Posted on: May 27, 2025
pzogel
Verified ownerGames: 444 Reviews: 63
Not really TA, but charming nonetheless
First of all, if you want to play this without issues, make sure to use the software renderer. Glide feels off and is restricted to an aspect ratio of 4:3, whereas Direct3D shows no videos or menu animations. Using the software renderer and a widescreen resolution of 1600x900, the game looks and plays great. TA Kingdoms has always had a burden, namely the "Total Annihilation" part, which came with certain expectations. Kingdoms didn't really meet those, as many key elements of TA were missing. You still construct resource gathering sites on dedicated deposits, but there is only a single resource, and things such as height advantage, sightlines, artillery fire using the radar, and so on are mostly absent in Kingdoms. That doesn't mean that Kingdoms doesn't have its own qualities, however. The fantasy scenario, which is pleasantly removed from the usual WarCraft and Lord of the Rings tropes, gives the player four rather diverse factions (five with The Iron Plague), each which their own wholly distinct (and often plain cool) units. The story is told through a length campaign interconnected through cutscenes, which has one take on a different faction every few missions. Much like in TA, the presentation is rather sober, though Jeremy Soule's excellent soundtrack once again helps create an enthralling atmosphere regardless. The main flaw with the campaign is how easy it often is, rendering many missions a bit boring at times. The Iron Plague addresses the difficulty issue and then some. Even the first few missions will already test one's abilities, and require the player to have mastered all the mechanics the game has to offer. Due to its unreleting nature, the Iron Plague finally plays more like a proper TA, and certain mechanics such as unit experience finally become important—for instance, throwing troops against defense structures is a bad idea, as they'll only get stronger with every kill. In short, if you like TA or fantasy RTS in general, do give this a try.
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