Eador: Master of the Broken World - Review @ Gamebanshee

Gamebanshee posted a five page review for Eador: Master of the Broken World.

If you are in any way a fan of strategy-RPG games, ranging from Heroes of Might & Magic to Age of Wonders, or even if you enjoy turn-based strategy games such as Civilization, then I think Eador: Masters of the Broken World is just about the perfect game for you. While it is slower-paced than some of these games, and the initial difficulty level is fairly high, the amount of depth all aspects of the game makes it a contender for one of the most interesting and fun strategy games or RPGs that I have played. The game's creator originally made Eador: Genesis as a love letter to his favorite games, and he really did succeed at making a game that combines some of the best aspects of all of them together.

However, the fact of the matter is that the game is still very buggy. It's getting better with every patch the developers release, and I have a feeling in a few months I'll be able to wholeheartedly recommend the game - but as of now, you'll have to make a decision as to whether it is worth putting up with some major bugs and glitches, some of them literally game-breaking, in order to have fun. At only $20 USD, Eador: MotBW is very affordable, and that might be the tipping point for you - but it's also worth considering that the original Eador: Genesis is nearly the same game, lacking only a few additions, balance tweaks, and of course, the updated graphics. It simply might be the better buy for you if you don't mind searching the Internet for fixes on how to get it running smoothly on your new quad-core system.

At the end of the day, Eador: Masters of the Broken World stands as a strong and highly enjoyable strategy-RPG which can easily go toe-to-toe with the best in the genre, provided you are not opposed to spending a large number of hours getting familiar with the game. With lots of replay value, an extensive campaign with multiple endings, and some very well balanced and challenging combat and strategy, Eador is the best of many worlds. It's just a shame it released in the state it did, and I can only recommend the game right now for those who have faith the bugs will be squashed in the coming months, or those who simply don't mind putting up with them.

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More information.

I have reviews of this game bookmarked to remind me to download it from Steam next time I get the urge to play something new instead of replaying my old games. Seems like it might be a game I like a lot. I'm a bit put off by all the comparisons to HoMM and King's Bounty, but whatever. Master of Magic was the first and as far as I'm concerned the best. It's one of my all time favorite games, of any genre. As far as this "strategy/RPG" genre that seems to have been pulled out of thin air, there are many that used to be called fantasy wargames that I'd place well ahead of HoMM. If this developer was trying to appeal to the HoMM fans, I'm going to be disappointed. But I'm used to that by now.

I haven't played Eador or MotBW, but I get the sense that, while it draws from HoMM, it's not a HoMM or King's Bounty clone. For example, I think the basic geographic unit is a Risk-like territory. The battles are closer to HoMM/KB, but I think they look more like HoMM/KB than they actually are. For example, I -think- that each "unit" is an individual unit rather than a HoMM-style stack.

It actually combines some things from HoMM, some from KB and adds some new stuff to it.
If you loved or liked HoMM and KB, you mustn't skip this game.

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sea said:

The best way I could describe it is "Civilization with HoMM-style combat" but even that wouldn't quite do the style justice.

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That description has sold me, think I'll pick it up once the bugs have shaken out a little.

Comparisons to Civ and HoMM have swayed me, I'll get this at some point for sure, thanks to the comments I've read here.


-Carn

I've had my eye on this since the first trailer. I'll definitely be giving it a try after another patch or two.

Thanks for the rundown. I'll put it on my list too; sounds right up my alley.

instead of saying if it's HoMM or Civ or MoM, I can try and describe the original game, since supposedly this one is a 'reboot' of sorts.

Basically, you're like a God. Some planet got destroyed and it's now a bunch of shards which you must unite. Each shard is a map, to simplify, imagine a 8x8 map grid (it's not a square and it's not 8x8 but the principle is the same). Each 'square' in the grid is a region, which provides resources to the owner, and has mobs guarding them. Each player (you or AI) has a base in one region where you buy stuff, build buildings, learn spells and recruit troops.

In each shard you play an avatar, which could be a wizard (main strength: spells), a warrior (main strength: personal might), a scout (main strength: mobility) or a general (main strength: troops). Avatars are independent from shard to shard, meaning your level 10 warrior from the last shard is gone when you beat it, and in the next shard you select again what level 1 avatar you want to play (there is some strategy here, like usually for small shards warriors are great, but for big shards probably generals are better, depending on your playstyle). Shards are also randomly generated when you enter them so you could have an easy or hard time.

So, once in a shard, you move your avatar from region to region, beating the guardians and gaining control of the regions. Each region has a population that initially doesn't like you too much and each turn like you less and less. With buildings you can make them happier so they don't revolt. But until that happens, you can place guards in each region (and pay their maintenance) to protect the region from rebellion, or from enemy players. Each region gives you money and/or mana and/or special resources (wood, horses, magic gems).

Combat, when it happens, is a separate battle grid with varying hex terrain types, each with advantages/disadvantages for each type of unit (like, lizardmen have bonus on swamp and move faster, while dwarves move well on hills and elves move well on forest). Each unit has health, morale (good morale = more damage, bad morale = less damage and potential abandoning the fight), attack strength, ranged strength, physical defense, magic defense, movement points. Each unit also has one or more traits (spells, charge, round attacks, etc). Combat is turn based combat and side based (all units in a side act, then the other side). After each battle, you and your surviving units gain experience. Both the avatar and units get new abilities at level up. Your avatar can die, in which case you have the option of paying lots of gold/mana to revive, or wait a couple of turns and revive at the main camp for cheaper.

So, eventually you make your way to the enemy camp, lay siege to it (or attack it straight but the more turns you lay siege to it, the less defenses you'll find), and conquer the shard.

When you complete a shard, you gain the shard's bonuses (which could be new building advancements, starting coin/mana for next shard, etc). In a way, since your avatar doesn't transfer between shards, this is the actual way your power increases in the game, by being able to build new buildings, recruit new units for each new shard you conquest, more starting gold/mana, etc.

That's it in a nutshell. It is a fun game, though I found the original one pretty tough (it has like 6 difficulty levels and I usually had a tough time on level 2 lol).