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I picked this one up at the bargain bin recently, and figured what the hell - it's gotten good reviews?


Honestly, I'm not sure why it's gotten good reviews.

It's nothing more than one tactical mini-game after the next, where you don't know the rules of the game! What's worse - they've essentially thrown away the tactical element of map movement to (or from) battles.



What do I mean by not knowing the rules of the game?

Well each battle takes place in it's own hex-grid "board" - so yes, you know where you can move, and you can even get a good idea of how your opponents can move (which is usually a product of just how many hex's they can move). But just how much damage can they do to your units - and what kind of units?

Further you would expect that your own units would be similar in effectiveness (if somewhat different) to your opponent. I played through *most* of the first two islands/maps (say 17% of the game) and NEVER found this to be the case.

Your opponents almost always dominate (on "Normal" setting), having either much stronger smaller units or units with far greater numbers than you can field. From there the only determinative factor is your pet dragon and the spells you can cast in a god-like manner. (..I say "god-like" in that your character casting the spells is never on the hex-grid board, nor is your dragon for that matter, so you can never take damage (nor the dragon) - just a simplistic: if you loose the battle, you die - which is LAME "in my book".)

Basically this limits your own units to "survival-mode" (..and picking up incidental treasure), where most of the offensive work is via your dragon and spells (..though some of the spells are about increasing damage for your opponents by your units, or healing your units, etc..).

Honestly, where every single battle has more to do with *survival* than out-right wins or losses, and where there is no option for retreat, and it's the same thing over, and over, and over, and over, and over - again, that's pretty boring!

Don't get me wrong though: turn-based is often good, hex grid on turn-based is also good, but there needs to be a better balance of opponents and you need to know the rules of the game. Here you don't.



Then of course they've thrown away the turn-based structure for everything but combat, AND have removed retreats from combat. Both are incredibly stupid design decisions that essentially "ignore" most aspects but the combat hex-grid mini-game. (..instead it's a pitiful device for limiting your progression in the game - i.e. opponents "guarding" maps or treasure.)


This element *should* have been done like Disciples (or Disciples 2), where each map has it's own turn-based system, and each mini-game has the possibility for retreat (..though with losses). Or perhaps the mini-combat game should have just been expanded out as in Elven Legacy? Even that game is preferable to this system.




Seriously, unless you are glutton for punishment - skip this game.

Did you play King's Bounty: The Legend? If not, then you probably should have started with that rather than jumping into the first expansion pack, where the developer is probably assuming you have some skill and knowledge of the game.

Anyway, I liked The Legend. I thought it was fun and a good value.

SWC

swcarter wrote:Did you play King's Bounty: The Legend? If not, then you probably should have started with that rather than jumping into the first expansion pack, where the developer is probably assuming you have some skill and knowledge of the game.

Anyway, I liked The Legend. I thought it was fun and a good value.

SWC

No. I suppose that IF I exactly knew the capabilities of each "unit" then I might have a better appreciation for the game (due to a better understanding of its rules), but..

That's not going to improve the other basic problems I mentioned, rather it would just end-up making the game a bit easier.

As for story-line etc.. (of this game or prior games), it really didn't matter that much to me one way or the other - it is after all a tactical game, just not a good one. (..even the story-line in Disciples 2 was purely a bit of "back-drop".)

If you like this game then I'd recommend Elven Legacy, I wouldn't call it "good", but I would call it a better overall design than King's Bounty Armored Princess.

IIRC, you right click on a unit to see its stats.

SWC

swcarter wrote:IIRC, you right click on a unit to see its stats.

SWC

Yup, (attack, defense, intelligence, speed, etc..), but damage only seems to display a range, and it' doesn't really tell you what the resulting damage will be for any given unit or how many troops in a unit will die from a single hit. You get an idea, it's just that the defenses of each unit factor-in as well, and while that is also a number - I'm never quite sure what the result will be depending on the damage-type.

Also, I found that "Scout" wasn't terribly useful either - in that most opponents were so strong that running away was the only viable option. (..and frankly running away isn't a viable option in this game because most opponents are right "in the path" of where you need to be.)

I probably should have just backed-off from "Normal" difficulty, but that wouldn't have solved the problem of the incredibly repetitive nature of the game.

I'm pretty sure that on enemy mouseover it shows the damage your units are about to do and how many of the enemy troops are gonna die if you attack / cast a spell.

Daynov wrote:I'm pretty sure that on enemy mouseover it shows the damage your units are about to do and how many of the enemy troops are gonna die if you attack / cast a spell.

Yes (..though it's also a range). I was more concerned with the alternative (what the enemies could do to my units), and NOT when they are standing next to each other for an eminent attack. i.e. figure-out which enemy unit to take out first, and which of my units should be used as "shields" against them.

..moot point now though, I've uninstalled it.

King's Bounty - The Legend is an AWESOME game. Loved most of it. The repetition is reduced by experimenting with different creature units and the 'hook' is similar to most facebook games, in that you level up in order to face the next stage of bad guys - if someone's too hard just ignore them and pop back later when you've increased your attack/defence and Leadership.

The music is gorgeous, the art is lovely and the variety of playable creatures is stunning. The spells are fun and the 'god-like' spellcasting is fun and well animated. The Rage aspect is a nice touch of originality also.

It's well humoured, has plenty of interesting side-quests, some 50/50 quandries and addictive sound effects and is, barring level barriers, quite a good non-linear free-roamer in the most part.

I only found two problems with it:

1. No retreat from battle
2. A 'time taken' points scoring system

1. - this can be solved by saving before each tough battle and reloading if you decide to risk it/make a mistake and die.

2. - For a game that's so all-round lovely and jammed packed with genuinely interesting nooks and crannies to explore, why on earth is you're final league table position basically determined by how many days it took to complete? The last thing I wanted to do was finish it, and I still finished it with some loose ends I forgot to go finish off. This isn't a racing game, this a laid back exploring game. I think whoever thought of this scoring concept needs a rain-check.

LastDanceSaloon wrote:King's Bounty - The Legend is an AWESOME game. Loved most of it. The repetition is reduced by experimenting with different creature units and the 'hook' is similar to most facebook games, in that you level up in order to face the next stage of bad guys - if someone's too hard just ignore them and pop back later when you've increased your attack/defence and Leadership.

The music is gorgeous, the art is lovely and the variety of playable creatures is stunning. The spells are fun and the 'god-like' spellcasting is fun and well animated. The Rage aspect is a nice touch of originality also.

It's well humoured, has plenty of interesting side-quests, some 50/50 quandries and addictive sound effects and is, barring level barriers, quite a good non-linear free-roamer in the most part.

I only found two problems with it:

1. No retreat from battle
2. A 'time taken' points scoring system

1. - this can be solved by saving before each tough battle and reloading if you decide to risk it/make a mistake and die.

2. - For a game that's so all-round lovely and jammed packed with genuinely interesting nooks and crannies to explore, why on earth is you're final league table position basically determined by how many days it took to complete? The last thing I wanted to do was finish it, and I still finished it with some loose ends I forgot to go finish off. This isn't a racing game, this a laid back exploring game. I think whoever thought of this scoring concept needs a rain-check.

All I can say is try Disciples and Disciples II.. then you'll probably start to notice more flaws in either King's Bounty.