King's Bounty: Warriors of the North - Revealed

Originally Posted by BillSeurer
I started both the original one and Armored Princess and while I enjoyed them I eventually just stopped playing. I think it was because I got tired of the dull running back and forth so much to just keep my troop levels up.

This is probably it for me, too.

Originally Posted by ChaosTheory
These games are maddening. Somehow, I found myself sinking about 80 hours into them, but when I look back, I wonder why. There's just something about them that makes you want to play them, but then regret spending the time afterward.

I don't regret spending the time!

Been one of my favourites. Since its Spring 2012 I expect a few changes other than level design, but from the screenshots it doesn't appear so.

Developer studio is different.
Katauri is currently working on MMORPG "Royal Quest" (in distinctive J-RPG style) http://www.royalquest.ru/screenshots

This is just a 3rd-party "mod" undertaken to milk some more cash from KB's fans.

Well this has made my day. I just finished another play through of KB:TL the other day, my tenth overall and first for a few years. Also decided to finish my Mage Armoured Princess game I was half way through. I think I'm going for no losses in that one. Hadnt played for a year so I dont remember.

Just looked at the screenshots, my day isnt that good after all. Same engine again, they've milked it enough surely. Give us a whole new game please.

Will buy it without hesitation however, would still prefer something brand new.

I would buy this game even if it was just a little tack on mod. I would do this because they have never let me down and their expansions have been amazing. A proper expansion instead of horse armor DLC, or a tiny little quest. I like this behavior from a company and will support in every way I can.

From the little bit I've read about this game it sounds like it'll be fun and I love the fact that it isn't just another island to visit for one more quest. I actually will miss my little dragon and yes, I'm a freaking girl like that. I thought it was cute and liked the skills that went with it.

Well Crossworlds definitely let me down quite a bit. However I will almost certainly get this as it appears to be more like Armored Princess then Crossworlds..

This game is quite the cash-cow.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
This game is quite the cash-cow.

And yet, its Turnbased!

Originally Posted by GhanBuriGhan
And yet, its Turnbased!

Indeed

Not saying that a game can't be great and a cash-cow at the same time. But if I was a big fan of this series, I'd probably want something a bit more meaty at this stage.

Then again, I tire easily of the same thing over and over.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Indeed

Not saying that a game can't be great and a cash-cow at the same time. But if I was a big fan of this series, I'd probably want something a bit more meaty at this stage.

Then again, I tire easily of the same thing over and over.

I don't know, I recently went back and played the original King's Bounty again, and Armored Princess really is a very different game in terms of game mechanics. It may be marketed as just an expansion, but it really feels like more of a sequel. I suspect that this will be the same for Warriors of the North given the list of new features. I'm not sure how much more "meaty" you could really expect it to be.

Originally Posted by fadedc
I don't know, I recently went back and played the original King's Bounty again, and Armored Princess really is a very different game in terms of game mechanics. It may be marketed as just an expansion, but it really feels like more of a sequel. I suspect that this will be the same for Warriors of the North given the list of new features. I'm not sure how much more "meaty" you could really expect it to be.

New engine and new features. Not just more content of the exact same kind over and over. I can't claim to know the intricacies of this new expansion, but it doesn't sound like they're really giving people a "real" sequel - which is the kind of thing I'm referring to.

I suppose we all have different opinions of what we consider a "meaty" change.

It's like some people are happy with each new Magic the Gathering expansion, because they tend to introduce new mechanics and all new cards. Personally, I just see the exact same thing being recycled over and over.

Well there are definitely a large number of new features and gameplay mechanics changes in armored princess. Enough that it almost feels a little painful to go back and play the original King's Bounty. I mean yes your still playing a hero leading armies around the map and fighting other armies, but are you really expecting that to change?

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
New engine and new features. Not just more content of the exact same kind over and over.

Originally Posted by fadedc
Well there are definitely a large number of new features and gameplay mechanics changes in armored princess. Enough that it almost feels a little painful to go back and play the original King's Bounty. I mean yes your still playing a hero leading armies around the map and fighting other armies, but are you really expecting that to change?

