Sure, these sequences appear to be on the crude side, comprised almost entirely of static images and narration, but the effect is spot-on. Your progression through the Kingdoms' book' involves innumerable cut-sequences and interludes that make it feel more like a docudrama than a real-time strategy game. And as you step into the storyline, Aramon and Veruna (earth and water) have come together to fight the malevolence of Zhon and Taros (air and fire). The four siblings - yes, they're immortal like their father - have gradually become one with the elements, and have started to squabble. But before his disappearance, he Balkanised I the land between his four children, telling them to be good, look after their mum and never build a castle on a swamp. The novel which unfolds around you is set in the fantasy land of Darien, a province ruled by an immortal king who has since done a bunk for reasons I unknown. Where Total Annihilation lacked a cohesive plot and variation, Cavedog have really gone to town, constructing a new 3D universe that looks set to make Kingdoms one of the most engrossing single-player experiences of all time.

Huge stone towers, thundering cannons, catapults and trebuchets. From the moment you click on the icon in your Start menu, you're immersed in a fairy-tale world of witches, dragons, kraken, lodestones, kings, princes and armies of undead.

But there aren't separate campaigns for each side as in Red Alert, or episodic diversions as in StarCraft everything has been skilfully woven into one long yarn, with each new chapter presenting the possibility of playing a new faction from a contrary viewpoint and a different setting.Īnd what settings await. It's a masterpiece of storytelling, where you get to play central characters from different cultures as they fight for domination of an imaginary realm. 'Is that bird shit on your cloak, sire?' Once Upon A Time The doors swing open, and the mighty knights emerge from within, swinging at the air to test the weight of their blades. In what seems like an instant, the stone and mortar are real, and he commands four swordsmen to step forward. Make out the soft outline of a barracks deep in the eerie glow: roof and windows, then doors, bricks, even the flag bearing his insignia that flutters proudly atop the tower. hot.ĭistracted for a second, he concentrates once more and can He can feel the mana - the sum and substance of all magic -pouring from just behind his knuckles.

Total annihilation kingdoms units