Blackguards 2 Previews
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A slew of both hands-on and hands-off previews for Daedalic's Blackguards sequel have made their way to the web recently, so I suppose it only makes sense to round them all up in one fell swoop.
GameZone:
Continuing the turn-based, strategic, RPG theme from the first game, Blackguards 2 expands upon the popular Dark Eye universe table-top game. While advancing the systems in the sequel, the developers also simplified or downright removed some of the previous systems. Take ability points gone. Skill trees simplified. Weapon trees better. The UI and what can be interacted with improved for the greater as well. Making all the variable elements that can be tinkered with a lot clearer, it makes the gameplay a lot smoother, to a far less frustrating level.
The setting which Blackguards 2 is based on is no stranger to dark fantasy, and the game immediately establishes a grim mood. In it, we play as Cassia, a princess betrayed, banished and left to die in her kingdom's dungeons. The first few missions span over several in-game years, as our heroine slowly descends into madness and escapes captivity. In its current state, the story is perhaps Blackguards 2's strongest asset. It's gripping, funny and grim all at the same time and even employs dark humor, with the main character ranging from sympathetic and heroic to borderline psychotic.
The big change is a strategic map and dynamic campaigning rather than the linear plod of the original. Slavers are attacking settlements and you'll use heroes and mercenaries to fight back, reclaiming territory and defending areas that you've claimed. Maps can switch control several times during a campaign, which should go some way toward eliminating the irritation of repeated failure. Anything that opens the game up a little and allows me to experiment with characters, skills and equipment is a good thing. The original felt like it had given me an enormous banquet and then passed me a teaspoon to eat it with.
For those unaccustomed to Blackguards 2'˜s gameplay style the main portion of the game takes place in two places; your campsite and the battlefield. The battlefield is of course where you test your skills on a tiled map using a turn-based system. Your characters can be strategically placed before the first turn is taken and the map can also be fully viewed before you start. One stumbling block I ran into early on was that I would quite often find myself taking a couple of turns on a new map then restarting once I had a better gist of what my overall goal was. Blackguards 2 does allow you highlight interactive items on the map, but only once characters have been placed and turns are in play. There is also occasionally a bit of dialogue before the first turn, but in many cases neither of these fully explain the maps end goal and on the hardest difficulties this can be a death sentence if you make a tactical error early on.
Set in the fantasy world of South Aventuria and based off of the RPG game, The Dark Eye, Blackguards 2 takes place a few years after the events of Blackguards. The main protagonist, Cassia, is thrown into a dungeon for reasons that went far over my head but somehow involved a rather traumatic opening scene involving a pet cat. As she suffers at the hands of venomous spiders and torturous traps, Cassia vows to raise an army and overthrow the leader of the lands, in turn taking the Shark Throne for herself. With the help of the remaining Blackguards Takate, Zurbaran, and Naurim, you must gather mercenary forces and take back the lands, one village at a time.
The area that was shown had several ways to interact with either the party, or the enemies scattered across it. Oil slicks can slow, or, if lit on fire, damage those trying to cross. Precariously-stacked boxes can make a great impromptu barricade forcing pursuers to either waste time moving them or find another route. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that these traps work both ways and the enemies will be all too happy to use them as well.
Combat is turn-based and takes place in the world on a hex-based grid with the usual array of spells, skills, special skills and moves ready to unlock and use. There are improvements here too making Blackguards 2 a little easier to play by simplifying character levelling. Direct levelling of talents and skills is now possible and magic spells are now always casted successfully (previously an extra roll determined a successful cast).
What is interesting is the overworld map. Instead of opting for a simple series of missions, or even just a series of randomised battles, for resources the game provides a map with a series of towns and other locations, with each providing certain bonuses and assets. Taking one location will bolster the defence of Cassia's mercenaries, while another will boost their attack, all while the enemy forces are trying to push back and claim their old territory, resulting in a need for management and map control.
This is where the game massively succeeds and also falls a little short. Moving is as simple as pointing and double clicking on the tile you want to move to, the item you wish to operate (such as a number of levers that will open doors and release bridges) or fight enemies. As the game progresses, right clicking offers up a ton of different options such as casting spells, going into a defensive position and ending your turn. Blackguards 2 architects did this part right, because there is more than a little strategy associated with moving. You can only move a certain number of spots in any given turn, and there are some traps that will be sprung in the wrong tile.
While not an overly beautiful game, Blackguards 2 does look nice. With its greenish undertones and lots of dark places, it's a haunting universe filled with all kinds of dangers for you to unravel. Most levels have a unique thing or two about them, so expect to be looking at a bunch of intricately designed and nicely rendered backgrounds while moving on all kinds of different hex layouts. The animations are improved over the series' last iteration too, and there is a fair amount of eye-candy to be found here. The current preview build does have a few issues with performance though, as my FPS dipped to low twenties in some levels. Still, these bugs are sure to be ironed out before the release, which is currently slated to be on the 20th of January next year.
The original game was, at times, rather clunky. The Dark Eye universe's experience points, Adventure Points, had to be spent on attributes like dexterity, intelligence, charisma, among others. This has been removed from Blackguards 2, instead weapon mastery is clearer, skills are set out in a much simpler way, and acquiring skills or spells doesn't require you to jump from city to city looking for the right teacher, instead you have a hub camp with a pair of teachers for every skill.
Blackguards 2 doesn't skimp on the choices department, giving you dozens of spells, tactics, maneuvers, and weapons to master for each of your characters. The top down world map also allows you to decide which neighboring territories you wish to conquer first, based on their rewards and resources. Do you need gold? Attack an ore mine. Want more troops and abilities? Go free some friendly murders from a prison. Back at your home base, you'll have access to paid spies, prisoners of war you can interrogate, and companions to learn about. The story, characters, and gameplay of Blackguards 2 is rich with detail and I can't wait to see how it all comes together in the full version when it releases in early 2015.
Cassia will have to battle against creepy Corapia spiders and much more throughout her adventures while gathering loot, adventure points and gold. Players can talk to people, buy or sell items and learn new abilities from the town screens throughout Blackguards 2. Players will advance the story by chatting with people in town and through the decisions they make. The amount of goods that gamers can buy in Blackguards 2 depends on the town and merchant which offers up a wide-variety of items for use throughout your adventures. While we only had a few hours with Blackguards 2, it is already shaping up to be another great release in the series with its beautiful visuals, immersive soundtrack and intriguing gameplay.
Also changed this time around is that you no longer have to level up your base stats. Now, those stats will upgrade over time automatically. You're free to spend all of your experience on various spells, abilities, and talents. This certainly helps streamline the game a bit, and will make leveling up your character a less painful experience.
And NoobFeed:
When attacking, you'll be presented with a percentage, which shows your likelihood of hitting the enemy target. If your archer stands face-to-face with an enemy, the chances of hitting will be at 0%, if they're positioned further away however, they can increase their chances of hitting a target. There are many abilities you can use while in combat, depending on who you are controlling. Your average mercenary will have limited abilities, but '˜Heroes,' such as Cassia, have unique abilities than can aid them in combat in many ways. Some may be healing spells, abilities that decrease the enemy's endurance or ones that increase the likelihood of you dodging an opponent's attack. These abilities however; cost mana, which does not regenerate during battle, so you must not use these over-zealously.
