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For generations, peace held sway over the mythical kingdom of Darien because of the strong and heroic leadership of the First Mage Emperor Garacaius who was responsible for the restoration and tranquility of this chaotic world. He divided the kingdom equally between his four children, two sons and two daughters, and ensured continuity by bestowing a sacred relic of great power and immortality on each. Unfortunately, Garacaius disappeared under mysterious circumstances and now, several hundred years later, peace is grinding to a halt as his offspring bicker and fight among themselves for control of Darien.
In Total Annihilation: Kingdoms, four equal but dramatically diverse factions vie for supremacy as they strive to conquer the Land of Darien through the use of magic, armed aggression and real-time strategy. The elementally-based protagonists include the lands of Aramon (earth), Veruna (water), Zhon (air) and Taros (fire). The two forces representing good, earth and water, are aligned against the evil forces of fire and air.
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms includes both single-and multi-player maps and missions. The game features an innovative single-player campaign approach in which the player actually changes allegiance and experiences gameplay as all four civilizations during the 48 missions. Multi-player action is free at the Cavedog Entertainment Boneyard Internet site. Periodically, the designers will offer free downloads of new units at the site as well.
The game ships with Cartographer, a map, mission and scripting editor, for fans eager to expand gameplay by devising and creating new missions and scenarios. The world of Darien is vast and consists of many varied 3D environments such as swamps, forests and hills to name just a few. Resource management in Total Annihilation: Kingdoms centers on the commodities of time and mana. As a real-time strategy game, both elements come into play and affect results of conjuring new units from the more than 100 available.
The interface is almost entirely mouse driven with some keyboard shortcuts available. Gameplay includes features such as fog of war, where units can only "see" units and structures within their line of sight, darkened maps that are revealed slowly as units explore territories and battle maps shown in overhead 3D perspective. Other game components include a system of unit advancement that relies on experience, divergent units postured with offensive, defensive or passive proclivities, dynamic mana generation and a large contingent of more than 50 monsters and non-playing characters.
Product Identifiers
Publisher
Cavedog Entertainment
UPC
0742725153417
eBay Product ID (ePID)
52999305
Product Key Features
Release Year
1999
Genre
Strategy
Platform
PC
Additional Product Features
Number of Players
1-8
ESRB Rating
T-Teen
Control Elements
Mouse, Keyboard
Game Name
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
ESRB Descriptor
Animated Blood, Animated Violence
Game Name Special Features
Play as the commander of one of four unique factions and conquer your territory Lead such units as skeletal archers, undead foot soldiers, dragon riders, and wizards Features a free gaming community for playing on the Internet
Cave Dog changed the genre of RTS forever when they introduced the hit game "Total Annihilation" in 1997 and two years later they tried again with the release of a sequel of sorts, "Total Annihilation : Kingdoms". While it is a "sequel" it also not in many aspects. It does use the same game play and engine as the original Total Annihilation however, it does not stick with the same theme, gone are the futuristic locations and awesome robots and in their place are fantasy magic and monsters; and while this might not bother some it definitely did not resonate with the core audience of the original and as such was one of the many attributing factors to Cave Dog's ultimate demise as a company.
That said though, Kingdoms is a good game with less than amazing sound effects and certainly a more bland sound track than the original Total Annihilation. It however is still just as compelling to play as the original thanks to the awesome mechanics from the original that were (for the most part) left unmolested in this game. It does not seem to be as well balanced and in many ways feels like a cheap mod but if you enjoyed Total Annihilation then this might be worth looking at for you.Read full review
TA: Kingdoms is the sequel to a near-perfect game. This game, however, is not quite comparable to the first. Kingdoms utilizes a better story, more playable forces (Aramon, Veruna, Taros, and Zhon), slightly improved graphics, and decent cutscenes. Where the game fails to compare to the original is in the gameplay, online play, music, and the equality of forces. Although each force is good and has great strengths, Arm and Core were much more equal which provides for more interesting and heated battles. Total Annihilation also had more interesting and challenging units and buildings. Kingdoms is a good game and well worth your time and money though, if you havent already, I would recommend playing Total Annihilation instead.
good solid gameplay, good graphics and sound for its day. rating 9
Total annihialation: Kingdoms is one of my favorite games. I love the ease of the gameplay and the graphics where not bad for the day and it comes with a pretty versatile and easy to use map editor. It was the last game to be made by the cavedog guys so there was no Kingdoms 2 made. There was an expansion pack made for ir called the iron plague but it is hard to find. I have it but have not played it yet. Id recomend this game to anyone who wants to try something different.
He likes the game......................................................
I bought it as a gift. His mom says he loves playing it. Plays it for hours with his friends. Don`t know what else to say. If the people like it what else do you want to know. These reviews stink if you are forced to write them. Either it is liked and not much can be said if purchased as a gift. If he didn`t like it I would write lots of remarks but he is happy.