Dark Reign 2

Last updated

Dark Reign 2
Dark Reign 2 cover.jpg
Developer(s) Pandemic Studios
Publisher(s) Activision
Director(s) Greg Borrud
Designer(s) Christopher Lawrence
Programmer(s) Andrew Cooper
Artist(s) Will Rosas
Heston Barber
Composer(s) Eric Klein
Christian A. Salyer
Platform(s) Microsoft Windows
Release
Genre(s) Real-time strategy
Mode(s) Single-player, multiplayer

Dark Reign 2 is a 3D real-time strategy video game developed by Pandemic Studios and released by Activision in 2000 for Microsoft Windows. A prequel to Dark Reign: The Future of War and its expansion pack, Dark Reign 2's storyline focuses on what came before the conflict in the first Dark Reign.

Contents

Gameplay

Dark Reign 2 features three modes: campaign, online multiplayer, and an instant action mode. Multiplayer functionality allows up to 32 players at once, featuring four 'rulesets: 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 their 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 their units is defeated.

Players are allowed to create custom mods for the game by making simple configuration files and using the packaging software which can be found on the original game CD.

The game has a built-in map editor and there are several tutorials available on the internet to create custom terrains.

Plot

The two opposing factions introduced in Dark Reign 2 are the Jovian Detention Authority a.k.a. JDA (which evolve to be the Imperium faction) and the Sprawlers (which later evolve to be the Freedom Guard faction of Dark Reign). The two sides are caught up in a conflict spanning Earth's 26th (and final) century. In the introduction, a Sprawler Leader who interacts with the player in the Sprawler campaign states:

The struggle between JDA and the Sprawlers 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 thus 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. Thus, 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.

The player can choose to play either the JDA or the Sprawlers campaign, both with similarities and differences to the overall story. In the JDA campaign, the player is a member of strike force, guided by the JDA central AI, "CYGNET". In the Sprawlers campaign, the player is referred to as "Sirdar", a new member of the council eager to prove their worth. Both sides are concerned with the massive increase in seismic activity around the world which is consuming it and each other. As the story progresses, both sides gain access to new units and structures which the player will need to use in order to proceed further and develop more powerful strategies.

JDA plot

Activity in the city is going wild with Sprawlers making regular skirmishes and setting up anti-air batteries that harass air traffic. The situation in Sector 13 is the worst. After being shot down by one of the batteries, Strike Force's first objective is to rescue a base from destruction, push back Sprawler forces and clearing all the anti-air batteries in the area so that an air strike can be performed on the Sprawler base. Along the way, the first earthquake occurs, almost destroying the base Strike Force rescues.

In the next mission, the JDA also discover Togra's shrine has been damaged in the quake. They wish to investigate. Strike Force captures a Voodun priest as a prisoner and force him to take them to the shrine. But along the way, powerful Togran pylons prevent movement up the hill without being destroyed. To deal with this, Strike Force deploys aerial infantry to destroy two Togran power generators in order to disable the pylons and proceed. At the site, they discover a strange mobile artifact, which resembles an ancient slab on a hovering platform. Cygnet indicates the higher up ranks wish to study the artifact and orders Strike Force to evacuate the artifact to a transporter.

Shortly after, radio chatter shows the evacuation plans are in effect and there is a state of panic. In one jungle area, a large JDA force is evacuating without authorization and are primarily concerned with themselves. Their plans make them abandon their post at a large powered gate, which is meant to prevent hordes of Sprawlers from entering the zone. Strike Force is sent in to deal with the cowards before they can escape, which is followed by pushing back the Sprawlers and building power generators on the gate, reactivating it. With the JDA's grip on the sector regained, Strike Force is relocated.

It is at that time found that there are three Togran artifacts. Strike Force is tasked with retrieving the second artifact hidden in a temple but along the way, encounter heavy resistance with suicidal cultists of unknown origin, as well as Baron Samedi's, traditionally a Sprawler power from the Shrine. Despite this, Strike force is able to locate and evacuate the artifact. Afterward, the challenge is on to find the third. This is achieved by a large offensive in Arctic mountains to capture Booda Shun, the Voodun High Priest, who reveals the location of the third artifact. Hidden in a city sector, Strike Force must find it before the Sprawlers do. The problem is not only pushing back the Sprawlers, but taking punishment from the frequent earthquakes in the zone.

