Reviews

The long-awaited sequel to one of the best strategy games of 1997 is here. On a futuristic Earth ruled by evil elitist police, beleaguered "proles" unite against their oppressors.

Instead of a tired old 2D map, action takes place in detailed 3D terrains with a free-roaming camera. Via a more user-friendly interface, you must bag resources (in this case, Taelon Crystals), build a base, army and complete missions (10 per side). Instead of constructing items individually, you can bulk "order" and place them in a queuing system - effectively speeding up battle preparations.

AI is also much tweaked: rather than going straight for the kill, the enemy will first attempt to sabotage your energy "collector" trucks or blast the most threatening weapon - and, although your men can't see round corners, you can install camera towers to give a wider line of sight. On the downside, you can only manually arrange unit formations, which then fall apart when reassigned to another area. None of your men will fire while on the move, which makes beating a retreat very risky. Although a tad familiar conceptwise, Dark Reign 2 is packed with enough innovations to appeal to veterans and newcomers alike.

Eight out of 10. Activision: 01895 456 700 (www.activision.com); 39.99

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