Dark Reign 2 | |
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Developer(s) | Pandemic Studios |
Publisher(s) | Activision |
Director(s) | Greg Borrud |
Designer(s) | Christopher Lawrence |
Engine | Zero |
Platform(s) | Microsoft Windows |
Release | June 30, 2000 |
Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Dark Reign 2 is a 3D real-time strategy Microsoft Windows game released on June 30, 2000 by Activision and Pandemic Studios. Being a prequel to Dark Reign: The Future of War, Dark Reign 2's storyline focuses on what has come before the conflict in the first Dark Reign. The game features three modes: campaign, online multiplayer and an instant action mode.
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. In the Intro, a Sprawler Leader who interacts with the player in the Sprawler campaign quotes:
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 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 Sprawlers or the JDA campaigns, both with similarities and differences to the overall story. If the player chooses the Sprawlers, he/she is referred to as "Sirdar", a new member of the council eager to prove him/herself. If the player chooses the JDA, he/she is a member of strike force, guided by the JDA central AI, "CYGNET". 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.
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.