Toward the end, the evacuation plan is in the final stages. However, the JDA does not wish for the artifacts to be taken into the hands of the Sprawlers, along with the Sprawlers leaving with them. They try to destroy all three artifacts, but can't for three reasons. First, a large destructive force is required to destroy them. Second, they have to be destroyed at the same time. Finally, destroying the artifacts will bring about the end of the world. During the final stage, as the last JDA citizens are being evacuated, Cygnet requests that Strike Force sacrifice themselves by remaining behind and destroying the artifacts, achieving this by gathering them around a large number of atomic energy plants before detonating them. It ends with the defeat of the Sprawlers, the salvation of the JDA as the Imperium, the destruction of Earth and the loss of Strike Force. This brings the JDA Campaign to a rather abrupt end. This is the canonical ending and sets the background for the prequel of Dark Reign: The Future of War and the expansion pack.

Sprawler plot

The Sprawlers are running low on numbers and have been on the defensive for a long time. The council heavily squabbles on going offensive or staying defensive, noting they can't stay on the defensive forever. A new Sirdar (the player) begins by aiding them in a more important offensive than the skirmishes of recent, hacking a communication centre feeding a city zone JDA propaganda so that the Sprawlers can spread their own message. They are the first to notice that seismic activity on Earth is increasing on a global scale and taking advantage by making a strike on a crippled base, bringing their first victory.

During the quake, they discover that the door seal of Togra's shrine, the research lab of the great Togra himself, has opened despite only being openable by Togra. According to legends, the breaking of the seal signals the beginning of a chain of events. The Sirdar must then send forces through icey mountains to rescue the Voodun high priest, Booda Shun, from JDA captivity and take him to the shrine so he can examine the site.

After interpreting the site, Booda Shun brings disturbing news. The breaking of the seal indicates that Earth's time is limited and "the planet is rolling toward a catastrophic collapse", which will bring the end of everything. During the previous mission, JDA forces were snooping around the site, which indicates they may have find something or are making plans. Sirdar is ordered to hack into the nearby Cygnet relay station to see what the JDA have in mind. After infiltrating the station despite heavy resistance before and after, the station is destroyed and the council reviews the information.

The plans reveal the JDA are relocating massive numbers of citizens to the central dome. Activity in the area is increasing at phenomenal rates. The purpose is clear. The JDA are preparing to evacuate Earth, leaving the Sprawlers behind. The council is outraged. As one member says: "First they ruin the planet and then they leave us to die with it". He declares death to the JDA and asks who is with him. With this, the whole council unites and puts their squabbling behind. But they find that the dome could have been assaulted easily years ago. Because of how much harder the direct way is to penetrate at the current time, they find the only possible way through is along the coast, which passes through two sub-factions, known as the Breks and the Judas.

The Sirdar is charged with leading the way. After securing the river and earning the Breks trust, thanks to new aerial and water technologies, they find the JDA have a secret weapons facility not far ahead from intel by their new allies. A prototype mobile bomb sits outside. Sirdar, if careful, is able to make off with three copies of the prototype, though only one is required. Then the sprawlers aid the Judas in taking out JDA forces that are thinning their numbers, gaining their trust.

With their forces built, the final missions involve storming the dome and preventing the JDA from being able to evacuate. If successful, the Sprawlers will become the dominant force and the JDA will be either severely crippled or destroyed.

