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Colony Wars (series)
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'''''Colony Wars''''' is a trilogy of [[video game]]s developed and produced by [[Psygnosis]] for the [[PlayStation]]. The three games in the series are ''Colony Wars'' (1997), ''Colony Wars: Vengeance'' (1998), and ''Colony Wars: Red Sun'' (2000). The style of gameplay is a 3D [[science fiction]] space [[shoot 'em up]]. ==Games== {| border="2" cellpadding="4" cellspacing="0" style="margin: 1em 1em 1em 0; background: #f9f9f9; border: 1px #aaa solid; border-collapse: collapse; font-size: 95%;" |'''Title''' |'''Release date''' |'''Released for''' |'''Information''' |- |''[[Colony Wars]]'' |1997 |[[PlayStation]] |In the first game, the player assumes the role of a nameless [[colonist]], in the service of "The Father" and the rapidly expanding "League Of Free Worlds" resistance movement. The player is thrust into the action following The League's miraculous victory at the Battle of Benay. As a skilled League fighter pilot, the character must struggle to overcome the oppressive Earth Empire and its massive naval fleets across several star systems embroiled in civil war. The character is tasked with multi-role assignments, consisting of perimeter defense, guarding supply lines, protecting capital fleetships, dogfighting against advanced Navy fighters, infiltrating Imperial territory and obtaining Naval technology. Unlike most video games, failure of a mission (or even several) does not necessarily cause the game to end. ''Colony Wars'' features a branching system with many separate endings, depending on the player's rate of success/failure; even losing every consecutive mission from the beginning of the game will result in the player "finishing" the title, albeit with dire consequences for the game's protagonist. |- |''[[Colony Wars: Vengeance]]'' |1998 |[[PlayStation]] |In the direct sequel, Colony Wars: Vengeance, the player switches sides and takes the role of Mertens, a pilot for the new Earth Navy, set approximately one hundred years after the events of ''Colony Wars'', Mertens and the newly united Sol fleet, under the guidance of their charismatic leader, Kron, are bent on revenge for the Navy's defeat. Battling vast League fleets, battle-hardened elite mercenaries and alien opponents across unfamiliar and hostile territory, Mertens soon discovers that all is not as it seems within the heart of the Navy, and that the most dangerous of enemies are, in fact, not his enemies at all. ''Colony Wars: Vengeance'' features a "tech token" upgrade system, which allows the player to boost the combat prowess of each of Mertens' various fighters used throughout gameplay. Tokens can boost a fighter's shields, engines, firepower and hull strength, allowing the player to convert even the most basic fighter into a formidable weapon, provided the required number of tokens are available. The branching feature of the original title is also featured in ''Colony Wars: Vengeance''. |- |''[[Colony Wars: Red Sun]]'' |2000 |[[PlayStation]] |''Colony Wars: Red Sun'' places the player in the role of Valdemar, a miner turned [[mercenary]], during the "Vengeance Wars." It expanded on the "tech token" upgrade feature of ''Colony Wars: Vengeance'' by allowing players to buy fighter craft, upgrades and new weaponry from money (or credits as they were called in-game) earned on missions. It also introduced alien interaction into the storyline, which had previously focused almost entirely on the League/Navy conflict with little more than minor comments regarding the status of the civilian/neutral populations throughout the war. Valdemar is able to accept missions from anybody capable of providing the money, and can often choose from several mission at any given time. Clients include pirates, conglomorates, security forces and both The League Of Free Worlds and the Colonial Navy. Of all three characters, Valdemar is of the greatest importance, as his journey ultimately leads him on a desperate race to rescue the human species from complete destruction, whereas the first two titles, and the characters featured, focused entirely on the League/Navy war. ''Colony Wars: Red Sun'' was criticised for the removal of the branching system featured in both ''Colony Wars'' and ''Colony Wars: Vengeance'', which many fans considered a unique and impressive characteristic of the series. The ability to view cinematics was also removed, which was also perceived as another drawback to the title. |- |} ==Prologue== ''Colony Wars'' takes place in the distant future. Humans have further unlocked the secrets to the longevity of life and, as such, a [[population explosion]] across Earth forced mankind to begin colonization of the [[Solar System]] and, eventually, its surrounding star systems. As centuries passed, Earth and the Solar System were drained of all natural resources. The [[Tzar]] decided to pass a law, declaring that all outer colonies were to dedicate the majority of planetary resources to the survival of the Sol System, primarily [[Earth]], as their duty to the birthplace of mankind and humanity's pioneering ancestors. Although all colonies fell quickly into line with this decree, the populations of these solar systems were taken completely for granted by the Earth Empire. For centuries, honoring their word and fulfilling all duties demanded of them, the colonists were treated with nothing but spite, and branded as second-class citizens. Eventually, people throughout many colonies and across dozens of planets, specifically those of the Gallonigher System, began to voice their protests and disdain at the Empire's harsh treatment. The Tzar, believing the outer-system colonists to be little more than peasant scum, became enraged that his subjects would even dare to question their duties to the Empire. Deciding quickly to have the protests suppressed, the Tzar moved his massive fleets to the outer systems, where he ordered the annihilation of every city that had so far reported even minor protests. Believing that his subjects wouldn't ever dare to question their places again, the Tzar rallied entire systems into open revolt through his actions - even alienating many of his most loyal and