Seven Kingdoms 2

DEVELOPER : Enlight
PUBLISHER : Ubisoft

 

System Requirements Pentium 166 Mhz, 32 MB RAM

Recommended Pentium 266MHz, 64+ MB RAM, 4 Megs Video card

Ratings
Code Issues Graphics: 7.0 –  Good, but nothing you haven’t seen before. Audio: 8.0 -  Nice sound effects for most actions create good atmosphere, but mediocre music. Interface: 8.0 – Takes some getting used to, but the fact that all information is close by insures you some efficient empire building.	Play Issues Gameplay: 9.0 – Utterly engrossing and addictive.  Mixes the best of RTS and turn based games to create a unique gaming experience.  Challenging AI ensures a good single player experience, something the first was lacking. Replayability: 10.0 -  If you enjoy the game there are an endless amount of ways to play.  Fantastic! Mulitplay: 9.0 – All the required multiplayer options to crush your friends.
Other/Notes Documentation: 8.0 – Decent manual that doesn’t leave you in the dark about anything.  Nice building lists as well.   Pros:  A fantastic experience at a low price?  I must be dreaming. Cons: Complex beast of a game that will take a bit of patience to learn.  Is that so much of a con?   Overall: 9.0

Seven Kingdoms, as well as its improved form titled Ancient Adversaries, was just one of those games.  Despite great reviews and jubilant cries regarding the game’s quality, one too many copies remained on store shelves.  What is a game company to do?  Publish a sequel, that’s what!  There’s more to a game than how many copies it sells.  It is a way for the designer to realize his vision, even if he/she has to cut some losses.  And what a vision it is…Seven Kingdoms 2: The Fryhtan Wars is a complex piece of work.  I hate to say it but I see many people being turned off by this.  But stick with it, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the richest strategy game in years.

Part historical game, part fantasy, SK2 lets players take command of one of many historical civilizations.  All your favorites are here, such as the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Indians, Vikings etc.  Or you can opt to play as one of a number of Fryhtan species, lumbering brutish monsters with a bad attitude and a habit of enslaving humans.  A great option is being able to play without them to create a more realistic experience.  

As long as you play as the humans, every game starts you off with a town center composed of peasants that farm and keep the other group, workers, fed.  Key to gameplay is the delicate balancing of the two.  You’ll need to send settlers, taken from your worker pool, to build other structures so that your empire can grow economically and militarily.  The first order of business is to mine resources such as clay or iron and have them sold in a marketplace for income.  Other resources can be collected from other players’ marketplace by commissioning trade caravans.  Science towers will need to be built to research advances in everything from close and ranged combat to advanced farming and additional structures, and forts will allow you to pull people from your worker pool to train soldiers.  As you can see, Seven Kingdoms II has all the best aspects of a traditional turn-based empire building game.  But the game takes place in real-time, along with the combat, on one map.  The complexity and pacing, however, separate SK2 from the typical real-time strategy fare to create a unique experience.

The strategy is in balancing your empire’s needs and obtaining more citizens.  Dispersed around the map are neutral towns that can be inhabited by any of the human civilizations, or enslaved by the Fryhtans.  In order to make them see the glory of your rule you must lower their resistance level, which can be done by building a fort nearby, using money to bribe them, or simply attacking.  Although by using the latter, you’ll end up killing revolting peasants, thus having to wait longer to build up the population.  But taking over towns has another benefit.  Each civilization has unique military units, as well as an advanced unit built at their own barracks structure, and even a god that can be called upon to wreak havoc on your enemies or benefit your own empire.  Once you take over a neutral town of a different civilization, you have access to their units!  You’ll spend a great deal of game time racing the other players to secure these neutral towns, especially if they’re near resources.

 The rest of the time will be spent doing some good old-fashioned slaughtering.  The player, his/her persona captured in a unique unit, can be sent along with troops, and you’ll want to have a general come along to add some extra brute force.  You can even hire mercenary heroes at a tavern, as well as obtain fantastical weapons and tools that will aid you in battles.  Get your hands on Excalibur and the tables can quickly turn in your favor.

