Disciples II: Dark Prophecy

"Great game - well worth buying"

Before I begin I should point out that this is my first ever review (so please bear with me) …

OVERVIEW OF THE GAME
Disciples 2 is a turn-based strategy game in which you choose one of four races - the Empire, the Mountain Clans, the Legion of the Damned or the Undead Hordes, and play through a series of sagas and quests, each race having its own ultimate personal goal. It has certain similarities with the LEGENDARY Master of Magic and the underrated Dark Legions, but still creates enough of its own flavour to leave you with a unique experience when all's said and done.

You select a race and leader (which can be either a fighter, mage or guildmaster (aka thief)) and then get on with it basically ... gameplay is split into two main sections - the ''map'' section and the ''combat'' section - you move your troops around, cast general world and troop spells, build structures, research spells and interact with the other players on the map section, and whenever you come across enemies or want to take over another player’s cities, the action switches to the “combat” section, where your party (which can be up to 6 units) is pitted against your opponents party (again, up to 6 units), and you take turns at hitting each other until one side is victorious – a VERY simplified take on what goes on, but you get the gist …

GRAPHICS - 9/10
The graphics in this game are very impressive - each character is well drawn and highly detailed, and has their own stance, fighting move(s) and feel, which makes compiling your armies quite a personal and versatile experience. Combat takes place on a backdrop which reflects your position on the map (e.g. on a boat on the seas, in forests, etc., etc.) and there are quaint little additions like seagulls flying overland to keep the map section interesting, and all in all the graphics are one of the games strongest points. They are impressive and varied, and will leave you FAR from bored (there's a certain ''YES !!'' factor to some of the moves you can pull off with higher-level units).

SOUND - 8/10
Considerable thought has obviously gone into the sounds for this game. The background music varies from a haunting and kinda sad melody during the ''map'' sections of the game, to a powerful drum beat-driven tune during the combat sessions, which compliments the action of the game's fight scenes very well. It's not the most memorable (you probably won't wind up humming it whilst you're not playing the game), but it's certainly NOT bad - with very few exceptions each of the characters has their own voice which is separate and distinctive from the others in the game, and the general feel is quite polished.

GAMEPLAY - 9/10
Obviously the most important point to consider is gameplay. How much fun is it ? You should find it VERY enjoyable if you are into the turn-based strategy genre ... as the game progresses and your troops earn experience from their various kills, they change to become newer and more improved units – you build structures in your capital which determine which route your troops will take (e.g. if you are playing the Empire, your low-level sword fighter can change into a knight on horseback or a witch hunter when he gains enough experience, and from there he can change to become something else all depending on which structures you build in the capital). The sagas (which are the main quests in the game – one for each of the four races) are immersive enough to keep you playing with that race, and they do flow from one to the next, and even the fact that with each new mission you start you have to re-build the structures in your capital (aside from bringing a leader and five items with you into the next quest from the previous one the slate is wiped clean for buildings etc.) doesn’t really detract from the fun factor of this game. A lot of strategy is required to play the game well, and you will learn that certain units fight better together as their skills compliment each other, and certain combinations are just pants !!

REPLAY VALUE - 9/10

This game’s replay value is high as, even though (as stated above) you do lose all the structures in your capital when you go from one level to the next, the main thrust of the levels in my opinion is on building up one really powerful leader for your units to follow, so that presents its own challenge and, consequently, replay value. Also, once you have completed the sagas you can export your leader and use them in a series of quests (which you can replay time and time again if you like) to work on making your leader tougher, AND in addition to all that there are multi-player possibilities too !! This game certainly keeps me coming back for more ...

OVERALL - 9/10

No game is perfect, but this is a VERY very enjoyable turn-based strategy game … if you are like me you will fall in love with one of the races (the Undead Hordes are GREAT !!) and play it at the exclusion of the others, but even this doesn’t detract from the enjoyability of the game. Since it’s turn-based you have the luxury of time in plotting your moves, and the variety of characters available makes for PLENTY of entertaining hours of gameplay. The designers have even thrown in little sub-quests to complete on several of the levels to keep you diverted.

MAIN GOOD POINTS

* Four main races to choose from, each with dozens of troops that can serve it.
* Lots of spells to use, together with artifacts, orbs, scrolls and staves to make magic a major part of the game.
* Interesting plots and levels keep you interested in the game during play.
* Great graphics and good sounds.

MAIN BAD POINTS

* Completing a level sees all the buildings in your capital wiped out (this is both good AND bad, as whilst you have to build them all again it means you can choose different routes if you didn’t like the ones you opted for last time)
* Only one leader and five items can be brought from the last quest to the next one, which means that sometimes you wind up leaving behind items that you really wanted to take with you.
* Each unit only has one type of attack - e.g. your 'squire' (low-level sword fighter for the Empire) can only attack with his sword, and it's always the same attack - there is no variety in this respect and whilst this is INITIALLY disappointing, ultimately you don't really notice (but it is worth pointing out).

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/15/03, Updated 01/15/03