Reception

Dark Reign 2 underperformed commercially, [5] [6] and journalists Mark Asher and Tom Chick noted that it "didn't even hit PC Data's charts". [5] Writing for CNET Gamecenter, Asher reported in September 2000 that the game's sales in the United States had reached 9,770 units, which drew revenues of $443,406. He remarked, "Activision has to be disappointed with that". [6]

Source code leak

In 2011, an unauthorized leak of the complete source code tree to the game was made public on the Internet and posted to a Google Code repository by a claimed former Pandemic Studios developer under a LGPL license. [7] A Hacker News user received confirmation from the repository owner that this was in fact a leak and not an officially sanctioned code release. [8] The leak also included headers and code from third-party sources with licenses that explicitly forbid public disclosure and redistribution. [9]

Related Research Articles

<i>Sin</i> (video game) 1998 video game

Sin is a first-person shooter video game developed by Ritual Entertainment and published by Activision in 1998. It uses a modified version of the Quake II engine. Sin is set in the dystopian future of 2037, where John Blade, a commander in a security force named HardCorps in the megacity of Freeport, is tasked to rid the city of a recreational drug that may be tied to the rival biotechnology megacorporation, SinTek.

<i>Icewind Dale</i> 2000 video game

Icewind Dale is a role-playing video game developed by Black Isle Studios and originally published by Interplay Entertainment for Windows in 2000 and by MacPlay for the Macintosh in 2002. The game takes place in the Dungeons & Dragons Forgotten Realms campaign setting and the region of Icewind Dale, and uses the 2nd edition ruleset. The story follows a different set of events than those of R. A. Salvatore's The Icewind Dale Trilogy novels: in the game, an adventuring party becomes enlisted as a caravan guard while in Icewind Dale, in the wake of strange events, and eventually discover a plot that threatens the Ten Towns of Icewind Dale and beyond.

<i>Earth 2150</i> 2000 video game

Earth 2150, also known as Earth 2150: Escape from the Blue Planet, is a real-time strategy game, originally published in 2000 by SSI and Polish developer Reality Pump and a sequel to Earth 2140. 2150 was one of the first commercial full-3D games of its kind. A sequel to Earth 2150, Earth 2160, was published in August 2005. The game also has two stand-alone expansion packs: Earth 2150: The Moon Project, and Earth 2150: Lost Souls.

<i>Age of Wonders</i> 1999 video game

Age of Wonders is a 1999 turn-based strategy game co-developed by Triumph Studios and Epic MegaGames, and published by Gathering of Developers.

<i>Ground Control</i> (video game) 2000 video game

Ground Control is a real-time tactics video game developed by Massive Entertainment and published by Sierra Studios. It was first released onto the PC Microsoft Windows in 2000. The game focuses on a conflict between two factions vying for control of a planet and a series of alien artefacts contained on its surface, in which players take the role of an officer for each faction, working to achieve their objectives through using a variety of futuristic style of troops, engaging different tactics that make use of their units, the terrain and careful planning.

<i>Starsiege</i> 1999 video game

Starsiege is a mecha-style vehicle simulation game developed by Dynamix and released in 1999. Starsiege is set in the Metaltech/Earthsiege universe, which contains its predecessors Earthsiege (1994), Battledrome (1994), and Earthsiege 2 (1996). This universe also includes action game Hunter Hunted (1996), strategy games Mission Force: Cyberstorm (1996) and Cyberstorm 2: Corporate Wars (1998). It also includes the sequelsStarsiege: Tribes and all subsequent Tribes titles. In 2015, this game and the rest of the Metaltech/Tribes series were released as freeware by Hi-Rez Studios, but Battledrome and the Cyberstorm series were not.

<i>Battlezone</i> (1998 video game) 1998 video game

Battlezone is a first-person shooter real-time strategy video game, developed and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows in 1998. Aside from the name and presence of tanks, this game bears little resemblance to the original arcade game of the same name. Activision remade it into a hybrid of a tank simulation game, a first-person shooter and a real-time strategy game. In Battlezone the player is controlling everything on the battlefield from the first person view.

