Review by: Pete Hines
Published: May 12, 1998

In their haste to escape Imperium forces in hot pursuit, a Freedom Guard ship crashed through a foldgate and happened upon a planet inhabited by a secret faction of the Imperium, called the Shadowhand. The Freedom Guard Xenite decide to seize the opportunity and attempt to establish a base, in order to eliminate the Shadowhand forces. To do so, they attempt to adapt to the planet’s harsh environment by genetically modifying some of their own troops and harnessing the power of some of the planet’s creatures to complement some of the standard Freedom Guard units. The Shadowhand forces are supplemented by several units developed through a special project called Osiris, which relies on a combination of artificial intelligence and advanced mechanical engineering. The resulting conflict will be brutal and allow only one survivor. In Dark Reign: Rise of the Shadowhand (hereafter referred to as “the expansion”), the fate of this battle is in your hands.

The two new forces in the game are an extension of the Imperium and Freedom Guard in Dark Reign. The Freedom Guard Xenite and Imperium Shadowhand continue the conflict with newfound technology. Essentially, each side picked up a number of new units to replace some of the units found in the original Dark Reign. The Xenite forces feature seven new units, including the genetically engineered Gant and Grendel and a special soldier called the Power Striker. The Xenite’s new structure, the Biocom, enables the production of these genetic beasts. The Gant is a large, insect-like creature capable of dishing out serious damage, while the Grendel is a massive creature weighing over five tons and is able to scale cliffs and attack with a powerful electrical charge. The Power Striker is a special unit that is capable of shutting down enemy power plants, which causes opponents to manually reactivate all affected buildings…a huge pain in the butt.

The Shadowhand also have five deadly new units in addition to many of the the originals of the dreaded Imperium. The new Shadowhand forces are the result of research that has allowed the creation of these mechanized death machines. My personal favorite is the Fury, a two-legged mechanized walker that sports massive cannons and a laser bore for close-range combat. There’s also the Hades Bomber, which drops a napalm-like substance on enemy units from above; and an EMP device that creates havoc with electrical systems, paralyzes nearby enemy units, and shorts out an enemy’s mini-map in multiplayer games. The Reaper is an infantry-type unit, and the Gemini Tank, which rains deadly laser bolts in attack mode (slower), can quickly move across the map when switched to speed mode.

In addition to the new units and structures, the expansion offers some other goodies as well. It comes with a construction kit that allows you to create single- or multi-player scenarios or multiplayer maps. Also included are several editors that allow you to tweak unit specs and design, AI, and game conditions. These are, of course, already available on the web from the Auran web site, but are packaged together here for those who have not yet found them or explored their uses. You’ll also find some additions to the interface, including a number of new hotkey commands. For example, you can now change the AI setting of individual units or groups (i.e., tenacity, self preservation) using hotkeys.

This Dark Reign expansion offers 14 new single-player missions, two campaigns of seven for each side, numerous quick start battles, six multiplayer missions, and support for cooperative play against the computer. The campaigns are pretty brutal and right from the beginning you will realize that this is not an expansion that attempts to please everyone. It seems to be specifically designed for players who either finished the original campaigns, or have reached a level of proficiency such that they need an additional challenge; that’s the way it should be. The multiplayer play wasn’t tossed aside and the addition of cooperative play is imperative in this day and age, given the popularity of this kind of gaming.

Also, the game comes with a conversion called Edge of Darkness, which provides some additional units and structures created using the Dark Reign engine, and also a special map. Both of these items were winners in Activision’s mission and map building contests and are worthy additions. I liked the Edge of Darkness units and even created a couple different missions using them. Of course, a lot of stuff is already available on the Auran web site, including new missions, the construction kit, editors, and so forth. Still, Rise of the Shadowhand is a well-designed and implemented expansion that deserves serious consideration from any Dark Reign fan looking to continue the experience of this game without any of the monotony that sometimes plagues expansions.