409:
to plead the ever-reclusive Queen
Thirsha for aerial transports towards Creon, where the bottle was taken. Thirsha reveals the bottle contains Lokken's essence and that, days prior to his death, Lokken himself confided an artifact to Thirsha that would allow his resurrection. Meanwhile, bounty hunters storm the Cult of Lokken and discover the original treasure chests meant for Creon. When Elsin learns of this, realizing all attempts of reconciling with Creon are now hopeless, he leads an expeditionary force towards Creon through an ancient mountain cave network, leaving the defense of Aramon to his generals. Elsin's departure, however, causes the lords of Northern Aramon to defect to Creon, plunging the continent into civil war amidst an invasion. When Veruna's navy is almost decimated attempting to defeat Creon's armada and break its supply chain, Kirenna beholds a vision of Elsin's expedition and equally departs Veruna with a force towards Creon, in hopes that striking down their Sage, Menelos, will halt Creon's invasion of Darien.
384:
that he'll rule Aramon under Lokken's as a vassal state when Elsin falls. With the combined power of Lokken's necromancy and
Buriash's gunpowder mastery, Taros advances undeterred once more across Aramon. In Veruna, Zhon and Taros attempt staging sieges against Lendra, the capital city, but the threat is countered thanks to two interventions: The first coming from Joreth, who shipwrecks at Veruna and seeks a new transport ship, helping counter an assault at the city of Lothol in the process, and Aramon, who arrives with the power of gunpowder, quickly adapted to the navy by the efforts of Kirenna's second-in-command, Commodore Solan Rixx. Having driven Zhon and Taros from Veruna, Kirenna presses her advantage by directly assaulting Zhon, but underestimates both the zeal of Zhon's inhabitants, the dense jungles and the appearance of Thirsha, who rallies the tribes around her and summons Stone Giants and Kraken to deal severe damage to Veruna's forces. Veruna intensifies military presence in Zhon, bringing the conflict to a stalemate.
405:
the payment are pillaged and sunk by fanatical Taros' servants known as the 'Cult of Lokken', led by High Priest
Heligrin. When Veruna dispatches a fleet to investigate, they unexpectedly meet Creon's ironclad armada that also was sent to investigate the payment's disappearance, and the hot-headed Verunan fleet captain Rattenbrass readily engages the Creon navy, provoking an incident that forces Kirenna to forfeit the isle of Caora in an attempt to maintain peace. The effort is in vain, however, as the inhabitants of Caora rise in revolt against Creon's occupation forces and the act draws Elsin's ire, as the isle was once an Aramon protectorate. Kirenna later recants and reconciles with Elsin, temporarily reclaiming Caora from Creon in a joint assault, but are nonetheless driven away by Creon's superior firepower and numbers, allowing Creon to invade Aramon, where Elsin provides fierce resistance.
435:. The premise of the sequel continued the storyline of the lost father of magic, Garacaius. Believing that magic was a source of conflict, Garacaius fled his kingdom and founded a new empire based on science and engineering, as opposed to magic. This new empire, Creon, quickly dominated the neighboring provinces and absorbed the knowledge of their conquests. Garacaius himself died, but the elected ruler of Creon (in a steam-powered robotic suit) eventually led the kingdom on a crusade against magic and the magical sibling rulers of Darien. The expansion pack added an entirely new faction to the game (the science and engineering kingdom of Creon), as well as hundreds of new maps and entirely new graphics for map tile sets. It included the newest patch for the game, although anyone could freely download this from the official site.
413:
fail in their first sieges of the capital of Atys until relief comes in the form of
Kirenna's expedition. They are also shortly joined by Thirsha and Lokken's forces, who join ranks for the siege in spite of disagreements and accusations of each other's deeds that led to the new war. Despite the fierce resistance and technological superiority, Atys' defenses collapse fighting four forces at once, and Menelos falls in battle, ending the war. Surveying the capital, the four monarchs become shocked when they discover the crypt of Garacaius, their father. It's revealed that Garacaius departed Darien in disgust of his former land and headed to Creon to forge a nation purely based in science, that he hoped would conquer Darien in the future - his final law, forbidding the use of magic, was an attempt to catch Darien powerless.
