and fueled by the explosive rage of rebels fighting for a free life under the thumb of a cold overlord. So then, the Sprawlers desperately fight to break into the dome cities, while the JDA desperately sally out into the decaying 'Sprawl' to keep them out and in a state of submission.

[edit] Multiplayer

Multiplayer mode in Dark Reign 2 is where you will find the best players, maps, and modifications for the game. Up to 32 players can play at once, however this required 32 people actually purchase the game, the main fallpoint in this mode.

The standard maps that come with the game are almost never used. More commonly, user-made maps created using DR2's excellent map editor are used. Four 'rulesets' or modes of play are allowed: Gluttony, Protect HQ, Blood Bath, and Deathmatch. Blood Bath is a mode in which the first team to kill a certain number of units wins. Protect HQ (by far the most used) is a ruleset in which a player who loses his HQ for a certain period of time (about three minutes) loses. Gluttony is a condition where the first player to collect a certain amount of resources wins. Deathmatch is a ruleset in which a player who loses all of his units is defeated.

Various maps with different rulesets built into them are included with the game and sometimes used such as 'fencepost', 'control freak', and 'king of the hill'. User-made maps with special objectives have also been made.

Considering the age of the game, the multiplayer community is surprisingly active and alive. Players can easily be found playing most weekends and usually weekdays at night. Many clans have been created and are still active. DR2 also has its own section on clanwars.

[edit] Instant Action

Instant Action involves playing against up to 7 AI-controlled opponents with a multiplayer-like setup, minus 32 other players. The strategic AI upon the game's initial release was rather poor (much in tune with the whole game in fact) but various patches since the game's initial release have improved it considerably. However, discrepancy between the skill level required to beat an AI and that required to beat a human on multiplayer is still massive. The stylistic differences in play between instant action and multiplayer are also totally different.

In the end, most players have reported that they have to play at least three AI players set to hardest difficulty at once to get any kind of useful level of skill requirement.

Clan Wars site gives a ranking of the highest scored players in skills. First is Uub, second is <STAR>UNIVERSAL, and third are members of the All* clan.