Dark Reign 2 certainly isn't the best strategy game ever made (that crown still rests firmly on the head of Starcraft) but as recent efforts go, it isn't at all bad. It's easy to control, tactically challenging and so polished you can practically see your face in it. While they're not hugely challenging on average difficulty, the single player campaigns will hold your attention for a good deal of time, and once you get around to beating them there's other players to contend with in multiplayer. Pandemic Studios also continue to support the title with new multiplayer game released and special plugins that let you use new camera angles and play mp3s in game. Thanks to the easy-to-use, well documented and fully featured map editor there should also be a wealth of user made multiplayer maps to enjoy, so you won't get bored with multiplayer Dark Reign 2 for a good while yet. If you're a strategy fan, I strongly recommend picking up a copy of Dark Reign 2 as above all it is really just good fun. There isn't really enough here to persuade those who aren't fans of the genre to pick it up, but if you're even a casual fan of RTS games, Dark Reign 2 will more than fill the void until a certain Warcraft III puts in an appearance.

By Pete Closs
Games Editor