The game features multiple paths of missions and outcomes, depending on the player's performance. It was followed by Colony Wars: Vengeance in 1998, and Colony Wars: Red Sun in 2000.

The Story Behind Colony Wars

The Earth Empire could never concentrate its forces enough to finish the League off without invoking more similar rebellions on the systems where Empire's forces would leave, while the League could never truly defeat the Earth Empire by their meager resources. When the Navy overextends its forces for the assault on Bennay, the League lures them into a trap inside a nearby asteroid belt, where the Navy strike fleet is destroyed. The game features multiple paths of missions and outcomes, depending on the player's performance.

While the remains of the League are attempting to make a one last desperate escape from the Diomedes system back to Gallonigher, a warphole appears behind them from where the Tzar's personal Super Titan flagship "Tsunami" appears and wipes away the League's retreating forces bringing end to The League of Free Worlds and its rebellion. This offers them an opportunity to launch a surprise counterattack into Draco system, by using the same captured Gallonigher battle platform to open a warphole into the Draco system. With the Earth Empire defeated, the people of Sol are no longer limited to leave the Solar System so many migrate to the other colonized worlds and star systems.

How Colony Wars Plays

The stages are divided into several "Acts" with three missions each. If the player is successful on Alpha Centauri, the Earth Empire and the League forge a peace as they reach a tactical stalemate after the Faction is defeated. The Faction executes most of the League participants, but a handful of them manage to escape.

As the colonies become more prosperous, the inhabitants become discontent as most of their mined resources are used to benefit Earth. Players fight in numerous space combat missions using one of seven pre-selected League of Free Worlds starfighters (although in one mission, the player gets to use one captured Navy fighter). The player can also use countermeasures to shake off inbound enemy missiles and/or use a grapple gun to capture targets of importance.

Why Players Still Load It Up

Reviewers lauded the game's graphics, mission branching system, controls (particularly with analog joypads), selection of weapons and craft, and the way the game achieved a feeling of actually being present in an epic space battle. If the player gets this ending without failing any act or mission during the entire campaign, there will be an additional scene: A disc-shaped spaceship, flying above an unknown star. If the player loses any Act on Diomedes, the Earth Empire wins the war as the Navy manages to conquer Diomedes and eliminate last pockets of its resistance, before launching a full-scale invasion on Gallonigher.

If the player is defeated on Alpha Centauri, The Faction manages to seize the control of the League and makes peace with the Earth Empire by making a deal: In return for a chance to return to the League's home colonies and there declare a victory over the Earth Empire, The Faction would ensure that the old life of oppression and theft could continue unchecked and that the Earth Empire would gain all the resources it needs, until the colonies will have nothing left to give. If the player is successful on Gallonigher, the League manages to capture Gallonigher's battle platform, which upholds the warphole in between Draco and Gallonigher systems and successfully close it without wasting too much resources or forces while doing so. Success in the Solar System requires that the player defeat the Tzar's personal Super Titan (a final boss).

Colony Wars — Frequently Asked Questions