King's Bounty: The Legend Review
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If combat is the highly respected lead actor taking center stage, then the overworld map is the fun up-and-comer waving its arms around and stealing the show. I've never seen anything like it. It's almost as detailed as a location in an adventure game. There are just so many people to talk to, magic items to find, totems to investigate, friendly troops to join the cause, caves to explore, tournaments to fight, wives to marry (and children to bear), you can't walk five steps without bumping into something new. But beware, because that "something new" could very well be deadly. Contrary to the conventions of modern RPGs, this game don't scale. That means impossibly hard enemies are scattered everywhere, even the first zone. And since enemy parties not controlled by a rival hero are represented by a single, innocuous troop, one Knight could be a cake walk, while another ten feet away could spell certain doom. Adding to the challenge, movement on the overworld map is real-time, but it's possible to avoid enemies with careful maneuvering around the terrain. I actually found the unpredictable challenge enjoyable, as it lent each encounter a real sense of tension. But if you forget to hit F5 (save now, save often), don't worry. Except for special tournaments, when you die, you reappear at the King's castle with a bonus bag of gold to buy new troops.
