"An excellent, though outdated strategy game."

King's Bounty is the precursor to the Heroes of Might and Magic series, and is indeed worthy of that title. It has excellent gameplay, nice graphics, and a story coupled with backstories for villains.

Gameplay: 10/10

The gameplay in King's Bounty is excellent. It supercedes excellent. It is magnificient. You gain troops from 2 sources, one being the castle of the King, the other being creature dwellings on the map. Although troops in the King's Castle are unlimited, they tend to be inferior to other, limited troops you can find on the map. For instance, the ranged unit of the castle, Archers, do low damage, despite their absurdably high hit points. Orcs, which have near-equal hit points, doing nearly double their damage. For less money.

Some units have different movement speeds, some can shoot, and some can fly. Indeed, flying units are extremely useful. They can move to any point on the map in one move, and then can attack.

Shooting units tend to do less damage than other units, but can attack without fear of retaliation, and their movement is not to be worried about.

In comparison, melee units tend to have more hit points, damage, but movement is a huge factor. A Knight, which has good hp, excellent damage, can only move one space. Which means it'll take 5 turns to reach the enemy.

Graphics:6/10 The Graphics in King's Bounty are typical of that time, but well-detailed. They do not really matter, but still provide easy identifcation for your units.

Difficulty: The Difficulty ranges, from 900 days to finish your quest, to 200. It provides replay value, and fun.

Replay Value: The map has random treasure, monsters, and creature dwellings each time you play. The villains are in different places, and the artifact is hidden in a different place.

Storyline: 8/10: The King has lost his Sceptre of Order, and it is up to you to catch the villains (presumably) interrogate them to find out what they know of the Sceptre, and find out who masterminded the whole affair. You CAN finish the game without catching ALL the villains, but it makes you feel like a loser.

Overall: King's Bounty is a great game, providing more challenge than the Heroes games, and more variety.

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 03/10/05