Available from Interactive Magic.
When Kenn asked me if I would review this game I was pleased, as I do enjoy a good fantasy game. This one is set in the Medieval period, (that's what I believe, though I could be wrong). At first glance it is a very well put together game, the interface works well, and the graphic's are not bad, but they could perhaps be better in this day of 3D cards. I think the producers have gone for the greater numbers without having to use this type of card.
I watched the demo before the game started, as is the norm these days, and I mostly liked what I saw, however, one thing I would like to see is the people represented in better proportion, they do look a bit deformed! I think if game writers put a bit more into the graphics of people and not so much into the more intricate working of their game it could be better..
Well the demo over, so on with the game. I, like most people, really like to get into the game straight away, blow reading all the manual (as this one is quite big, that should have told me something!), so off I go/went. First screen is where you set the game parameters which affect the level you play at. Second screen is more of the same then, into the game training missions, this is when I found you could spend most of your time reading, which puts me off a bit.
This screen also tells you how complicated the game is, (and we have not really started yet). It became apparent that the computer was racing ahead of me as I went through the training missions one at a time, but I didn't think much of this, as you spend a lot of time reading. I must say at this point that the game is supposed to be paused when you put your mouse cursor over a menu item, and a help pop-up box appears for you to read, (yet again!). You are advised to pause the game while you read what to do in the training missions, and like the manual there is a lot to read (I seem to be repeating myself here but as I keep saying READ on!!). You are also advised to slow the game down while you learn how to control it, you do this by pressing a number key between 0 to 9. Number 0 being pause, number 1 being the slowest, and 9 the fastest.
So, on I went playing each part of the training missions, as I said earlier I soon got fed-up of doing this, so I decided to dispense with the training and have a go at the game itself, knowing that if I got stuck I could always go back to the tutorial and work it out.
I set the game at medium difficulty and started. The game begins with one village of about 35 people in about 6 or 7 houses. You can be one of seven different Kingdoms hence the name of the game! You are advised to be the Normans for this first game, and you are also allowed one fort with your king (William) inside it, but with no soldiers at this time. Soldiers must be recruited from your village. That done, you next build a mine as you will need the resources to turn into goods, then a factory to turn resources into goods, you also need a market at this point where the villagers can buy the goods from and also other Kingdoms shop at your market as you can at theirs, when you have a trade agreement, which then turns the goods into money so you can build-up your kingdom.
While all this is going on, the computer AI is doing the same thing, but that's where the similarity ends, as the AI constructs things at a vastly different speed to yourself. It races ahead, and very soon it has troops marching all over the map attacking other villages, which soon surrender to them, but when you try this out the village nearly always fights it out to the end. The AI carries on building up at an alarming pace and it soon turns to you and wipes you out in one way or another. So back to the drawing board. I set it on 'easy' the next time and tried again, and again, and so on. It beat me almost every time. I did win couple of games. But I discovered in one of them, an enemy nation had been wiped out itself by revolts of its own villagers.
To sum up, it would be a very good game, if the AI had been set a little more fairly. Why do game designers seem to think that we are all young super fast gamers, and that we oldies don't play? The graphics on the whole are not bad, but could be better, and the figures could be more like people. I know that it is fantasy but I believe that it would make the game much better. The tutorial is good and it shows you all you need to play the game, but it could be thinner perhaps (not so much reading).
Back to the subject of age, I might be slow at moving the mouse about, but I don't think I'm that slow, I am only 54, that's not THAT old is it, (or is it old for a game player? Does anyone know any different?) My son-in-law (aged 26) also played the game, as did a friend, who is in his thirties, they are both a lot younger than myself and they found the same problems. They are both very good at other games of the same type, and so I thought they would do a lot better than me, but this was not the case, they didn't. So at least I can console myself with the fact that it isn't just me being too slow and old!.
I think it has the makings of a good and interesting game. If you think you would like it, and do buy this game and do better than we did, I would be interested to hear from you. e-mail me at KrisConble@aol.com. Yours in the Hobby, Kris.
[When Kris told me of the problems he had been having I volunteered to have a go myself and ended up in the same pickle as the others! Just to see if it as been designed with younger brains and fingers in mind I have loaned it to one of our younger members to get his reaction. Will pass it on when more is known. Kenn]
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