Of course, if you don’t want to fight, you can play a game of intrigue and ruthless diplomacy.  All of the typical diplomatic options are available, such as setting up trade agreements, becoming allies, and, if you're powerful or rich enough you can convince an empire to join yours, thus expanding your borders.  As I mentioned, spying can also play an enormous role in your strategy.  Once employed, spies can disguise themselves as soldiers or peasants of another player’s color, thereby allowing them to infiltrate their town center to steal technology, sabotage their infrastructure, and generally wreak havoc.  Just don’t get caught, or you’ll have an enemy legion knocking at your door.  As I stated, the combat is in real-time, so anyone familiar with a RTS will know the ropes.  You can, however, put your troops into some basic formations.  Plus, the sheer variety of units and the strengths and weaknesses they posses require you to plan your army’s composition.  You’ll want a good mix of long and short-range units, along with a catapult or battering ram to help smash down some walls.  Again, your strategy will vary according to what civ you control as well as any other civ’s units you have access to.  Romans have excellent swordsman, but Egyptians have spear throwers that can cut them down like butter. 

Now, Fryhtan gameplay is a bit different, only because you do not have immediate access to such diverse building option.  Nonetheless, it is an interesting diversion that adds further diversity to an already immense game.  Instead of commissioning settlers you have to bring down the resistance of towns and enslave the humans.  This allows you to create more Fryhtan lairs, breed more soldiers, and expand your domain.  While playing a human game, Fryhtans are tough adversaries.  One moment there is only a couple of nests, the next they have enslaved even the most powerful of civilizations.  Again, if you choose to disregard this aspect of the game, you have complete freedom to do so.

 Speaking of complete freedom, no game I have yet encountered has as much replayabilty.  There is a dynamic campaign, but I ask gamers to not even bother with it.  The random missions are often bland, way too simple, and will leave a bad taste in your mouth.  Such a complaint would more or less cripple most games, but not SK2.  The single scenario mode allows you to create a game with an almost unlimited combination of players and resources.  Trust me, this is the mode you’ll spend all your time in, and no two games will play out the same way.  There is also a small batch of scenarios with their own stories and unique touches.  Players also have the option to create their own.  It must also be noted that the original was criticized for not providing a solid single-player experience.  Rest assured, however, that SK2 has challenging AI, so the single and multi player options are equally appealing.

OK, but what about the graphics?  Seven Kingdoms 2 greatly improves on the original, with sharper terrain, units, and more complex and detailed building architecture, but does not quite stand up to the most recent strategy games such as Age of Empires 2.  But you should know by now that you don’t buy these games for their looks.  That’s not saying SK2 is an eyesore by any means.  The graphics are attractive, just don’t expect them to “wow” you.  Similarly, the music is your typical empire pieces.  The fact that none of them come to mind as I am writing this indicates they’re not all that unique.  Sound effects, however, are well done, with clanking swords and the shouts of revolting peasants creating good atmosphere.

The interface is a bit of a mixed bag.  There are all the standards such as a mini map and one-click access to the diplomacy, finance, and science screens, but the mini map isn’t all that helpful. There are simply too many things going on at once for the player to make heads or tails of the situation by relying on the map.  Is that group of red dots soldiers or trade caravans?  Not the best question to be asking while managing an empire.  Also, all of the most relevant information, such as diplomatic conversations, scrolls up from the bottom of the screen.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve missed answering another civ’s offer for a trade agreement simply because my eyes weren’t on the bottom of the screen.  Overall, however, these are minor complaints that players will quickly adapt to.

Look, if you see Seven Kingdoms 2 on the store shelf I implore you to pick it up.  It is currently available for only twenty dollars, so what would be your excuse?  Have you noticed that this reviewer has had no real complaints with the game?  If you stick with it and learn the subtle details, all of the elements come together, and I guarantee you months of great strategy gaming.

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Reviewed by Anthony Micari