Well here it is. This anticipated game from Eidos
Interactive is yet another attempt at a real time strategy game, a term
that is used so many times these days. The game boasts 4
different resolution sets, unlike most other RTS games, the
standard multiplayer features with up to 8 people, 4 distinct
races and similar to Starcraft an abundance of missions to play
through. Add to that the fact that the game flies at 32 fps on
the highest resolution and you have a title that is very difficult
to beat. I have great expectations for this title, lets see if it
does the job.
The graphics in this title are very unique, something
that is very difficult to do since games try to be like each other.
Each race has a plethora of units and vehicles, although not as
much as Total Annihilation, and each unit/vehicle moves in a
fluid motion even at the highest resolution. The in-game
animations are very smooth especially during fighting
sequences, which seems to be a problem with a few games.
The in-game interface, however, I have to admit is very
intimidating. This was the man problem I believe people had
and it turned them off from the rest of the game. The interface
is very intricate with its detail and animation that the player is
lost at the fact that they do not know what to create first or why
a button is flashing. Overall the game graphics are very good
for a RTS game, as you would expect, but since the user gets
lost in the in-game interface and thereby the controls of their
units, the graphic mark slips a little bit. The 4 resolutions do
help a bit, however, to prevent a player from seeing more of
the screen than his opponent, they only serve to enhance the
objects rather than allowing the person to see more ground,
which I believe is a good idea.
Although I did not have a chance to experience the
musical score in this title I believe it adds quite a bit to the
game. The in-game sound experience is very good, however,
the player will soon get tired of hearing sounds of gunshots
and such. The sounds in the game are very unique and each
unit, like Starcraft and other game, says something different
when they are made to do a certain operation. Moreover,
similarly to Starcraft the game's sound is in stereo, which is
very unusual for a RTS game. For example, when you are not
looking at your base and a task is completed the sound is soft
and can be heard from the distance it originated from. What
was interesting to see, or rather hear, was the fact that Eidos
did a great job of making the ambient sounds for each of the 4
races distinct. That means that the sounds of the mech walking
about, for example, is totally different from the sounds of the
humans walking around. Marks in this section were deducted
since there was a lot of times where you would hear nothing
but air, which is the normal case when there is little or none
action occurring.
I am so used to playing the Warcraft and Starcraft
series that I almost never like to play any other RTS games not
because they are not good but because each of them try to set
a different standard of game play. They try to make the plot
and concepts so different from one another that the overall fun
is lost and the player is left wondering how to do a simple
thing like gather resources. Dominion, its sad to say, is no
different. The in-game interface problem, as mentioned
above, does not serve the purpose of allowing the user quick
game commands and options. When you click on a button, for
instance, an animation occurs and it flips over. What is the
point of this? The interface is filled with so many groves,
buttons and bows that when the user clicks the wrong option,
for instance, he/she does not know how to return to the correct
option. Controlling units is also difficult since they are pretty
small and the right mouse button does not serve the purpose of
moving the unit, as it does in most other games. Because of
this action sequences are also left with a sense of
non-excitement since the units move abnormally.
I have very mixed opinions about this game, as do
most people, since they find it very difficult to control. On one
hand the game is not very fun because it is difficult to play,
control wise. However, on the other hand, the game boasts so
many units, vehicles, terrain types and missions that the player
cannot help but spend some time and experience each race
and mission. I have to admit that watching and controlling the
different units and vehicles is very fun, however, the game
manages to be depressing at times. Overall a very mixed
reaction by most people and I believe that this was the case for
me as well.
The multiplayer component saves the RTS game
once again. Teaming up with a friend to battle the computer
or going head to head in, once again another game that uses
the word DEATHMATCH, proves to be an exciting experience.
However, I must that both me and my friend did not know what
we were doing as we just created, in Warcraft terms, peons
and sent them over to do the fighting. Multiplayer is very
smooth, surprisingly enough with the numerous unit types, and
only lagged a few seconds when the main attack was about to
begin. Marks are given for the fact that even on the highest
resolution the game did not lag due to a conflict of system
resources.
Excellent concept, however, the game does not
deliver game play wise. Pick it up if you are type of person
who likes a variety of units/vehicles and terrain types. A pretty
good storyline to get into, by the way.
Well I was really looking forward to playing Dominion. Being
the first game out of John Romero's ID offshoot company Ion
Storm, I knew this would really set the tone for the company. If
you are at all familiar with the Doom/Quake community then
you will know that Romero is known for two things:
1. His ego - he talks smack like there is no
tomorrow.
2. He makes great games. People don't mind your
big mouth when you can back it up.
The game is also published by Eidos, who have a proven track
record for good games. Dominion was bred from the ground
up for success. How could I go wrong?
On to the details...
The story is the same old boring rehashed sci-fi thing.
GENERIC SCI-FI PLOT
Some beacon in space starts sending a message out...
