It disappeared from the public eye soon after. Kingdoms' success unfortunately was short lived as it alienated fans of the original game due to its deviation from its predecessor, and it did not contain enough changes to win over those who did not like the original. Kingdoms was released in 1999 with huge fanfare and great expectations reaching the top of the weekly game sales chart at its release, something Total Annihilation never achieved. While this alienated some players who may have wished to identify with a single side, it did create an epic story. This alternation gives one the unusual experience of having to maliciously destroy what one created in the level before, and it allowed the developers to put all of their effort into a single narrative and its associated artwork. The sides were also made to vary to such an extent that one side is completely devoid of sea units, another is devoid of structures and another has more ships than the rest put together while having far less effective land units.Ĭavedog also scrapped the idea of a campaign sequence for each side in favor of a single linear path that alternates between the four sides: Aramon, Tarros, Veruna and Zhon. This was done by adding magic spells, and special abilities. Where Total Annihilation had largely parallel technology trees between two similar sides, TA: Kingdoms tried a more diversified approach. Cavedog reduced the number of resource types to one: mana or magical energy. The overall number of units was reduced by three fifths despite the increasing the number of sides to four.
They also added an intricate tapestry of "behind the game" background information that would compare in quantity to the amount found in Star Wars publications.īut where the content and storyline were more complex than in Total Annihilation, the game itself was simplified in many respects. The majority of the missions are "story based". These were replaced by fantasy counterparts such as giants, catapults, wizards, sword-wielding heroes and wooden sailing ships.ĭue to its fantasy setting, a more detailed story and world were required for TA: Kingdoms. Gone are the futuristic weapons and armaments of the first game. Total Annihilation: Kingdoms would seem to be an attempt by Cavedog to reach a more general audience. Total Annihilation, although a cult hit, was a modest success at best, especially when compared to the genre-dominating titles from Westwood Studios and Blizzard Entertainment. Although Cavedog never styled the game as a prequel or a sequel to the original Total Annihilation, comparisons were invevitable.
Total Annihilation: Kingdoms was the much anticipated second installment of the Total Annihilation franchise.
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