388:
peasant rebellion in
Buriash's lands. Still, with the enemy driven back and Lokken forced to return to Taros, the undead presence remains strong across Aramon. Elsin tries to deliver Lokken a lesson in demonstration by dispatching Lordling Dernhest and an expedition to conquer the Taros' merchant town of Shekelesh, but Lokken turns the city into a deathtrap, as the full force of Taros' armies descends upon the town and massacres all of the expedition. Veruna also attempts to contribute, sending a task force to the Taros controlled islands of Zakum to establish a beachhead, provoking a prison break and executing the island's ruler, Baron Leimar, but most of the released prisoners succumb to prolonged disease from the island's precarious conditions.
392:
and return the artifact to Aramon. In a ritual sacrifice, the Aramon priests use the Heart of Thesh to resurrect an ancient Gold Dragon, whose fearsome firepower starts cleansing the land of Aramon, finally bringing an end to the undead presence. The dragon is then sent to Veruna, where it cleanses the islands of both Taros and Zhon presence. In Zhon, the prolonged conflict takes its toll in the land's ferocious defenders, forcing
Thirsha to rely on traps and guerrilla tactics to try and gain an edge, but the appearance of the Gold Dragon crushes the last hope for Zhon, wounding Thirsha and forcing her and all Zhon warriors to retreat on foot to the mountains of Ulassem, the unofficial capital of the continent.
380:
Meanwhile, in Veruna, tensions escalate to open warfare when Zhon drakes sent by
Thirsha attack one of the many shipyards, forcing Kirenna to send an expedition to contain the advance, but the expedition never returns. In Aramon, while Elsin and his armies have yet not revealed themselves, allowing the undead to roam freely around the land, the lord commander of Eastern Aramon sends a noble knight named Joreth of Heldain to Zhon in the hopes of reclaiming the Heart of Thesh, an ancient Kandran artifact believed to be the solution to Lokken's advances, who also arrives personally to oversee the campaign.
396:
by the Heart of Thesh. However, Taros manages to keep the enemy at bay long enough to transport a mysterious cargo (Revealed in 'The Iron Plague' to be Lokken's essence) to a merchant ship that breaches the Veruna naval blockade. Backed to a corner with no means of escape, Lokken fights to the death in his citadel in Elam, his head being impaled in a stake, as demonstration for Taros' survivors of the fate of their struggle. Veruna and Aramon's armies return to their respective lands, preparing to rebuild, as Zhon remains secluded in their fortress planning their next move.
242:
scenario's objectives, multiplayer mode offers victory by the destruction of all the faction's units and structures or simply the monarch alone. Unlike Total
Annihilation, players utilize a single resource (Mana), which can be generated and increased by building resource-gathering Lodestones in special locations. However, like in Total Annihilation, players can recycle debris/carcasses of fallen units and structures as well as natural objects of the map, like trees and stones, to acquire instant amounts of mana.
417:
ways - Kirenna starts rebuilding Veruna and attempts to reforge relationships with Creon, Lokken returns to Taros, but under heavy watch of both his siblings and even his loyal subjects, as resurrection without the presence of the original body, as in Lokken's case, is considered a heretical practice even by Taros. Thirsha returns to Zhon and isolates herself, and Elsin returns to Aramon, quelling the civil war, but visibly shaken by the revelations.
363:
under the rule of
Garacaius, a simple fisherman turned warlord and then a master of magic himself. At the apex of his power, and following the death of his wife, Lasha, he divided the empire's administration between his four sons and daughters: Elsin gained the rich continent of Aramon, Kirenna was awarded the islands of Veruna, Thirsha was delivered the jungles of Zhon and to Lokken was remained the wastelands of Taros.
