Dark Reign 2

Back in the day I bought this at cosco in a game pack with Battle zone 2, Quake 2 and Metal Gear 2...all some of the best games If ever played. This one though I liked so much I actually almost made a JDI T-shirt myself I played it so much. Anyway, fantastic game, soundtrack and overall the storyline was preety sweet.

If you want that clunky feel of the original 3D era then Dark Reign 2 is a perfect capture of it. Both the feeling and the vibe oozes with a distinct aesthetic that could have only been done in this era.

One of the first 3d RTS games, lots of memories and the campaign lots of fun, where it really shines is multiplayer matches.

As we are all back to playing it again, after many years by currently Feb. 2025, with the patch now available for the high camera view: it's absolutely legendary to replay it, and many times over. One of the best RTS (3D) classics ever made. These quality classics can't get outdated, they only get better with the time.

The over the top design of Dark Reign is gone from its sequel and I get the impression fans resent this game for that. Without it, it's a pretty stock standard RTS, but it's well designed, has a surprisingly engaging story and some excellent graphics that justify it's existence. Even today I remain surprised how attractive DR2 is. I picked it up about 4 years ago- the textures are muddy but aesthetically consistent, unit types are low poly but extremely well defined. Compared to say Sacrifice's impressive but messy visuals, DR2 does 3D graphics correctly for its genre. The presentation is perfectly matched with it's surprisingly well crafted story- discussing the last days of conflict before a global cataclysm between an autocratic government and a rising rebellion movement. There are two factions, both with quite different play styles. The Sprawlers are relatively cheap and expendable compared to the pricier but shield-equipped JDI. Both factions have a disappointing similar unit roster: the game is quite simple overall in fact- with only one finite resource to manage. The game tries to mix things up with altitude advantages and solar power based on a day/night cycle, but there's not a lot of depth here. So it's not winning any awards for its game design but it's not bad as a more casual RTS experience for players who don't have the patience for micromanagement. It's looks great, has a good soundtrack- for $6, you could do a lot worse.