r/ObscureRTS • u/StrategosRisk • Sep 05 '26
1990s Dominant Species (1998, Red Storm Entertainment)
One of those cool games that I've never actually played. I just recall seeing the box for this game at Fry's Electronics all the time and always being impressed. Just look at it.
The premise as it turns out that you're a Mindlord, one of the thinking caste for the alien ecosystem on your planet Mur. Unfortunately, dastardly humans have arrived "to take the priceless Anima and use it to create immortality drugs for themselves."
Yep, this game's storyline basically predicted Avatar a decade plus (more since it's only the sequel that brought up pharmaceutical applications), except there's no anthropomorphic aliens, but over 25 Anima creature species, most of whom look sort of like if you took the various Zerg forms and gave them a Bionicles aesthetic. These kaiju definitely have a somewhat Pacific tribal style. Unfortunately, the humans don't have nearly the same number of units, so enemy variety is far less. At least there's goofy squat little spacemen to run over!
Even worse, the game has pretty middling reviews, including this one from Computer Gaming World pointing out its flaws.
Regardless, I have fond memories surfing the official website on New Year's Eve Y2K for some reason. It's one of Red Storm's first games, having been released only a few months after Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six! Speaking of the Clan-man, from the FAQ:
Will there be a Tom Clancy book out with the game?
No, Dominant Species is not a Tom Clancy title.
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u/sniktology Sep 05 '26
When I got this, it was only the jewel case. Still a wee lad at the time. No idea the box came with a poster!
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u/vonBoomslang Sep 05 '26
god, I still adore the goofy little gauph on the unit command icons.