I need to thank a friend of mine for going to the Game Developers Conference. From his trip, I was able to snag some of his swag in the form of a Majesty 2 key. Let me start by saying I’ve never played anything like Majesty 2, and rarely anything as difficult.
The game takes itself really light-heartedly. Very quickly a player will receive funny
quips and witty writing for everything from dialogue to loading screens. Keeping the humor refreshed throughout play, Majesty 2 delivers a balance of easy
attitude to counter the intensity of play.
Real-time strategy games are usually characterized by being
plagued with micromanagement. Unique,
self-reliant AI of individual units that negates detailed supervision is both a
blessing and a curse. Your heroes can
handle tasks by themselves by healing, fighting, and retreating fairly
well. However, when you are in a tight
spot, or require something to be done immediately, your troops can be a bit
fickle, getting either themselves or your base killed in pitched battle.
Further discussing units brings-up the point that some units
are just not useful. A hero may just be
too expensive, or too weak, or not capable enough until a given level to
provide the right amount of support to your army. I found myself repeatedly going back to a
4-class system of knights, rangers, clerics, and dwarves; there are 13 classes
in all. That amount of excess that just
doesn’t seem to have much of a place in the game makes the game appear to have
not been completely thought-out.
The base your army is hired to protect grows. Majesty
2 does an excellent job making your settlement seem alive, as all non-essential
buildings pop-up around the fortress you make.
This leads to not base being the same another time through, while
defenses are also needing to be dynamic as pesky rat-spewing sewers are randomly
placed as well.
Time is relative, and Majesty
2 lives this to the fullest. Full
control of how fast the game flows is unimaginably useful. Speed the construction of buildings or a
drawn-out battle, or slow the chronometer to handle full-on assaults in the
fantasy world.
Speaking of time, most missions won’t give you enough of it
when the baddies come calling. The game
is just brutal. Enemies never stop
coming, and mass attacks can leave your defenses beaten and broken, with your
heroes strewn about the battlefield. Some of the bosses are also sincerely unreal;
one-shot kills blow through even the toughest of troopers. Because of the intensity of fighting can be
so much, reliance on slowing game-time and much trial-and-error is a must; even
then, the best preparations may not be enough, leaving luck your only
friend/enemy.
I had fun playing Majesty
2. The easy nature of the title,
unique AI management, and living worlds create an experience no other game in
recent memory delivers. However, even
those prepared for a challenge will find that the computer has an unfair
advantage, and relatively useless hero classes don’t help. So, I guess I can only leave you, reader, with
a warning with this title: go into Majesty
2 expecting a good delivery and an experience not had before, but do not
get too frustrated at what the game may pull on you. With that, take care, and farewell!
- + The funny quips balance the intensity of play.
- + Micromanagement of units is a non-issue due to self-reliant AI.
- + Time control of gameplay.
- + Dynamic settlement growth creates a living base.
- - Some heroes are just not useful.
- A fix: Run-though balance issues such that all characters balance and can be effective if used.
- - The game is hard in an unfair way.
- A fix: Rely less on cheap mobs and lots of hit-points, and more on refined AI strategy.
No comments:
Post a Comment