Dark Colony
| Dark Colony | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | GameTek Canada |
| Publisher(s) | Strategic Simulations |
| Platform(s) | Windows, Mac OS |
| Release | August 31, 1997 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player, Multiplayer |
Dark Colony is a real-time strategy video game developed by GameTek Canada (a subsidiary of Alternative Reality Technology, which in turn was a subsidiary of GameTek) and published by Strategic Simulations. The game was released for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS in August 1997.
Overview
The game is set on a fictional Mars colony - the so-called "Dark Colony" - in the year 2137. Humans have discovered a "remarkable energy source" by the name of Petra-7 on the red planet. Figuring they'd rather not choke on the atmosphere of Mars whilst mining Petra-7, the Humans begin terraforming the planet. At the start of the game the project has produced jungles and deserts habitable by people. All seems to be going well, until the Taar show up. The Taar are aliens from a scattered and dying race looking for a new homeworld, and Mars seems to be good fit. Before they can move in though, they seek to get rid of the humans.
The game consists of two campaigns where players can either play as the humans, commanding a colonization force from Pan Luma Industries (one of the Earth corporations along with Aerogen and Stratus who are in charge of the Mars project) whose goal is to defend against and defeat the alien threat, or as the Taar, where players have to defeat the human presence on Mars and claim it for as their own.
Balance
Both the human and alien armies have almost absolutely mirrored units that differ only in appearance. The only difference is the range of the tanking units. The reapers of the humans have 2 range and the tank of the aliens has only 1 range. However there are two aspects to the gameplay that can sway the tide of battle: effective use of artifacts and day/night cycle. Dark Colony is one of the first RTS to add day/night cycle as a tactical consideration, as the Taar see much better during night time and also deal a little more damage and Humans see much better during day time while dealing some more damage in daylight.
Dark Colony: The Council Wars
| Dark Colony: The Council Wars | |
|---|---|
| Developer(s) | Sold-Out Software |
| Publisher(s) | GameTek |
| Platform(s) | PC (Windows) |
| Release | January 1998 |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single player |
Dark Colony: The Council Wars is an expansion pack to the 1997 video game Dark Colony, published in 1998.
New things players can find are crashed flying saucers, Taar fortress markings, and a revisit of Area 51, featuring rattlesnakes. Apart from that, familiar terrain types have a slightly different appearance, and new ambient sounds.
Gameplay involves eradicating humans as you play the alien Taar, or to destroy aliens as a human player.