Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde

Goblin Commander: Unleash The Horde is a real-time strategy game by Jaleco. It was released on the Playstation 2, Xbox, and Nintendo Gamecube platforms. It was released in 2003.

Storyline
Taking place in Ogriss, a fantasy land far away from the other races, a Human sorcerer named Fraziel set out to create what was currently only known as the “Great Machine”. To build his device, he conjured up Goblin servants, each faction forming their own Clan under each moon. Grommel was the first, and leader of the Stonekrusher clan, under the white moon Froxx, to serve as miners in the deep caves. Second was Grax of the Hellfire clan, under the red moon Heelinx, to harvest wood in the forest. Third was Faine of the Stormbringer clan, under the blue moon Trist, to channel lightning in the mountains. Fourth was Syst of the Plaguespitter clan, under the green moon Phoust, to farm in the marshes. Fifthly (and finally) was Naxus of the Nighthorde clan, under the purple moon Farthis, to scavenge ancient battlegrounds.

Fraziel was making progress with the Great Machine until it was sabotaged, causing it to explode, caving in the mines and forcing Grommel and the Stonekrusher clan to flee to the forests. After escaping, Grommel finds Fraziel as he crawls out of the wreckage, where, just before he dies, he gives one last cryptic word: “brother”. Grommel then leads his clan out into Ogriss to attempt to know who or what killed his master, which was possibly one of his other four clan chieftain “brothers”. In the forests, he encounters his brother Grax, who, along with the other goblin clans, believe Grommel to be responsible and becomes hostile. Through a series of battles, Grax is defeated and the Hellfire clan rally around Grommel.

Upon returning to the caves with all the other clans, Grommel confronts the last of his brothers; Naxus of the Nighthorde clan. It is revealed that the Great Machine was to produce bombs to steal the souls of all of Ogriss’ creatures, allowing its controller to remake the world in his own image. Naxus sabotaged the machine to kill Fraziel and take it for himself to create a world of chaos and darkness. With the help of all the clans, including a traitorous part of the Nighthorde clan, Grommel battles his way through the caves in order to stop Naxus from sending the bombs from the now active machine through the Moongates, ancient teleportation devices. When Grommel finally corners Naxus, he leaves through one of the Moongates, leaving one active bomb among the hundreds of others. Grommel, however, narrowly throws the bomb through the same Moongate at Naxus, where it explodes, presumably killing him. After defeating Naxus, all the clans rally around Grommel with the intention on finding purpose now that the Great Machine is destroyed.

Gameplay
Goblin Commander is a strategy game where, with the exception of Skirmish Mode, the player must battle against CPU controlled enemies. Each clan is different from the other and specializes in a certain area. For example, Stonekrushers are more melee aligned, while Hellfire units are more ranged. Plaguespitter and Stormbringers are more effect and magic based, while Nighthorde is a balance all three. Each Clan has respective Titans as well as Turrets. Runes can be found or bought throughout the game, which offer units assistance in the field.