experienced outer-system Naval officers, who quickly defected to the faction leading the most passionate anti-Empire efforts, The League Of Free Worlds. Due to these events, The League went from being a minor political annoyance, to becoming the most dangerous military threat posed to the Earth Empire's rule. The Tzar, now with a lack of experienced fleet officers in the outer systems, placed a young and arrogant Admiral in charge of a massive Imperial taskforce and dispatched it to destroy 'The Father' and the large League fleet growing and amassing strength in the Gallonigher System. Although only in command of obsolete fighters and small to mid-sized capital ships, 'The Father' and his advisors drew the complacent Navy fleet and its inexperienced officers into ambush, obliterating the entire taskforce with very few losses to their own forces. The [[Battle Of Benay]] served as the League's rallying call to the colonies, and as League supporters and Navy loyalists wage civil war across the known systems, The League Of Free Worlds begins its push towards the Sol System, Earth and the Tzar. ==Background story== {{Original research|section|date=September 2007}} [[File:TheLeagueOfFreeWorlds.svg|thumb|right|300px|Representation of The League of Free Worlds logo.]] In the '''Colony Wars''' universe, humanity finally begins colonization of the [[Solar System]] in 3095 AD, with the arrival of settlers on Mars. By late in the 5th millennium, humanity has travelled to, and subsequently colonized, many different solar systems through use of revolutionary [[wormhole]] technology. But all of these colonies have had the sole purpose of supplying Earth, which had nearly all its natural resources stripped by industry and human consumption. Governing the worlds is the ''Earth Empire'', with the military forces, the ''Navy'', enforcing its rule. Over the centuries, the brutal regime gained opposition, and the ''League of Free Worlds'' was formed out of [[insurgency]] against the Empire, led by a figure known as "The Father". The first conflict can be analogised in the form of the [[Vietnam]] [[War]], as the mighty and powerful ''Navy'' are drawn to the edge of defeat by a smaller and under-equipped force. Assuming that ''Vengeance'' is the official continuation of the timeline (as there are multiple endings depending on player progress, creating a similar illusion of free choice as seen at the end of [[Half-Life (video game)|Half-Life]]), the ''Navy'' push the ''League'' forces out of the Sol System. But in their retreat, the ''League'' destroy the free orbiting space platform that tethered the [[wormholes]] from each system, meaning the ''Earth Empire'' and the ''Navy'' are effectively trapped. The now almost sterile Sol System plays host to a [[civil war]] between ''Navy'' factions, with the ''League '' left to wonder the fate of their enemies. [[File:TheNavyOfEarthEmpire.svg|thumb|right|150px|Representation of The Navy logo.]] After an undisclosed number of years (suggested to be approximately one hundred as stated by ace League fighter pilot, The Widowmaker), the civil war is drawing to a close with the emergence of a new leader, known as Kron. It is still the 5th millennium (as stated by Valdemar in ''Colony Wars: Red Sun'') and the ''Navy'' has united enough of the populace to become a military force once again. Though nothing of its former power, they embark upon a campaign of retribution against the ''League of Free Worlds'', who have now become as powerful as the ''Earth Empire'' once was. But as they progress in their campaign, it becomes clear that the initial reasons for the breakout from Sol were nothing but a sham, with the entire reasons for the war being lost in mutual fear and need, as both the ''Navy'' and ''League'' come under attack from a hitherto unknown and mysterious [[Extraterrestrial life in popular culture|alien]] race. As they fight off the attacks, the ''Navy'' commander, Kron, attempts to continue his campaign against the ''League'', eventually fighting the ''Navy'' itself. As it transpires, Kron was once a highly regarded ''League'' loyalist, who was deliberately sent on a suicide mission to Earth in the previous war due to his unstable nature. The entire 2nd Colonial War was built on his personal vendetta he felt the need to fulfil. Because Red Sun has the Navy and League as opposing forces, it can be assumed that Mertins did not manage to kill Kron, as this would have caused the Navy's surrendering and joining the League. Further, because there are now multiple alien races interspersed throughout the Red Sun universe, speculation can be made that Mertins failed to close the unstable alien wormhole. Thus, the canon ending for (Vengeance-Red Sun) would be that Mertins actually did discover Kron's dark secret, but was unable to stop Kron from gaining his revenge. Thus, Mertins is thrown into another galactic civil war, with the newly revitalized Navy and League battling against each other and the alien newcomers as they come out of the (now stable) wormhole. ==Craft names== <div style="font-size: 90%;float:right;border-left:1em solid white"> {| class="wikitable" |+'''Aggregate review scores''' !Game ![[GameRankings]] ![[Metacritic]] |- |''[[Colony Wars]]'' |<center>92.09% |<center>91 |- |''[[Colony Wars: Vengeance]]'' |<center>86.67% |<center>- |- |''[[Colony Wars: Red Sun]]'' |<center>84.03% |<center>- |- |} </div> In the first ''Colony Wars'', almost all the League fighter craft were named after creatures of [[mythology|myth]] and legend, such as [[Vampire]] and [[Chimera (mythology)|Chimera]]. The Navy's fighters were named after [[storm]]y [[weather]] conditions, such as [[Blizzard]] and [[Thunder]]child. In ''Vengeance'', the Navy's fighters were named after [[black magic]] and monsters, such as [[curse|Hex]] and [[Wraith]]. The League's fighters were named after weaponry, like [[Sword]] and [[Lance]]. ==External links== * [http://www.colonywars-redsun.com/ Official ''Colony Wars'' homepage] * {{moby game|id=-group/colony-wars-series|name=''Colony Wars'' series}} {{Colony Wars series}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Colony Wars (Series)}} [[Category:Video game franchises]]
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