43:
416:
In the epilogue, the four monarchs depart Creon, collapsing the cave network entrance they came from in a gigantic explosion. Knowing that their founder was a practitioner of magic himself, the nation of Creon isolates itself from the rest of the world. Back in Darien, the monarchs go their separate
395:
Believing that Zhon's threat is finally contained, Elsin and
Kirenna turn their attention to Taros, staging a full-scale campaign towards Elam, Lokken's capital city. Taros' undead armies and mages hold off the enemy fiercely, but still fall to the combined power of gunpowder and the dragons awakened
391:
Joreth arrives at Zhon, namely the temple where the Heart of Thesh is kept, but discovers the artifact has already been taken by Lokken, who was aware of the artifact's magical properties. Joreth travels to Taros, in a suicide mission to recover the Heart from the Temple of Belial in Elam, succeeding
383:
The situation in Aramon is believed to be countered when Elsin finally appears, utilizing Gunpowder-based weaponry to drive off the undead hordes, but betrayal is committed by Lord Buriash (a powerlust driven noble who ruled Aramon prior to Elsin's ascension), who joins forces with Taros in exchange
333:
Players can choose between the original game balancing or the "Crusades" balancing, which was added in after feedback from online play, it allowing defensive structures to do more damage against most tier 1 units to prevent rushes. They can also choose whether to end the game after their opponent's
408:
In Taros, Heligrin's forces discover Creon had already landed and were attempting to salvage the merchant ship which carried Lokken's mysterious cargo - a strange bottle - but had shipwrecked. Despite the vicious assault, Heligrin is unable to recover the bottle in time, forcing him depart to Zhon
412:
The combined Zhon-Taros forces track the bottle to a research facility deep within Creon, and accomplish in resurrecting Lokken, who wastes no time in establishing a force of undead in the heart of Creon's mainland. While Aramon manages to traverse the caverns and into the mainland of Creon, they
404:
Set weeks following the events of the original story, it's revealed that the discovery of gunpowder was not originally of Aramon, but instead was a knowledge bought from the distant, science-driven nation of Creon, expected to be paid in large gold amounts. However, the Verunan ships transporting
379:
Following a series of undead attacks in the smallest provinces of Aramon, the citizens become alarmed when it's discovered that Lokken has achieved the power to form undead armies, and marching them towards the capital of Kaluen, with the clear intent of killing Elsin and conquering the continent.
370:
begins shortly after the mysterious disappearance of Garacaius, which automatically led to the disintegration of his empire, but not before he instituted a law prohibiting the use of magic, except in the case of extreme necessity, which brought a grudging division between the brothers and sisters:
241:
expansion), all of which start with a monarch, who is initially used to build structures and form an army. The monarch itself also possesses an array of spells which it can use to defend itself or turn the tide of the battle. While in single-player mode, victory is accomplished by following each
387:
The turning point in Aramon comes at the moment of Taros' siege of Kaluen, when Elsin dispatches a messenger with a poison dagger to assassinate Lord Buriash. The messenger succeeds, forcing the surrender of the Aramon troops loyal to Buriash, the counter-attack by Elsin's forces and even an open
362:
is set on the medieval world of Darien, a mystic world previously ruled by the Kandrans, a civilization with incredible mastery of magic, but that quickly came to its downfall due to internal power struggles. Decades would come by before the inhabitants of Darien became reunited again, this time
371:
while Elsin and Kirenna obeyed their father's wishes, expanding the military and economic power of their lands through pure commerce and science, Thirsha and Lokken refused to obey the law, continuing the practice of magic for their own interest and leisure.
345:
TAK can be played online through Game Ranger. Up to 8 players can play together at a time either on teams or against one another. This mode of the game also enables scripting (mission-type games in multiplayer) to be played.
334:
monarchs is killed, or to keep playing until all of their enemy's units and unit producing structures are destroyed. Up to eight players can be in a game, either human players or game AIs.
971:
780:
956:
485:
originally gave it a bad review partly for the heavy lag in-game, then stated this problem was fixed with the free 2.0 patch and gave a more positive review. Cnet gave it
976:
814:
961:
773:
941:
714:
887:
915:
864:
821:
766:
330:
Players must seek out lodestones to build mana tapping structures on, getting the renewing energy to build structures and units with.
