Graphics and SoundPage 4
Dark Reign 2
by Nelson “Admiral” Hernandez
As many other reviewers have noted, screenshots do not really do DR2’s graphics justice. The graphics are superb, no doubt about that. The animations are smooth and lifelike, and the graphics engine scales the number of polygons you see so that the detail is up close. Given the demands this game must have made on my system I am surprised and pleased to say the graphics never got choppy playing at 1024 x 768 resolution.
Tanks leave tread marks on the ground, rain or snow falls on those hard-weather days, and the water reflects the sky above and gently ripples with the raindrops. The game takes night and day into account, and this does have some bearing on the gameplay, because solar power plants lose effectiveness at night. There are six camera presets, and I found myself using the default view most of the time, but you can look at the action from any angle, and some of them can be quite dramatic. The in-game graphics are used for the cutscenes as well.
The sound is the standard fare of explosions, laser fire, etc. with a somewhat above-average techno soundtrack. But those kinds of things are strictly matters of taste. Someone should try making an RTS with some easy listening songs by the Mills Brothers.
A street skirmish between some Fiends and JDA Guardians
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