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Conclusion

Allegiance is an ambitious game with a lot of potential. The gameplay is uniquely addictive, and the visuals are excellent. The concept of fighting with real opponents for inter-galactic dominance has some definite appeal. The fact that the game offers strategy, action, tactics, and simulation all rolled into one will strike a positive chord with many gamers. When Microsoft Research envisioned Allegiance, they likely envisioned a huge user-friendly online community that anyone – from the hardest hardcore space-simmer to the casual action gamer – could get into, and preferably, stay with for longer than a month. Whether or not Allegiance develops into anything as big as the designers dreamed is yet to be seen. First, it’s going to require some diligence on the part of anyone serious about learning the dynamics of the game. Although MS Research has made it easy to get started playing Allegiance, it is only a small step toward immersing yourself and making the Allegiance Zone your weekend hangout. The complexity of the game will weed out a few would-be commanders and new players wanting to jump right in and start kicking some butt. Allegiance may be a good example of why single-player games and skirmish modes are created for RTS titles, even though multiplayer is the real attraction.

Additionally, the Allegiance community will need to be very open to new players. There is a lot to learn when you fire up your first game of Allegiance, and the veterans will be your primary source of knowledge. There’s also the $10 monthly fee that you’ll have to pay if you want to reap the game’s full benefits. Other games, mainly RPGs, have charged monthly admission fees, but these can go on forever and tend to offer extended lengths of time for character development. Allegiance, by contrast, plays more like a real-time strategy game, and in many ways isn’t a whole lot different than playing Homeworld, C&C, or Starcraft. That isn’t to say you can easily compare Allegiance to these games, but the overall experience is similar. If you can overcome the initial frustration in grasping the ins and outs of Allegiance, you’ll be rewarded with a game that’s compelling, exciting, and a lot of fun to play.

Overall Score: 80%

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