https://darth-azrael.tumblr.com/post/662968741895847936/retrocgads-usa-1996
Fragile Allegiance was a sci-fi themed 4X real-time strategy game published by Gremlin Interactive/Interplay for DOS and Windows 95 in 1997. It isn’t as well known as some other similar games, possibly because the market isn’t as big for this genre as others and this wasn’t one of the top one or two. However, despite perhaps not being the best of the genre, it is still a solid game and one that any fan of real-time strategy should consider trying.
Something I did not know was that Fragile Allegiance was essentially a remake of a game published in 1994 for the Amiga called K240 with upgraded graphics and an improved user interface as well as a few other game play enhancements. K240 itself was a sequel to a game published in 1991 for the Amiga, Atari ST and DOS called Utopia: The Creation of a Nation. So despite being somewhat less known that higher profile games, this game alread had a long lineage when it was published.
You start off as a mining recruit to a megacorporation. Your goal initially is to sell as much ore as possible to the Federation. To accomplish this, you must colonize and mine asteroids essentially creating your own faction. You compete with other colonies/factions sometimes via trade and sometimes via violence. Though your job may be to sell ore to the Federation, you also need it to build your own ships, weapons, etc. so there is a balancing act.
Control is fairly straightforward though it takes some getting used to the icons used. While overall this is an excellent game, there are a few flaws. For example, combat is over simplified yet mining and administration can require micromanagement. However, there are features to minimize the micromanagement as you advance (hire administrators, etc.). In addition, while there are 7 alien races in the game, you can only play as the humans. It could have been a much richer game experience, especially for multiplayer, if other races with unique attributes and technology could have been used.
Nevertheless, this is a solid 4X real-time strategy game and worth playing for fans of the genre. Fortunately, you can easily get this game on a modern computer via GoG and it will only cost you just short of 6 bucks…an infinitely better value than most modern games in my opinion. I believe it is also available on Steam. Otherwise, if you are a die-hard DOS fan, track down an original CD and give it a try.
The first image above is an ad from an unknown magazine (found on tumblr). The other images are official promo screen shots.
