PC and console games

Developer: Beam Software	Graphics:
Publisher: Electronic Arts	Sound:
Year: 1997	Difficulty:
Genre: Real-time strategy	Lastability:
Number of players: 1*	Rating:	5/10

(*) Multiplayer “skirmish” mode for up to 6 players.

Beam Software was an Australian development studio with a rather eclectic catalogue: from The Hobbit (1982, ZX Spectrum) to Back to the Future (NES, 1989), via Boulder Dash (Game Boy, 1990), Super Smash TV (Super Nintendo, 1992), Transformers: The Game (PlayStation 2, 2004)… I knew them through their former publishing label, Melbourne House, whose original logo appeared at the start of Xenon et Road Wars.

I notice they followed the sage advice I gave on the Kastle Kumquat page, even opting for an acronym title with an awkward pronunciation. It’s scientifically impossible to remember this game’s name! Instead, I suggest the more explicit designation “Australian Clone of Command and Conquer, other than Dark Reign” (or AKKODR, rolls off the tongue better, doesn’t it?).

AKKODR depicts a post-apocalyptic conflict in the 21st century on Earth between the faction of “survivors” (dubbed “symmetrics” by their adversaries), angry military personnel who spent 60 years in underground shelters living on tinned ravioli; and the “evolved”, beast-hide-clad fanatics mutated by radiation, with no regard for anatomical proportions and geometry…

I would describe the game as a “light” parody of Command and Conquer, by which I mean it lacks effort to distinguish itself from the model, whose elements seem reproduced too tamely for my taste. Missions are introduced by run-of-the-mill video briefings, accompanied by a text box with humorous aspirations (the equivalent of cornflake packet jokes). Some scenes drew a smirk from me on the blue side. On the red side, I found them rather daft.
[So you get jokes in you cornflakes? – Ed.]

I preferred the unit design, with outrageously imposing tanks on one side and mutant animals on the other, like the giant crab topped with a missile launcher. However, the animations leave much to be desired compared to those in Command and Conquer. As for the music, it’s adequate but sparse. I counted only eight tracks, split into two groups for each faction. This means that during the 15 campaign missions, you listen to the same four pieces on loop.
Worth noting are two rather handy features: map scrolling using the right click (as in Z) and chain unit production (even infinite, as long as credits allow).

In keeping with the Mad Max-style universe, the resource you’re tasked with seizing is oil. It took me a while to understand how to collect it, because the structure called “derrick” is actually a vehicle that needs to be driven to the oil field… Another peculiarity is that advanced units only become available after building and using a research laboratory (or an alchemy workshop for the mutants). Beyond that, the game mechanics remain conventional and rudimentary, giving the impression of playing a knockoff of you-know-what. There are no storage limits, electricity isn’t taken into account, and it’s impossible to build walls or sell buildings. In some missions, I even had to force my soldiers to shoot at one of my power plants (the oil delivery points) to demolish it and relocate it closer to a new oil field.

Moreover, structures can only be repaired by technicians, trained solely for this task (and thus unarmed). These technicians are “consumed” and must be replaced after completing their duty. This requires some anticipation. I find the idea interesting, apart from the fact that they frequently choose to walk around the building being shot at by the enemy, instead of entering by the shortest path…

One of the only innovations would be this subtle experience system (I only realised this at the very end of the game whilst leafing through the manual). Units are supposed to gain performance as they fight (and survive). Veterans can be recognised by the frame of their health bar, changing from grey to blue, then to red. However, repairing units is so time-consuming and expensive that I found it more cost-effective to sacrifice my wounded and produce replacements. On that note, a game like Warzone 2100 Project (the remake) better rewards troop preservation. Furthermore, I never used the infiltration units (saboteurs and vandals), designed to neutralise enemy buildings, though the subtle approach was never my strong suit.

Let’s talk about the AI. The flaws that afflicted Command and Conquer are obviously present: units from both sides let themselves be shot at without moving and pathfinding problems persist. Nevertheless, this is where AKKODR chose to be creative. I noticed an enemy soldier, visibly in a bad mood, who was letting off steam by shooting at one of his own buildings. In another mission, one of my soldiers was gratuitously attacked by allied units. Other times still, I noticed that the computer would forget to attack. It would just produce and accumulate forces, doing nothing with them. But if the slightest stray shot tickles its mustache, it wakes up and throws absolutely everything at our base. Surprising the first time, but ultimately quite easy to exploit by retreating before a dense defence line (and I do mean “before”, preferring to lose tanks rather than guard towers).

As a consequence of these behavioural eccentricities (and perhaps a lack of testing), the difficulty varies oddly from one mission to another, and I doubt this was premeditated. In some missions, the enemy strikes so hard, so early, that the only viable strategy involves locating the best position for your base through trial and error (a gentle euphemism for getting thoroughly thrashed); a spot where, for no apparent reason, the computer will leave you relatively undisturbed (for example, mission 10 of the survivors).

Speaking of poorly calibrated scripted attacks, mission 12 of the evolved requires almost perfect optimisation of your meagre initial forces, without losing a single second to develop. After restarting it ten times, I realised it was sufficient to dispatch the three peasants available at the start towards the enemy base, which wasn’t even defended during the first few minutes.

Finally, like Command and Conquer, these wretched reconnaissance missions with a limited number of units and no base still drive me up the wall. One is expected to sacrifice their first attempt to explore the map (covered by the traditional “fog of war”). It’s about discovering where the enemies are camped, how many there are, and whether there’s a bunker in the vicinity. The latter typically contains a giant, overpowered robot, offered to the first belligerent who seizes it, whose influence on the battle supersedes any strategic consideration. And still faithful to the model, the balancing remains questionable, as evidenced by these groups of snipers armed with scoped rifles, capable of razing buildings and blowing up tanks…

Conclusion on the theme of semantics. I’ve read that some critics hesitated to use the qualifier “clone”, somewhat derogatory. Certainly, if one pushes comparisons to the extreme, all games are clones. And don’t you dare come tell me to my face that Emerald Mine would be a clone of Boulder Dash, or that Boulder Dash would be a clone of The Pit. One doesn’t joke about religious figures! But what about these opportunistic releases, in the foamy wake of a successful game, without bringing the shadow of a new idea?

AKKODR is indeed a clone of the finest water, functional, lucrative, with no other ambition than to imitate its predecessor; unlike its close cousin, Dark Reign, which at least has the merit of addressing its most notorious flaws. To be honest, I had a better time with the generic clone than with the innovative cousin. That’s proof, by the way, that my rating reflects a real effort at objectivity on my part…

Please make less noise when you’re choking. And it’s very naughty to stick out your tongue.

I bought the game on GOG, it comes with an “electronic” manual, a PDF file with links and tabs inside. I think that’s what impressed me the most. Here we are in 2024, and I’m discovering my first electronic manual… Note that it’s not clear whether the multiplayer option works on the GOG version.

A sequel, titled KKND2: Krossfire, was released in 1998 on PC and PlayStation, introducing a third faction of robots. It differs little from the first one. They even kept the sound effects. If you buy it on PC, be aware that it suffers from two major bugs, partially fixable by tweaking a configuration file, as explained on the first page of comments on GOG.

(If the irony wasn’t clear, joking about religious figures is a matter of intellectual hygiene.)

Where to buy it? GOG Steam