King Arthur - Review @ RPS

[Dhruin]

Rock, Paper, Shotgun tackles King Arthur (http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2009/12/07/wot-i-think-king-arthur/#more-22236), the so-called "roleplaying strategy" game. They find a deep game with uneven difficulty and balancing, so here's the summation:
That’s not to say I haven’t been enjoying my time with the game: the effort is mostly commendable. From the little text-adventure side quests, to the heavily decorated battlefields, it’s a hugely interesting campaign to get through. The art-style is fantastic too, delivering a world littered with gothic towers, dragon-skeletons and sinister bogs. Neocore have evidently enjoyed creating this grim Arthurian fantasy, and it shows in everything from the big spikes on shoulder-pads, to the misty intricacy of the campaign map. That shines through in the game you end up playing.
Nevertheless the uneven real-time experience and occasional random spikes in difficulty is what’s holding me back from recommending this. There is a substantial and interesting game here, but I’ve not found the tactical challenge to be coherent and fluid enough to stand up without a comprehensive overhaul and rebalancing.

More information. (http://www.rpgwatch.com/show/newsbit?newsbit=13940)

[Jabberwocky]

Only read the part Dhruin extracted, but it's dead on...

After watching the developer diaries I was hooked, so I bought the game. I've only scratched the surface with about 4 hours of playing time. Make no mistake, this IS a good title, with loads of potential, and I think a lot of people here at the watch would like it. It does have some noticeable balancing issues, and the camera controls are horrendous.

It's easy to make comparisons with the Total War series, but I'm learning that King Arthur is a different animal. This game really plays a lot like an RPG, and doesn't require the strategy and micromanagement that TW games do. On the elements that you can indeed compare apples to apples with TW, there are some that King Arthur excels at.

One thing's for sure, it feels more like a AAA title with a few bugs to work out than the no-name, low-budget title that it is.

The forums just went on-line a few days ago, and the devs seem to be keen on feedback for patch suggestions. With a few balancing tweaks, and some customizable battle controls for crying out loud, this game will rock! :clap:

[DR490N]

and the camera controls are horrendous.
:

<Oldtimer rant on> : I feel that I have spent half my gameplay time in the last few years managing the camera in theses types of games (Dragon Age Origin included). This is just plain stupid. I SO miss the Heroes III or any other simple top down view WITHOUT camera rotation…

[Arhu]

I SO miss the Heroes III or any other simple top down view WITHOUT camera rotation…
Amen. If you can rotate the camera the game has to be designed for it, but it also means there's never any perfect angle.

[Jabberwocky]

Well, Imo the camera for the Total War battlefield couldn't be easier to navigate. They just work... While King Arthur does become manageable with practice, it is one area that falls noticeably short.

... The campaign map on the other hand, is superb, allowing 360 degree rotation, and puts the TW campaign maps to shame.