Walk through a corridor, pick up an object, put it down, repeat. There are no puzzles, no enemies, and no real reason to actually play this. The scenery is amazing at times but that's ALL there is to this walking simulator. After 20 minutes I was *hoping* something would jump out and attack me just to make it more interesting but no, I walked through a corridor, picked up an object, and put it down, repeated.
Terrible physics prevent the single player mode from being fun, much less forgiving enough for the player to win one race. The AI instantly knows where to go and can drive with perfect precision. Even the graphics are lacking: from dull and barren environments to cars that just look lifeless, there's nothing redeeming about it. The music tracks are droning, constant, rock guitar tunes that are nowhere near "insane." Its a terrible lackluster game that doesn't even touch on nostalgia because back in 2001 I was playing much better off-road racing games. The worst part about all of this is that I'd have to argue with GOG just to get a refund and its not worth it.
Dark Reign 2's problems aren't in the graphics, storyline, or tech trees. Its the fact that it doesn't do anything exceptionally well yet it does its damndest to stand on its own two legs. Map designs are memorable but with heavy repetition grow old after a while. Despite that its fun to create new tactics each time you play. Sometimes simply overpowering the enemy won't be enough. If you want to play a skirmish map on something new, there are still sites online that offer dozens of community-made maps. The graphics are dated even for the time but (and I can vouch for this because I still have the game disc and I first played a Windows Me PC) it never lags, never glitches, and never crashes. The storylines, both of them from the viewpoints of the opposing factions, are long and as they progress deeper they show more and more of the desperate situation that the earth is in. The gameplay offers a decent variety of units which are unlocked through a rather clunky tech tree but are different enough to keep things interesting. Air-strike player? You can do that. Resource hog? Keep building. Excessive use of low-tier soldiers? Its possible. Moving large amounts of forces is unfortunately a terrible process for two reasons: you can't group forces together and some of the maps are too narrow to move several rows through at once. This causes a traffic jam that puts the first-to-arrive on the chopping block. In spite of all of its flaws, the atmospheres, music, and presentation all make it worth checking out. It can't hold a candle to the RTS's of the same age, but it is fun even after all these years.
