King's Bounty: The Legend
Preview
Mixing genres and defying categorisation
by Deis
previewed on PC
Mysteries of Endoria
Those who’ve played the Might & Magic series will find that King’s Bounty: The Legend is oddly familiar. The game takes place in the fantasy world of Endoria, a land complete with treasure, enemies, weapons, quests and a variety of races. Your hero will travel throughout this land, accepting quests from NPC’s, leading an army, and generally having an old-fashioned good time (i.e., saving the world). It’s also somewhat reminiscent of the original King’s Bounty, which was released by New World Computing in 1990.
King’s Bounty: The Legend describes itself as a RPG adventure with tactical battles and for those who do recall the original game, it seems that King’s Bounty: The Legend has improved greatly on the adventure and RPG elements of the original. King’s Bounty: The Legend, is, in part, designed to fill the dire lack of RPGs for PC, and has been compared to the Final Fantasy and Fire Emblem series. Rather than a remake of the original King‘s Bounty game, King’s Bounty: The Legend is a contemporary upgrade for a new generation. Considering the fact that the original game was released the same year my younger sister was born, this is definitely a good thing - so what does this new game have in store?
Developed by Katauri Interactive, Kings Bounty: the Legend mixes RPG adventure with more tactical, turn-based combat. During battles, the player controls an army of strange creatures, moving over a grid made of hexagons. Your army improves as your leadership stat does. Although your hero does not appear to directly participate in battles, he can summon creatures and give other aid to his allies.
Your hero can choose from three different roles: Warrior, Paladin, or Mage, each with it’s own collection of abilities. For instance, warriors will be able to build a larger army and utilise a larger variety of weapons. Mages, on the other hand, will build a smaller, more skill-based army, while the Paladin offers a mix between the two, as well as being more skilled at fending off the undead.
Battle arenas and experienced units
My first impression of the King’s Bounty: The Legend battle system likened it to a game of chess. Big, shiny, tough, sparkly, flashy, pointy-thing chess. With swords. In other words, it looks like fun, particularly for fans of other tactical games.
Battle arenas are now more interactive, with arenas coming in a variety of shapes and sizes. Like in other tactical games such as Vandal Hearts II or Disgaea, assaulting a castle, for instance, will vary dramatically from a battle in a meadow or on a ship. You will also find objects such as treasure chests, traps, altars with penalties or bonuses, hostile creatures, or various obstacles.
