King's Bounty: Armored Princess Review
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GraphicsFor the original King's Bounty: The Legend, I gave the graphics the full score of 10 out of 10. This was due to two things. They didn't skimp in the graphic polish department, going well beyond what they needed to do for a successful 2D and 3D presentation, and the art direction. Units are colorful, well-animated, varied, and all of the special effects for spells and land detail are fleshed out and unique.
Even though Armored Princess isn't the first engine to use most of these graphics, they are still beautiful to behold and just as relevant today as they they were 1 year ago. They've added many new units and all are rendered beautifully. In addition, the pet dragon's animation is all unique and interesting to watch. Take for example when the pet uses and ability and then pulls up a mushroom as a pillow to await its next turn, then tosses and turns in its sleep. It's cute, and so what - you play as a feminine heroine anyway. It doesn't take away from the power of your dragon, but it might have been nice to see it grow in size throughout the game.
For the reason that Armored Princess continues to make its new graphics at least up to the same more-than-required level as the original, this game should also be highly regarded in the graphics department, though any further full-price "sequels" will need to improve upon or be different enough to merit high praise for graphics. I'll still recommend that you go to the official forum, then the mod section to download a camera mod which increases the viewable area to make it even more stunning.
Sound & Music
Armored Princess utilizes many of the same high quality sounds and tracks as in KB:tL, which I'm sure helped with development time, but this doesn't come off as impressive the second time around. For this reason suffice it to say that all spells, units, and areas, even the new ones, have appropriately thematic sound effects and tracks - but that we've heard most before it loses some brownie points for me.
Lasting Value
The game itself is long, likely taking 30-60 hours to complete for the average player (I must be average because I'm at the high end of that spectrum). There are nearly 300 wandering stacks of enemies to battle, way more creature shops per area than in the first game, and many items to find. Nearly all of it is randomized at the beginning of every game, making the journey of customizing your own army and progressing through the game a new experience every time, especially with 3 different classes.
The community is also very active in Armored Princess, providing in-depth FAQ's about units, spells, best tactics, combat mechanics, etc. It's a wonder what some people have achieved in the game, even on impossible difficulty. We're talking zero troop losses throughout the entire game and minimal travel between the islands. So for a "normal" game, when you're up against a "lethal" stack of creatures... realize that the game supports being able to use your spells, items and creatures in unique ways to adapt to much tougher conditions. Small comfort when you're suffering major losses, but perhaps will be some motivation to examine your army, skill, and spell composition and try to improve it.
Summary
Essentially, that's what the King's Bounty experience boils down to. Great character customization options and figuring out ways to improve your combat prowess to continue to get better at demolishing the enemy armies that litter a beautiful world. Armored Princess is a streamlined and more balanced game than the original, making it a must buy for any fan of King's Bounty: The Legend. Newcomers should get the first, first, but everyone should eventually get both if at all interested in RPGs or turn-based fantasy.