<i>Dark Reign: The Future of War</i> 1997 video game

Dark Reign: The Future of War is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Auran and published by Activision in 1997. The game consists of a large single-player campaign but also supports multiplayer online games. A mission construction kit is included with the game, which allows players to create new maps for multiplayer games and create entire missions and campaigns.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pandemic Studios</span> American video game developer

Pandemic Studios, LLC was an American video game developer based in Westwood, Los Angeles. Andrew Goldman and Josh Resnick founded the studio in 1998 after leaving Activision. Pandemic Studios, alongside BioWare, was acquired in 2005 by Elevation Partners and placed under VG Holding Corp., which in 2007 was sold to Electronic Arts (EA). EA closed Pandemic Studios in 2009. Pandemic Studios is known for a variety of titles, including Full Spectrum Warrior, Star Wars: Battlefront, Dark Reign 2, Destroy All Humans!, Mercenaries, and The Saboteur.

<i>Tachyon: The Fringe</i> 2000 video game

Tachyon: The Fringe is a Space combat simulation video game developed and published in 2000 by Novalogic. It features the voice acting of Bruce Campbell as main character Jake Logan in a 3-D space simulator. Tachyon was developed by Randy Casey, who had previously written two other titles for Novalogic: F-22 Lightning II and F-22 Raptor.

An internet leak is the unauthorized release of information over the internet. Various types of information and data can be, and have been, "leaked" to the Internet, the most common being personal information, computer software and source code, and artistic works such as books or albums. For example, a musical album is leaked if it has been made available to the public on the Internet before its official release date.

<i>Lords of Magic</i> 1997 video game

Lords of Magic is a turn-based strategy Microsoft Windows game designed for Windows 95/98 by Sierra On-Line. The game was intended to combine elements of Heroes of Might and Magic II and Lords of the Realm II. The special edition also contains the Legends of Urak quest pack, a set of five individual quests that revolve around stories unrelated to the main plot of the game.

<i>MechWarrior 3</i> 1999 video game

MechWarrior 3 is a vehicle simulation game, part of the MechWarrior series. It featured a new 3D accelerated graphics engine at the time of its release. The game contains over 20 missions, with access to 18 different mechs. A novelization called Trial Under Fire was written by Loren L. Coleman.

Major and recurring characters from the military science fiction series StarCraft are listed below, organised by respective species and most commonly affiliated faction within the fictional universe. The story of the StarCraft series revolves around interstellar affairs in a distant sector of the galaxy, where three species are vying for supremacy: the Terrans, a highly factionalised future version of humanity; the Protoss, a theocratic race of vast psionic ability; and the Zerg, an insectoid species commanded by a hive mind persona. The latter two of these species were genetically engineered by the Xel'Naga, a fourth species believed extinct. The series was begun with Blizzard Entertainment's 1998 video game StarCraft, and has been expanded with sequels Insurrection, Retribution, Brood War, Ghost, Wings of Liberty, Heart of the Swarm, and Legacy of the Void. The franchise has been further extended with a series of novels, graphic novels, and other works.

<i>Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen</i> (video game) 2009 video game

Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen is a third-person shooter video game based on the 2009 live action film Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen. It is the sequel to 2007's Transformers: The Game, and the second video game adaptation of the live-action Transformers film series. The PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 versions of the game were developed by Luxoflux, and ported to Microsoft Windows by Beenox. The PlayStation 2 and Wii versions were developed by Krome Studios, and the PlayStation Portable version was developed by Savage Entertainment. All versions of the game were published by Activision, and released on June 23, 2009 in the United States. Australia received the games one day later, and Europe on June 26. A sequel, Transformers: Dark of the Moon, was released in June 2011, based on the film on the same name.

<i>Transformers: Cybertron Adventures</i> 2010 video game

Transformers: Cybertron Adventures is an action-adventure video game based on the Transformers franchise, developed by Next Level Games and published by Activision. It is a companion game to High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron, released exclusively for the Wii in June 2010. Like War for Cybertron, it features separate campaigns for the Autobots and the Decepticons, with the player being able to choose either faction to play as. The game received mixed to negative reviews from critics.

