Total Annihilation: Kingdoms

Review

by Michael L. House

For the legions of fans who found Total Annihilation to be an intriguing and refreshing entry in the real-time strategy genre and were counting on Total Annihilation: Kingdoms to provide more of the same, the changes inherent in this follow-on title will be a considerable surprise. Whether that's good or bad news will depend entirely upon each individual's taste and expectations.

For me, the most exciting quality of Total Annihilation: Kingdoms is the decision by the designers to eschew the safe path to guaranteed success by resisting the temptation to simply clone the original product, and, instead, dare to be different. There is no doubt that picayunish gripes will surface regarding certain areas of gameplay or structure but few games near perfection and this one is no exception to that rule. However, viewed as a product designed to give the consumer a high return for a relatively small investment, many game designers would benefit the industry greatly by trying to emulate the creative thinking and innovations found in Total Annihilation: Kingdoms.

The incredibly smooth manner in which the 48 missions of the game are enmeshed to create a masterful single campaign that follows a detailed and superbly developed storyline makes one question why this seemingly obvious and intuitive approach hasn't been an industry standard up to this point. With luck, that will change with the release of Total Annihilations: Kingdoms acting as a catalyst. Prior to this title, most major entries in the RTS genre have centered on campaigns or missions being singular in nature in terms of following or controlling one faction's perspective during each full playing of the game.

The concept of guiding a player through a diverse and exciting plot by basing action on four separate and distinctly modeled in-game perspectives, seamlessly integrated, is a startling breakthrough in game design. Knowledge of and appreciation for each faction's attributes, ideology and approach to magic and/or combat builds slowly as the player is literally forced to deal with each component directly. Through a series of 48 missions, each introduced by a significant, interesting and well produced cut scene, the player must become familiar with the various viewpoints, strengths and weaknesses of each side of the forces vying for supremacy within the land of Darien.

Furthermore, the designers have intelligently structured the difficulty of the missions and unit availability to increase sensibly as the story unfolds, requiring the player to form a solid understanding of all units, not just the high-end components needed for a quick knock out of his or her opponents. In fact, the interaction of units with both friendly and hostile forces becomes more relevant as the war rages and functionality increases or decreases in the face of the enemy. Even the uneasy alliances required between the two "good" forces (traditionally-based) who remain cognizant of the potentially destructive nature of magic and that of the two "evil" forces (magically inclined) reflect the specific synergy of particular units.

Beyond the innovative game structure that relies on the real-time mix of diverse perspectives, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms contains an impressive array of other positive features. For example, each of the four factions is clearly personified by individualistic approaches to unit makeup and philosophical differences in the processes of waging war even though each has the same ultimate goal. The downsized reliance on time necessary to investigate, develop and manage vast repositories of varied resources results in a welcome and streamlined approach allowing for concentration on tactical and strategic combat requirements.

Visually, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms represents a nearly total change from terrain and units seen in the original title. Even more noticeable are the brilliant connective features that help one landscape merge with the next. With the focus of a more fantasy-based realm, terrain features blend subtly and add definition to the panoramic scenery with a subsequent feeling of reality, rather than employing a sharp dividing line between areas. This being the case, it's puzzling as to why the designers didn't expand this virtue to individual units. As in any fantasy-based game that relies on the potentially capricious nature of designed participants, the demand for stylish characters is paramount. Unfortunately, in some instances Total Annihilation: Kingdoms occasionally disappoints in this area as units engaged in melee combat can often be difficult to distinguish from one another.

Far from being a fatal flaw, however, this lack of definition is sporadically encountered and can be viewed as a minor annoyance and is, in fact, somewhat offset by impressive designs of larger non-human units, such as ships or flying machines. Unfortunately, the same cannot be said for sound effects. If Total Annihilation: Kingdoms contains an inherently major shortcoming, in my view it is the lack of prominent and arresting ambient sounds. Most units and battles do have individualized aural qualities but lack any consistency of depth or excellence. This shouldn't be confused with the voiceovers within the cut scenes, however, as the quality evident in that area is quite admirable.

Gameplay is smooth and although the game lacks a tutorial per se, there are instructions pertaining to some aspects of the various modes of play, especially the thoughtful "Play the Machine" option. This differs from the lengthy campaign mode in that the player can launch a game against up to seven computer opponents and invoke the skirmish option that provides instant access to all units, regardless of size or ability. This is undoubtedly the best way to practice for multi-player action because of the opportunity to customize the game to your liking in terms of starting conditions, strength and number of opponents, combat conditions, battle parameters and more.

In addition to the hefty number of maps and missions available for both the single- and multi-player modes, a powerful map, mission and scripting editor is available for creation and design purposes. With the designer's Total Annihilation: Kingdoms web site and promise of new units, Cavedog's dedicated multi-player site Boneyards www.boneyards.com and user links for trading and exchanging maps, missions and scenarios, hard drive longevity seems assured.