*** THIS IS A BROADCAST MESSAGE. THERE IS THIS REALLY
REALLY SUPER POWERFUL ARTIFACT HERE ON PLANET GIFT
3 AND IF YOU HAD IT YOU COULD DO SOMETHING REALLY
COOL LIKE RULE THE UNIVERSE OR WHATEVER SO I
SUGGEST YOU HAUL ASS OUT HERE TO CHECK IT OUT. ***
Why is everyone always so caught up in ruling the universe?
I'm happy if I make it out of bed and get myself dressed in the
morning.
Anyways, four different races respond to the beacon (smell the
bacon?) and rush to the planet. The actual battle that takes
place on the planet is what makes up the action.
END GENERIC SCI-FI PLOT
The game itself is your standard top-down RTS view a la C&C.
You control build orders using a bar along the bottom of the
screen. By saving up "men" and "resources" you gain the
ability to create units and vehicles (think crystal and gas /
metal and power / wood and gold... gee how original). One
interesting feature is that all buildings must not only be within
a certain range of your other buildings, but they also seem to
require line of sight to your main HQ. You have to plan out
your base layout in advance.
Eidos' main selling points for this game are the AI, the many
available resolutions, and the thousands of animations for the
units. Let me tell you, there is a reason they push the AI. Its to
divert your attention from the graphics. Let me sum it up in
three words:
PIXELATED CLOWN BARF
If you have ever used the Photoshop plugin "Clown Barf" you
will know EXACTLY what I'm talking about. There is no
D3D/3DFX support, this is straight DirectX stuff here. No matter
what resolution you run it in, it's still hard on the eyes. There is
no shadows under the units, so they seem to "float along" over
the landscape. The units also seem to automatically line up in
these little cheesy formations (you think it would be cool, but
its not). And what happened to all those character
animations??? I sure didn't notice anything as my little guys
"floated" along the landscape like some bad cartoon. It
doesn't even begin to compare to Age of Empires unit
animations.
Sound is about as generic as it gets. It certainly didn't make
my ears bleed but you wont hear me calling for a rewind
anytime soon. Your little guys have little blaster noises,
explosions etc. Well, they sound like explosions. There are no
outstanding death screams or anything to be found. There was
no music whatsoever, I can only assume this got axed in the
rip.
The interface overall seemed to be really poorly thought out.
For example, many units have special commands which can
be accessed by right clicking on the unit icon which reveals
your basic win95 style context menu. Now I don't know about
you, but when I have a massive army bearing down on me,
rockets blazing, men screaming, people dying, the LAST thing
I need to do is scroll through a couple of context menus. Also,
the "command console" along the bottom of the screen
seemed to require more work than most other RTS games;
buildings, infantry, vehicles and infrastructure are all in
separate areas and you have to toggle back and forth between
them constantly to find what you're looking for. Its not horrible,
but its definitely not as intuitive as Starcraft/AoE/C&C. One
feature I thought was great was "show range" which forms a
dotted circle on the screen so you can see how far your unit
can see. No more stumbling into turret range because you
thought your guy could see further.
Multiplayer is basic Direct play stuff. IPX, TCP/IP, modem and
Cable connections all work. The game options themselves are
very limited though. You can set starting resources and allying
but not much else. Also, Dominion is very in-specific about the
end of a multiplayer game... in a few of my test games, when
my opponent dropped it would just say "Mission
Accomplished". I had no idea that they dropped and I was
sitting there trying to figure out exactly how I had
"accomplished" anything at all. Once you do get going, it's a
moderately fun game (if you can get over the gaudy graphics)
and you will soon find yourself immersed with only genocide
on your mind.
The AI that is supposed to be so good ends up being a moot
point. Who cares how smart the computer is at shuffling ugly
pixelated icons around a map. You would have to be a real
sadist to play this game through to the end. Maybe they should
have spent more time of the game fundamentals instead of
working on "s00per AI".
I have to wonder how this game ever made it to the shelves. I
think John Romero's name must still carry a lot of weight in the
game industry because there is no way this should have ever
seen the light of day. It is substandard in every single way to
Starcraft, Age of Empires, Total Annihilation, Warcraft2, Red
Alert, etc. Even the godfather C&C is better. It really leaves
you wondering about some of the other Ion Storm games in
development.
You know there are a lot of rumors going around recently that
ID (and ID offshoots) have lost touch with the gamers. Looking
at Dominion you would certainly think so. When I was looking
through the Eidos www site material for Dominion, I came
across one of those "brag" pages with glowing quotes from
various previewers. It really makes me sick to see sites such as
Avault, Gamespot, Gamesmania etc. with their heads shoved
so far up the publishers ass that they won't call a spade a
spade.
A blind deaf-mute would smell this piece of crap a mile away.
The Good: A few good ideas - force fields, unit range indicators
etc.
The Bad: Graphics make me want to run away screaming,
gameplay is sub-standard, interface is painful to use.