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environment
is crucial to how units move on the map and, along with icons displaying
the exact ramifications of moving troops to a certain location,
having objects in 3D makes it easier and quicker to tell whether
they should remain or be moved. Pretty much everything affects units
on the map, from trees providing cover from arrows, to cavalry getting
a bonus to attack on open land, and while it may not always seem
necessary to know the details, it also makes life much easier when
setting up defenses and attacking from an advantageous position.
Aside from the graphical face lift, the economic model has also
been beefed up. What was so interesting in the original was that
each city would grow in size, with each size having allotted spaces
for buildings to be constructed in, and each of these buildings
would offer additional benefits that needed to be balanced against
the needs of the kingdom. The upgrades usually involved increased
production, more gold, or possibly a military benefit or a middle-of-the-road
option (keep some wood and get some gold). So, if a lumber mill
was built, it could be upgraded to provide additional lumber, because
all resources in the negative would subtract from the income, be
sold for additional gold, or a mixture of both. Now, that system
has been added upon by an additional branch of upgrades, but these
tend solely for the military. The same lumber mill from part one
can now be upgraded to increase production, sell more for additional
income, or do a little of both, but it can also then be used to
upgrade how far archers can shoot, the strength of their shots,
and so on. The resources are broken down into iron, copper, ore,
wood, and mana crystals, which are automatically collected once
the resource-specific building is built. There are also additional
deposits on the map that can be harvested once engineers build mines
upon them. The economic system is still integral and is one of the
more enjoyable parts of the game, but it never feels as important
as it did in the original.
The economics come across as less important because of the smaller
map sizes. Kohan was really a war of posts: you built your
kingdoms in certain spots to choke off the enemy, to be near a resource,
as well as to build outposts and captured those belonging to other
kingdoms in order to gain similar advantages. In Kohan II,
the player cannot build a settlement wherever they want; they now
have to build them only on select spots. They can, however, still
build outposts. This seems to have affected the size of the maps
because they are much smaller than those found in the original.
Now outposts, which are important because militia come out to attack
passing enemies and it (along with kingdoms) have a re-supply radius
that slowly heals armies within its borders, take the predominant
role in choking off spots. Since units cannot be raised in outposts,
the settlement spots are much nearer to each other now so that units
don't have lengthy distances to walk. There are still some large
maps, mind you, but I found that, overall, they are in the minority.
Because of the smaller size, units are engaged much quicker than
before, which makes the game faster. The levels are also very linear,
so time spent in one mission is roughly half of what I would spend
in the same in the original, sometimes even less than that. This
doesn't leave much time for the economy to be fleshed out and, frankly,
it doesn't seem all that necessary, as it did before. In Kohan,
it was crucial to have enough supplies to keep your resource-draining
armies on the field, but now, I rarely needed such a balancing act.
One thing that hasn't changed - thankfully - is combat. Raised in
cities, companies consist of a captain and four units, as well as
the optional two flanking units and two support units. The main
and flanking units are the same, for the most part, consisting of
archers, cavalry, and different types of infantry (swordsmen, pikemen,
etc.), but some units, like catapults and juggernaut units, are
available only as a main army selection. The supporting units are
healers, stronger ranged units, and magicians. Like the original,
the supporting units can make all the difference, and they seemed
a bit stronger now, with magicians setting fire to, tossing lightning
at, and poisoning enemy troops. Custom companies also make a return,
with the player able to quickly train a group or make a savable
company with the flank and supports they prefer, which is handy.
Captains or heroes can lead the men, with the heroes being slightly
stronger but not controllable, like in WarCraft III or Warlords:
Battlecry. I did find that the units were less inclined to listen
to me than they were in the original. In both titles, companies
can be routed or told to escape. When told to escape, they immediately
switch to the fastest formation and head for the hills, but a rout
makes them uncontrollable. The formations here are also different
than in other titles as they actually have a use; there are three
formations, combat, skirmish, and column, which goes strongest but
slowest, decreases combat ability but increases in speed and sight,
and weakest but fastest, respectively, so an escaping squad that
is attacked will likely be decimated because their attacking proficiency
is greatly penalized at the expense of speed. But I had a problem
with just being listened to in general. Just to disengage a unit
so it could attack a target of opportunity, I would have to tell
it to retreat, and then try again. This wouldn't be due to numerical
superiority on part of the enemy or any reasonable explanation like
that; I could have four squads fighting one weakened enemy squad
and still fight to tell them to go and attack a nearby portal or
settlement building. That was incredibly frustrating, and it required
almost constant babysitting of the troops.
When playing Kings of War, I felt like I was playing a slightly
inferior expansion for the original, despite the new engine. The
graphical update is nice, but it didn't enhance my experience any,
and the audio, being of decent technical quality but suffering from
so-so voiceovers and repetitious unit responses, didn't really pull
me in. The levels were also much more straightforward than before,
leaving little room for ingenuity; it was really just strengthening
the town closest to the enemy, then launching assaults. Because
of the linearity, though, the story is of greater focus, and it
isn't bad. The new characters are good additions, as are the new
units (which I found to be more different from a graphical than
a gameplay standpoint), but it never felt like it was enough. One
improvement was the menu and navigational system, with clear icons
and graphical representations of things like company movement speed,
benefits and negatives of resource usage, affects of veteran status
on companies, and so on, being easy to distinguish and just more
pleasant to deal with. The online portion is hurting due to lack
of players, but even then it's hard to really get into the nuts
and bolts of the game because of rushing. I did find the players
more helpful than normal, which is a plus for those new to the series,
and was common with the original as it garnered a strong following,
so there is a natural community aspect that can be looked forward
to.
Overall: 7.5/10
The original Kohan kept me up late many a night. Sending
waves of companies against unbending hordes of undead, balancing
my fledgling economy, and expanding my kingdom were more addictive
to me then than just about any other strategy title. Kohan II:
Kings of War quickens the pace, making it more engaging more
quickly, but the sacrifice was that I just didn't find myself as
enamored with it as I was with its predecessor. It's still a solid
game, but I found the original to be better. If you're new to the
series, I would suggest starting here as it is much more inviting.
Despite my preference, those looking for a solid strategy game still
cannot go wrong here.
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