620:
337:
Additional units were created and freely released by Cavedog after the game was released, as well as additional maps and scenarios.
574:
479:
gave it a rating of 6.9 stating that "Cavedog's me-too fantasy game is beautiful, but the gameplay leaves a lot to be desired."
857:
951:
946:
293:
986:
966:
457:
is a well crafted, if a little dumbed-down, RTS title that offers good gameplay but not genre-advancing game design."
601:
516:
449:
936:
690:
266:, comparisons between the two games are inevitable. There are numerous thematic and design differences between
237:
perspective. Players choose between four factions - Aramon, Veruna, Taros and Zhon (As well as Creon, in the
42:
981:
880:
170:
905:
206:
96:
55:
62:
50:
299:
Four sides at the start, as opposed to the original's two, with an expansion pack that added a fifth
873:
106:
86:
74:
807:
790:
258:
201:
193:
155:
130:
122:
666:
317:, which has most of the units on its two factions virtually the same, other than in appearance,
234:
910:
135:
517:"Cavedog Entertainment's Total Annihilation: Kingdoms Expected to Hit Retail Stores June 25"
150:
461:
624:
17:
749:
216:
67:
930:
166:
468:
didn't do too badly , but with a much larger development and marketing budget than
310:
switches between the four groups, players playing each side as the levels progress.
111:
758:
546:
79:
262:
franchise. Although the game is neither a prequel nor a sequel to the original
745:
196:
606:
551:
646:"PC Games, Wikis, Cheats, Walkthroughs, News, Reviews & Videos - IGN"
524:
279:
444:
428:
190:
306:
has players playing through the Core or Arm campaigns separately,
482:
762:
715:"Total Annihilation: Kingdoms Review - PC Games - CNET Reviews"
476:
296:, with just one resource (mana) instead of two (metal, energy)
575:"Jeremy Soule - Soundtrack From Total Annihilation: Kingdoms"
215:
contained the storyline, rules, units, and other details. An
472:, it certainly underperformed when compared to that title."
691:"Total Annihilation: Kingdoms - The Iron Plague (PC) Specs"
645:
621:"GAMECENTER.COM - Game News - Game Spin: Burying Cavedog"
667:"Total Annihilation: Kingdoms (PC) Specs & Prices"
453:, rating it three stars out of five, and stated that "
431:'s collapse, an expansion pack was released, titled
898:
849:
799:
321:
has very distinct characteristics between factions.
162:
149:
141:
129:
117:
105:
95:
85:
73:
61:
49:
35:
289:A change from a futuristic to a fantasy setting
774:
8:
199:released on June 25, 1999, as a spin-off of
972:Video games developed in the United States
781:
767:
759:
41:
32:
957:Multiplayer and single-player video games
599:Sanchez, Rick (October 1999). "Finals".
737:
508:
837:
205:, and was the last title developed by
278:A more in-depth storyline, told with
7:
977:Video games scored by Jeremy Soule
25:
555:. Gamer Network. 28 February 2000
427:On March 6, 2000, shortly before
256:is the second installment of the
888:Chris Taylor's Kings and Castles
744:The expansion was published by
523:. June 23, 1999. Archived from
962:Real-time strategy video games
717:. Reviews.cnet.com. 2000-03-03
1:
623:. 2000-04-09. Archived from
360:Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
254:Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
180:Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
36:Total Annihilation: Kingdoms
942:Cavedog Entertainment games
605:. Vol. 2, no. 2.
1003:
443:Rick Sanchez reviewed the
282:between missions, just as
233:The game is played from a
286:had, but with more detail
40:
18:The Noble Houses of Taros
655:– via www.ign.com.
225:, was released in 2000.
212:The Chronicles of Darien
547:"Let Sleeping Dogs Die"
209:. A tie-in book titled
881:Planetary Annihilation
748:, releasing under the
906:Cavedog Entertainment
207:Cavedog Entertainment
56:Cavedog Entertainment
952:GT Interactive games
815:The Core Contingency
313:Unlike the original
947:Fantasy video games
874:Supreme Commander 2
302:While the original
294:resource management
987:Windows-only games
967:Total Annihilation
808:Total Annihilation
791:Total Annihilation
527:on October 7, 2000
315:Total Annihilation
304:Total Annihilation
284:Total Annihilation
268:Total Annihilation
264:Total Annihilation
259:Total Annihilation
248:Total Annihilation
202:Total Annihilation
194:real-time strategy
183:, or shortened to
156:Real-time strategy
123:Total Annihilation
924:
923:
911:Gas Powered Games
858:Supreme Commander
176:
175:
136:Microsoft Windows
91:Clayton Kauzlaric
16:(Redirected from
994:
937:1999 video games
783:
776:
769:
760:
753:
742:
726:
725:
723:
722:
711:
705:
704:
702:
701:
687:
681:
680:
678:
677:
663:
657:
656:
654:
652:
642:
636:
635:
633:
632:
617:
611:
610:
596:
590:
589:
587:
585:
571:
565:
564:
562:
560:
543:
537:
536:
534:
532:
513:
498:
497:
493:
490:
447:of the game for
341:Multiplayer mode
45:
33:
21:
1002:
1001:
997:
996:
995:
993:
992:
991:
927:
926:
925:
920:
894:
865:Forged Alliance
845:
838:The Iron Plague
795:
787:
757:
756:
743:
739:
734:
729:
720:
718:
713:
712:
708:
699:
697:
689:
688:
684:
675:
673:
665:
664:
660:
650:
648:
644:
643:
639:
630:
628:
619:
618:
614:
602:Next Generation
598:
597:
593:
583:
581:
573:
572:
568:
558:
556:
545:
544:
540:
530:
528:
515:
514:
510:
506:
499:stars out of 5.
495:
491:
488:
486:
462:CNET Gamecenter
450:Next Generation
441:
433:The Iron Plague
425:
422:The Iron Plague
402:
400:The Iron Plague
377:
357:
352:
343:
328:
251:
231:
222:The Iron Plague
31:
30:1999 video game
28:
27:1999 video game
23:
22:
15:
12:
11:
5:
1000:
998:
990:
989:
984:
979:
974:
969:
964:
959:
954:
949:
944:
939:
929:
928:
922:
921:
919:
918:
913:
908:
902:
900:
896:
895:
893:
892:
884:
877:
870:
869:
868:
853:
851:
847:
846:
844:
843:
842:
841:
827:
826:
825:
822:Battle Tactics
818:
803:
801:
797:
796:
788:
786:
785:
778:
771:
763:
755:
754:
750:GT Interactive
736:
735:
733:
730:
728:
727:
706:
682:
658:
637:
612:
609:. p. 118.
591:
566:
538:
507:
505:
502:
501:
500:
480:
460:Mark Asher of
440:
437:
424:
419:
401:
398:
376:
373:
366:The story for
356:
353:
351:
348:
342:
339:
327:
324:
323:
322:
311:
300:
297:
290:
287:
250:
246:Comparison to
244:
230:
227:
217:expansion pack
174:
173:
164:
160:
159:
153:
147:
146:
143:
139:
138:
133:
127:
126:
119:
115:
114:
109:
103:
102:
101:Brian W. Brown
99:
93:
92:
89:
83:
82:
77:
71:
70:
68:GT Interactive
65:
59:
58:
53:
47:
46:
38:
37:
29:
26:
24:
14:
13:
10:
9:
6:
4:
3:
2:
999:
988:
985:
983:
982:Windows games
980:
978:
975:
973:
970:
968:
965:
963:
960:
958:
955:
953:
950:
948:
945:
943:
940:
938:
935:
934:
932:
