![]() In the air, the Neo-Dragon is a formidable unit in both attack and defence. The three seaborne units available to Creon, the Iron Clad, Stern Wheeler and Submersible pack a considerable punch and can certainly give the naval forces of Veruna a run for their money, though in the final analysis they are slightly less effective. The steam powered Tortoise tanks have excellent mobility and are quick and cheap to produce. ![]() Of the ground forces, I found the most formidable units to be the Shock Trooper, a heavily armed and armoured infantry unit, and the Beast Rider. The main construction unit, the Mechanic, is more at home in the thick of the action than any of its opposite numbers. Land, sea and air all represented well and provide the Creon with the most balanced force of any of the clans. Credit should go to the development team for putting together such an interesting set when it would have been easy to simply clone units from existing ones. Several even have a comical aspect with fun animations and voice cues. Several applications of engineering and technology are applied providing characteristics not present in any of the existing units. The new units are certainly interesting and the industrial theme features prominently. Although this can have a negative effect on continuity and a sense of allegiance to any one side, it does support the development of the story well. As with TA:K you don't play the entire campaign as one side, rather you switch between clans to see things from different perspectives as the story unfolds. And Garacaius, the founding father of Darien is re-introduced to the story having mysteriously disappeared. The Talosian ship and priest who escaped at the end of the original story return to play a significant role in the expansion. With the memories of the Great War in which Aramon and Veruna were victorious over Taros and Zhon still vivid in the minds of those who took part, hostilities soon flare up once more. The Iron Plague picks up where TA:K left off and centres around a 25 chapter single player campaign. In fact, we are told, the Creonites view magic with distaste, preferring to use their industrial might. Magic plays practically no place in the Creon game plan with mana only being used to generate units. Joining the Aramon, Veruna, Zhon and Talos clans, the Creon are modelled on a DaVincian theme with science and technology featuring prominently in the design and application of their structures and units. Integral to the continuing story is the introduction of a fifth civilization, the Creon. Utilising the same mix of eye witness accounts and narrative, the expansion effortlessly integrates with TA:K. Clayton Kauzlaric returns as lead designer and this is clearly evident with the expansion retaining the original's focus on rich artwork and storytelling. I can only assume it was largely completed when the decision to shut Cavedog down was taken. Welcome to the harsh realities of gaming commerce! Once Upon A Time.Īmazing then that The Iron Plague ever made it to the shelves. It seems that Cavedog's owners just grew dissatisfied with the company, realising that money used on TA:K could of been used to fund more lucrative children's games. Cavedog employees were to be transferred to Humongous to work on children's titles, which have proven to be better sellers than Cavedog and GT Interactive releases by some margin. Shortly after came word that current licenses, projects and support responsibilities were to be given to GT Interactive, with Humongous continuing to support the dedicated multiplayer service, Boneyards. First came news of the cancellation of Amen: The Awakening to focus on Total Annihilation 2 - a separate project to TA:K. So, it didn't come as too great a surprise to learn that Humongous Entertainment who created, owned, and published the Cavedog brand, had decided to pull the plug. A subsequent patch improved matters significantly, but the damage was already done and sales suffered as a consequence. All but the highest specification machines struggled to support the resource intensive graphics. But the greatest problem of all was the demanding system requirements and extensive performance issues that dogged the release. Welcome improvements and refinements to an already superb game interface were cancelled out by unnecessary simplifications. The move away from the galactic struggle between the Arm and Core to the land of Darien was tantalising but wasn't as successful in creating the total war experience. ![]() But when it arrived, TA:K met with mixed reviews. ![]() Fans were excited at the prospect of a fantasy version of the excellent Total Annihilation and expectations were high. For many, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms was one of the big disappointments of 1999. ![]()
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