The Iron Plague introduces Creon, an entirely new fifth civilization complete with air, land and sea power. Creon presents more than just a new civilization though, it brings with it an immersive storyline that continues the epic of Total Annihilation: Kingdoms.

The Iron Plague pits the monarchs of Darien against a new enemy. The Great War is over and Aramon and Veruna were victorious over Taros and Zhon. It's now a time of recovery and rebuilding as the lands have been ravaged by the war. Upon scouring the land, bounty hunters have found a strange object that resembles the body of a bird, except it's not made of feathers and bone, rather canvas and wood. Questions arise as to it's origin and more importantly, Aramon and Veruna wonder whether there could be a new ally or a powerful enemy on it's way to vie for control of Darien.

Creon is unlike any of the previous four civilizations. While they were built on magic, Creon excels with science. Units like the Submersible, Barnstormer, Mechanic and steam-powered tanks reflect a civilization rooted in engineering and metalwork. The story behind Creon is unveiled in a 24-mission campaign in which scenarios range from scripted battles to endurance races. The unique units are a welcome sight in a game whose original four civilizations were fairly repetitive in design. It makes for interesting combat sequences watching a steam-powered tank come head to head with an Amazon Knight or a Titan.

The Iron Plague features 25 new multiplayer maps as well as the introduction of The Darien Crusades, a new cooperative multiplayer game for Cavedog's online service Boneyards. However, since Cavedog doesn't exist anymore, it's unknown what the future holds for Boneyards at this point in time.

The Iron Plague enhances a game that wasn't well received upon its release. Perhaps with the release of this expansion pack, Total Annihilation: Kingdoms will gain a few more fans. We'll be lucky if we see a half dozen worthy expansion packs this year, based on previous experience, and The Iron Plague is certainly one of them. Hopefully other game developers will follow in its footsteps and realize that expansion packs should be more than mere tiny updates.