<i>Transformers: War for Cybertron</i> (Nintendo DS) 2010 video game

Transformers: War for Cybertron - Autobots and Transformers: War for Cybertron - Decepticons are two action-adventure video games based on the Transformers franchise, published by Activision in June 2010. A port of High Moon Studios' Transformers: War for Cybertron for the Nintendo DS, they were developed by Vicarious Visions, who also worked on Transformers Autobots and Transformers Decepticons in 2007, and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Autobots and Transformers Revenge of the Fallen: Decepticons in 2009. Although they share some basic similarities, the two games follow different storylines, and feature different characters, missions, and locations.

<i>Call of Duty: Black Ops II</i> 2012 video game

Call of Duty: Black Ops II is a 2012 first-person shooter video game developed by Treyarch and published by Activision. It was released for Microsoft Windows, PlayStation 3, and Xbox 360 on November 12, 2012, and for the Wii U on November 18 in North America and November 30 in PAL regions. Black Ops II is the ninth game in the Call of Duty franchise of video games, a sequel to the 2010 game Call of Duty: Black Ops and the first Call of Duty game for the Wii U. A corresponding game for the PlayStation Vita, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Declassified, was developed by nStigate Games and also released on November 13.

<i>Heavy Gear II</i> 1999 video game

Heavy Gear II is a mecha based first-person shooter video game. Set in Dream Pod 9's Heavy Gear universe, the game was developed and published by Activision in 1999 for Microsoft Windows; it was ported to Linux in 2000 by Loki Software. It is a sequel to the 1997 video game Heavy Gear.

<i>Destiny 2: Shadowkeep</i> 2019 expansion of Destiny 2

Destiny 2: Shadowkeep is a major expansion for Destiny 2, a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie. Representing the fourth expansion and the third year of extended content for Destiny 2, it was released on October 1, 2019, and was the first major expansion to be published independently by Bungie after acquiring publishing rights for the series from Activision in early 2019, as well as the first to arrive on Steam rather than the Battle.net client which had been used since Destiny 2's launch. The expansion returns players to Earth's Moon as a playable destination, with the location reprised and expanded upon from the original version of the first Destiny game. The story sees the return of Eris Morn, who had been absent since the events of Destiny 2's original base campaign. Eris seeks the help of the Guardian in defeating "Nightmares" that she released into the Solar System, which are manifestations of the Guardian's past. Players face off against their previous adversaries, which are being resurrected by the Darkness, the ancient enemy of the Traveler. Throughout the story, Eris and the Guardian work together to figure out the cause of this unleashed madness and do what they can to put a stop to it. Shadowkeep includes new content for every aspect of the game; including new missions, new Player versus Environment (PvE) locations, Player versus Player (PvP) maps, weapons, armor, exotic gear, a new dungeon, a new raid, as well as further fundamental changes to the core functionality of the game, including a revamped armor system.

References

  1. ↑ "New UK releases". Eurogamer . June 30, 2000. Retrieved April 20, 2023.
  2. ↑ Ocampo, Jason (July 7, 2000). "The Week in Review: July 3 to 7, 2000". CNET Gamecenter . Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved November 18, 2019.
  3. ↑ Larson, Michael (June 30, 2000). "Activision's Dark Reign 2™ Targets Retail Shelves". Activision . Archived from the original on January 7, 2001.
  4. ↑ "News July 2000: 05-07-2000". Games Market. July 5, 2000. Archived from the original on May 31, 2002. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
  5. 1 2 Asher, Mark; Chick, Tom. "The Year's Ten Best-Selling Games". Quarter to Three. Archived from the original on February 2, 2001. Retrieved July 17, 2019.
  6. 1 2 Asher, Mark (September 1, 2000). "Game Spin: RPG Madness". CNET Gamecenter . Archived from the original on April 18, 2001.
  7. ↑ timothy (August 7, 2012). "Dark Reign 2 Goes Open Source". slashdot.org. Retrieved August 13, 2013.
  8. ↑ "I spoke with the repo's owner. It's actually a leak. Contribute at your own risk... | Hacker News".
  9. ↑ "darkreign2". Google Code . September 1, 2011. Retrieved August 19, 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.