"The only good game I've played that features cows in an important role."

Lords Of The Realm II is a good game in which you depend heavily on cows. Without cows, you would never survive. That's because you have to eat them. Fortunately, cows are not the only aspect of the game. Managing counties, fighting off enemies, and crushing dumb little peasant armies are all important parts of the game.

You start off with a single county to take care of. You have to decide what fields will be used for, how much to tax your people, what weapons to buy, when to raise an army, and how big the army should be are all key decisions in the game. For example, you can buy lots of weapons, create a huge army, and take over another county pretty quickly, but then you have no money, and your people will revolt. Every action has a counteraction, which is what makes this game great.

Unfortunately, there are negative points as well. The AI is incredibly stupid in the battle sections. Enemy armies will sit there and let your archers take them down, never moving. When your castle is under siege, the other army will charge the wall, allowing your archers to pick them off. Despite the negative points, Lords Of The Realm II is still a good game, and is a definite buy for any strategy game fan.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 01/04/00, Updated 01/13/01