Switching sides livens everything up, though. So a mage is still a mage, and an archer is still an archer. Troops look different and come with new special abilities, spells, and weapons, but really you're playing the same old game with evil monsters in place of the good guys. The basic structure of gameplay hasn't been altered, however, so you follow the same philosophies as in previous games when constructing guilds, markets, guard towers, bazaars, and so forth. Much of Monster Kingdom's appeal relies on the cool factor of fielding monsters in place of human, elven, and dwarven warriors, clerics, and mages. Some of the fantasy atmosphere of this wannabe epic is lost as a barrage of typos appear in almost every text box that pops up on the screen, but the story is more intriguing than the random scuffles slapped together to make up last year's Battles of Ardania. Missions are sort of a Bizarro World version of the usual Majesty 2 shtick, with you fighting to recruit ratmen, goblins, liches, minotaurs, and the like, at times actively reversing the gains made against these beasts in the earlier games. The scenarios play out as a drive to make it back to the throne with the assistance of the monsters that used to be your archenemies. You proceed through the saga in linear steps, completing one mission before unlocking the next one. Virtually all of the content comes in the new single-player campaign, which is structured similarly to those in the previous Majesty 2 games. This alone makes the campaign a more enjoyable romp than those in previous Majesty 2 releases. Before, your troops often seemed to be goldbricking so much that you started to think they'd gone and joined a union. When your buildings are being demolished by rampaging giant spiders, for instance, defenders are always there to help. Monsters also seem to be handier when you need them, especially for defense tasks. But the wait never drags out so long that you want to put out an APB. They still take their time, and will occasionally ignore vital goals as you jack up the attached reward to the point of depleting the treasury. Units here seem to hop to it faster than they did before, responding more quickly when you plop down flags. With that said, mechanics have been improved. But this also lends the game a certain aloofness because you feel a step removed from the action. Hands-off management makes you feel like a real ruler since you can only motivate subjects to do your bidding. As with the earlier games in the franchise, this is good and bad. Offer enough gold as a bounty, and the unwashed masses will leap to your aid. Instead, you place flags offering rewards to units that explore the map, attack enemy lairs, and defend structures. Although you order up buildings and units like in a typical real-time strategy game, you never have direct control over troops. You still play as an anonymous monarch being advised by a toady, and control remains one step removed from you. The heart of the gameplay has been carried over intact to Monster Kingdom. Ratmen allies, goblin pals, vampire tax collectors-this isn't the familiar old Ardania!Įverything should be familiar to veterans of Majesty 2 and its Kingmaker and Battles of Ardania expansions. This isn't going to turn around non-fans or spark those who have gotten bored with the series, but the inventive premise and somewhat scaled-down difficulty result in a game that's a step above its lackluster and brutally hard predecessors, and also offers a number of core gameplay enhancements that make the campaign more playable. While the gameplay formula remains focused on managing a fantasy kingdom by decree, everything is freshened up because you can boss around creepy ratmen and liches instead of the heroes of the earlier games. Scrambling to get back to power requires cozying up to the creatures that you spent most of your time killing in the previous entries in this franchise, which gives this add-on a different vibe from its predecessors. Monster Kingdom, the third expansion for the real-time king simulation Majesty 2, sees your titular character booted off the throne and sent into exile with just his sidekick for company.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |