SpellForce: Conquest of Eo Review - Page 3
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The thing to keep in mind when it comes to Domain is that the resource-producing structures within it have the rather annoying tendency to run out. This means eventually, you'll need to research a spell that allows you to move your tower to a different location.
This leads us to the game's basic loop where you'll be working on unlocking the secrets of the grimoire by researching new spells and performing various arcane tasks while scouring the world for rare and precious ingredients or ancient secrets. You know, your standard mage fair. But in order to not fall behind and become easy prey for your foes, you'll need to be on the move, in constant pursuit of easy-to-defend resource-rich spots.
But you won't be able to just consolidate your forces in one area, because you'll also have to claim and protect the precious Allfire nodes scattered all over the map that act as a magnet for just about every monster and mage in the area. And if that wasn't enough, you'll need to keep harvesting all sorts of resources required for your crafting. The special worker units you'll have for that, as you might imagine, tend to be really bad at fighting, necessitating an armed escort more often than not.
And once you start looking to recruit some units that are not the basic goblins, you'll need to keep sending your minions out into the world in search of towns that sell useful goods and offer powerful troops, but only to those they trust. And that means building lasting relationships and undertaking side quests from those towns and their surrounding villages. And as you're doing that, you'll also want to explore the numerous points of interest dotting the map.
The game basically pulls you in every direction imaginable, doing everything in its power to not let you become a scholarly hermit in your cozy tower.
The one thing making it all possible are the heroes and apprentices that can join you on your quest. They can lead your armies, equip powerful artifacts, and possess unique powerful abilities. Heroes also come with elaborate personal quests, while an apprentice can construct a lodge that acts as a little piece of Domain away from home but requires constant protection.
You put all of this together and you get a game that's overwhelming in the best way possible. There are so many systems, so many things to consider, so many neat little interactions. And seeing how vast and open the game's world is, it's easy to get so absorbed in the whole experience of going with the flow while juggling ten different things, to completely lose track of time.
The game doesn't hold your hand too much either. Playing as an alchemist, at some point you'll be tasked with procuring three philosopher's stones. And it's up to you to figure out what those even are and where to get them.
Maybe you'll find one as a random drop and start scouring the world for other such treasures. But then you'll be experimenting with your cauldron, and just stumble onto a recipe to create one. Then, of course, you'll need to have the resources to actually do it.
All of this really does make you feel like you're engaging in something arcane and mysterious and not just following a checklist, even though that's exactly what you're doing. It's just a magic checklist, and that makes it much better.
This gradual progression also helps keep things fresh, as you'll be discovering new systems, like the ability to build extensions for the rooms in your tower, a good dozen hours into your first campaign.
Then, there are the neat little touches that make the whole experience that much deeper. Like how most regular units can't cross rivers. But if you have the right spell page, you can freeze said river and just walk over it. Or how The Circle mages don't necessarily see eye to eye with the neutral factions, and so, even though neither of them like you very much, they can fight among each other, in the process saving your holdings from getting pillaged.
