King Arthur II - Sequel Announced

Dhruin

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Paradox sent over a press release announcing King Arthur II. Screens and a trailer are available at Worthplaying but here's the text:
When the Greatest Tale of Chivalry Ends, the Nightmare Begins
NEW YORK, January 14, 2011 — Paradox Interactive and Neocore Games today announced that development for King Arthur II is underway. Critically praised by reviewers and gamers alike, King Arthur was received as one of the biggest surprises to emerge on the gaming scene in 2009. The Fantasy/Role-playing RTS returns in a sequel set to push the boundaries of the genre even further.

King Arthur II will feature a new and dark fantasy setting. No longer a valiant ruler, King Arthur is now the Maimed King trying to mend a land almost beyond repair in a stunning new plot. More heroic, large scale battles with bigger armies are at reach to defeat more powerful foes. Intense boss fights never seen before promise to pit hero’s forces against unique and terrifying enemies. A new wide range of camera control options, revised animations and an extensive tutorial will provide for the ultimate gaming experience.
"We are excited to begin King Arthur II with the Paradox publishing team," said Zoltán Pozsonyi, Producer of King Arthur II for Neocore. "We have every intention of testing the limits in the sequel. With an extraordinary new plot and insane new battles, our community’s expectations will be blown away."
"We couldn’t be more thrilled to add King Arthur II to our lineup of exceptional upcoming titles. From the early development that has taken place, we know this newest title will more than live up to its predecessor," said Fredrik Wester, CEO of Paradox Interactive.
For more information on King Arthur II, check out the website: www.kingarthurthewargame.com
More information.
 
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Cool. I just got the first one, with expansions, for $5.39 on Steam ... if only I can find some time to play it!

Any comments from those who played the first and what they thought of it?
 
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I played King Arthur, but not any of the expansions yet. I really enjoyed the game, and I thought that it was a nice mix of turn-based campaign management, RTS battles, and RPG elements. Developing your strongholds and recruiting/upgrading your armies and heroes added some nice depth, as did the many quests that your heroes can undertake. These quests have different outcomes depending on your choices and the skills/attributes of your heroes, which is a nice touch.

What I found really refreshing for a strategy game with a story-based campaign was the freedom to pursue the different objectives whenever you wished. This allowed the player to "ignore" the story for a time if they wanted to focus on conquering other factions for a while or build up settlements and recruit better armies. In fact, building up your armies and settlements before taking on the more challenging story missions is a must in some cases. Overall, King Arthur has great pacing because it successfully mixes sandbox strategy elements (meaning that it's not completely linear) with a story that gives the campaign direction and purpose beyond taking over the game map.

One of the few thing that I didn't like about this game was the somewhat uneven difficulty. I certainly want and enjoy a good challenge, but King Arthur's A.I. factions are always mysteriously just little bit stronger than the player, with armies that spawn with units that have multiple experience bonuses led by heroes who seem to always be just a bit stronger than the player's best heroes. This can be frustrating, since I prefer more of a "fair" challenge where the A.I. doesn't "cheat" to get ahead, but it wasn't a game-breaking issue for me. It certainly prevented the game from ever becoming too easy, so I suppose it might be more of a positive than a negative depending on how one looks at it.

Overall, King Arthur is a pretty solid and unique game. Hope these impressions/thoughts help give you an idea of what to expect :cool:
 
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thanks for the review Nerevarine, this title has always piqued my interest but I havent bit yet. Seems a bit like Warhammer: Mark of Chaos, which I got into for a while
 
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Much more complex than MOC.

I'm pretty sure you'll like it if you liked MOC.
 
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The game is a flawed gem. It tries to mimic other games and comes out wanting but in the end is an average game. You will have fun but find many faults. Its the same for all the Neocore games.
 
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The first one was very good. I'm a little wary that they're changing tone from what they did so well in the first game to a 'dark fantasy' that has plenty of scope to be generic.
 
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