Maybe I'm having a hard time seeing the new features that makes the game feel like a sequel. Maybe that's why they're calling it an expansion?

I'm not saying Armored Princess was a bad game or expansion.

I'm saying that if >I< was a fan of the series (I'm not, really) - I'd want something more meaty at this stage.

Think something like The Witcher 2 contrasted with The Witcher. Think Skyrim contrasted with Oblivion.

A NEW game using the same concept, which includes leading a hero around the map fighting fighting armies.

Does that make it clear enough?

Sort of, I mean certainly the switch from Withcher 1 to Witcher 2 was a more dramatic change given that it turned the game into much more of an action RPG. I don't think most fans would want a change that big for KB, there's always a big risk of alienating fans when you make too great of a change. If you look at say the HoMM series, the changes are generally more evolutionary then revolutionary. I'd have to agree though that the KB changes are less dramatic then even the HoMM changes, although they are still more dramatic then you generally see in an expansion pack.

Perhaps the most reasonable anology would be comparing the difference between KB and Armored Princess to the difference between Fallout 3 and Fallout New Vegas. They both still use the basic engine but with enough changes to make the second a different experience then the first.

Originally Posted by DArtagnan
Maybe I'm having a hard time seeing the new features that makes the game feel like a sequel. Maybe that's why they're calling it an expansion?

I'm not saying Armored Princess was a bad game or expansion.

I'm saying that if >I< was a fan of the series (I'm not, really) - I'd want something more meaty at this stage.

Think something like The Witcher 2 contrasted with The Witcher. Think Skyrim contrasted with Oblivion.

A NEW game using the same concept, which includes leading a hero around the map fighting fighting armies.

Does that make it clear enough?

"Milking of the North" is not being made by the same people who made KB: The Legend or AP or Crossworlds.

It just Norse themed game using similar game mechanics as KB: The Legend.

It is possible it will be a good game. But also quite possible it will be a bug ridden disaster, same as all other "milking" trash games. They never get supported properly after release/cash grab.

P.S. I know only a couple of "milking" games which turned out to be better than originals. IMHO. Stalker: CoP (which incorporated many fan-made mod ideas). And "City of Abandoned Ships" (many say it's a bad game, they never saw the original Corsairs 3, which was so bad, it never saw a EU release).

Okay but how many years passed between The Witcher and the ES games? A lot. Honestly, I wouldn't mind some extra games in between that reused the same engines and assets and told new stories.

It's not always a bad thing. I wouldn't trade Ultima 7 part II for a million Ultima 8s and I most definitely would have been happier with a Dragon Age: Origins part II over DA2.

Anyway, it's not like this is the only company doing this. Kalypso has been churning out a bunch of games lately that could really be classified as stand alone expansions. (Tropico 4, Dungeons: The Dark Lord, Disciples 3 etc) Those all basically look and play like their predecessors.

Sorry for the off-topic, but is Ultima 7, part 2 really that great? I am getting tired of the repetition in part 1, and still have a way to go yet.

Hmm, so did the original company sell the license then? I mean if they had no interest in making any more KB games then there's nothing wrong with another company picking up the title. That's what happened with HoMM as well, and it wasn't perfect but it was much better then the series just being abandoned.

Originally Posted by BlackVoid
"Milking of the North" is not being made by the same people who made KB: The Legend or AP or Crossworlds.

It just Norse themed game using similar game mechanics as KB: The Legend.

It is possible it will be a good game. But also quite possible it will be a bug ridden disaster, same as all other "milking" trash games. They never get supported properly after release/cash grab.

P.S. I know only a couple of "milking" games which turned out to be better than originals. IMHO. Stalker: CoP (which incorporated many fan-made mod ideas). And "City of Abandoned Ships" (many say it's a bad game, they never saw the original Corsairs 3, which was so bad, it never saw a EU release).

Originally Posted by Thrasher
Sorry for the off-topic, but is Ultima 7, part 2 really that great? I am getting tired of the repetition in part 1, and still have a way to go yet.

I would definitely say yes, particularly if you don't care so much for the total openness of the first part and want more structure. There's a lot less going off on your own and exploring, but the narrative in the main quest is much more solid.