King's Bounty: Crossworlds Review
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Orcs on the March Campaign This is where it's a bit tricky. On the one hand, newcomers to Armored Princess should definitely start with this, and probably forego Armored Princess entirely. In perhaps the most noticeable change, most of the roughly seven new units are available right from the start. This includes new Orc units, the 5th level Human Rune Mage, Witch Hunters, Fauns, and more. The Orc units themselves have had their entire playstyle redesigned. Each unit now builds up adrenaline which provides them with buffs or new abilities once the adrenaline level is high enough.
Aside from new units, there is a new building called the Military Academy placed on all the new large islands. This is a place where you can upgrade any of your troops for a cost. It also provides you with a class-specific quest that unlocks a special new skill once completed. Other new additions include a Wizard Tower that you can ascend via increasingly difficult battles to try for the reward at the top, lots of new standard and set items, a new Orc quest line, and a couple other more standard quests spread around.
The big reason to play Orcs on the March over Armored Princess is that the randomization has been improved, making new units available earlier and it also seems to provide access to the islands in a slightly faster way. A good thing, in my opinion. The only negative to the campaign might be to those who already own Armored Princess. It's really the same campaign you've played through once, only enhanced. If you feel like playing through it again (and the replayability is already quite high in this game), then it will be well worthwhile. If not, you'll have to settle for two minor, replayable campaigns and if it's up your alley, the editor.
The Campaign Editor
For many, the addition of a campaign editor might be worth the price of admission by itself. Ever since KB: The Legend fans have been asking for this. Now, with the third expansion, we finally have it and the clamor is only slightly muted. Being a designer myself, I gave it a bit of a whirl and found it to be quite powerful with all the options you'd want to be able to build and share your own. The terrain editor was especially easy-to-use compared with others I've tried in the past. The only catch seemed to be that a big pack of textures for creating the actual landscape surface graphics is a separate download somewhere - and I and many others haven't quite found out where that is supposed to be yet. According to the manual, they can be downloaded from the Russian site, but there is no exact link and I for one couldn't find them.
Chances are though that by the time you read this, this little problem will have been solved and modders will be enjoying all the features of the campaign editor as intended. In all, a great package, and definitely powerful enough for the creatively inclined to make some fantastic new content.
Summary
Crossworlds gives the seasoned King's Bounty player and Legend veteran all they would want for trying out new strategies and extending their beloved game for a good long while. For newcomers that want more after King's Bounty: The Legend, Crossworlds is surely the way to go. For those with Armored Princess who are considering the upgrade, ask yourself whether you may want to dabble in level building or if you feel like playing the game again. If the answer to either is yes, Crossworlds would be worth your time.