917:
914:
912:
909:
907:
904:
903:
901:
897:
890:
889:
885:
883:
882:
878:
876:
875:
871:
867:
866:
862:
861:
860:
859:
855:
854:
852:
848:
840:
839:
835:
834:
833:
832:
828:
824:
823:
819:
817:
816:
812:
811:
810:
809:
805:
804:
802:
798:
793:
792:
784:
779:
777:
772:
770:
765:
764:
761:
751:
747:
741:
738:
731:
716:
710:
707:
696:
692:
686:
683:
672:
668:
662:
659:
647:
641:
638:
627:on 2000-04-09
626:
622:
616:
613:
608:
607:Imagine Media
604:
603:
595:
592:
580:
576:
570:
567:
554:
553:
548:
542:
539:
526:
522:
518:
512:
509:
503:
484:
481:
478:
475:
474:
473:
471:
467:
463:
458:
456:
452:
451:
446:
438:
436:
434:
430:
423:
420:
418:
414:
410:
406:
399:
397:
393:
389:
385:
381:
374:
372:
369:
364:
361:
354:
349:
347:
340:
338:
335:
331:
325:
320:
316:
312:
309:
305:
301:
298:
295:
291:
288:
285:
281:
277:
276:
275:
273:
269:
265:
261:
260:
255:
249:
245:
243:
240:
236:
228:
226:
224:
223:
218:
214:
213:
208:
204:
203:
198:
195:
192:
188:
187:
182:
181:
172:
168:
167:Single-player
165:
161:
157:
154:
152:
148:
145:June 25, 1999
144:
140:
137:
134:
132:
128:
125:
124:
120:
116:
113:
110:
108:
104:
100:
98:
97:Programmer(s)
94:
90:
88:
84:
81:
78:
76:
72:
69:
66:
64:
60:
57:
54:
52:
48:
44:
39:
34:
19:
916:Chris Taylor
886:
879:
872:
863:
856:
836:
830:
829:
820:
813:
806:
789:
740:
719:. Retrieved
709:
698:. Retrieved
694:
685:
674:. Retrieved
670:
661:
649:. Retrieved
640:
629:. Retrieved
625:the original
615:
600:
594:
582:. Retrieved
578:
569:
557:. Retrieved
550:
541:
529:. Retrieved
525:the original
520:
511:
469:
465:
464:wrote that "
459:
454:
448:
442:
432:
426:
421:
415:
411:
407:
403:
394:
390:
386:
382:
378:
367:
365:
359:
358:
344:
336:
332:
329:
318:
314:
307:
303:
283:
271:
267:
263:
257:
253:
252:
247:
238:
232:
221:
220:
211:
210:
200:
185:
184:
179:
178:
177:
121:
112:Jeremy Soule
63:Publisher(s)
51:Developer(s)
891:(cancelled)
800:Main series
794:video games
752:brand name.
651:January 12,
584:January 12,
559:4 September
521:cavedog.com
292:Simplified
239:Iron Plague
171:multiplayer
131:Platform(s)
107:Composer(s)
87:Designer(s)
80:Ron Gilbert
75:Producer(s)
931:Categories
850:Successors
746:Infogrames
721:2013-06-19
700:2021-01-12
676:2021-01-12
631:2021-01-12
504:References
445:PC version
235:bird's eye
197:video game
552:Eurogamer
439:Reception
280:cutscenes
899:Creators
831:Kingdoms
531:June 12,
466:Kingdoms
455:Kingdoms
319:Kingdoms
308:Kingdoms
272:Kingdoms
229:Gameplay
186:Kingdoms
151:Genre(s)
579:Discogs
494:⁄
429:Cavedog
355:Setting
326:Details
191:fantasy
189:, is a
163:Mode(s)
142:Release
118:Series
732:Notes
350:Story
158:(RTS)
695:CNET
671:CNET
653:2021
586:2021
561:2015
533:2022
483:Cnet
470:TA's
375:Plot
270:and
477:IGN
368:TAK
933::
693:.
669:.
577:.
549:.
519:.
274:.
219:,
169:,
782:e
775:t
768:v
724:.
703:.
679:.
634:.
588:.
563:.
535:.
496:2
492:1
489:+
487:3
20:)
Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License. Additional terms may apply.
