Dark Colony is a real-time strategy game developed by Strategic Simulations, Inc. and published by Mindscape in 1997 for Windows 95. Set in the year 2137, Earth's resources are nearly exhausted when a mission to Mars confirms a new fuel called PETRA-7. Colonization begins, but the alien Taar, insect-like creatures who also crave the gas, emerge from underground and claim the planet as their own. Players choose either the human or Taar side and wage war across a terraformed Martian landscape of jungles, deserts, and subterranean caverns.
The game strips resource management to a single task: capture gas vents with an Exploiter unit that becomes armored while harvesting. Base building is minimal, emphasizing unit production and direct combat. Infantry, vehicles, and aircraft fill distinct roles, and the interface uses function keys for grouping and simple attack-move controls. The atmosphere leans on a dark, cinematic sci-fi tone with full-motion video news broadcasts delivering the backstory.
Dark Colony received mixed reviews, with praise for its high-quality sound effects and soundtrack, solid multiplayer skirmishes, and accessible controls. Criticism targeted the shallow resource model, predictable AI that always heads straight for the center, and a confusing unit-upgrade screen. The game supports up to 8 players over LAN or modem, and larger maps demand 32 MB of RAM. It remains a notable if uneven entry in the mid-1990s RTS wave, remembered for its audio punch more than its strategic depth.
