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The Power of the Byzantines
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Author |
File Description |
James Thomas |
Posted on 03/28/00 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
Age of Kings 1.0 |
Style: |
Build and Destroy |
Number of scenarios: |
4 |
The Byzantines were once a peaceful race,troubled only by drought. However, one day a man calling himself 'Genghis Kahn' declared war on Byzantium. The majority of the Byzantine nation did not want war, and so became Mongolia's slaves. However, a small group of Byzantines who called themselves the Renegades, decided enough was enough, and left Byzantium for war. This tale tells of the Revenge of the Byzantines, and their conquest for power. |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Angel Jerusalem
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 09/29/00 @ 12:00 AM
At first, "The Power of the Byzantines" is an okay campaign - its first two scenarios are average and nice, but, as I will explain later, it's the last two scenarios that spoil the whole experience.
The story/instructions of this collection of scenarios was alright. Although far from having a lucid story, the introduction is clear about what one is supposed to do, and the bitmaps that appear in each scenario clarify this even more. Disappointing was the "Rework thy AI" message that appeared in each and every scenario of the campaign. Overall, this was a work that every scenario should have, nothing more.
The map design was also okay, and I suspect that at least the first three (if not the fourth) are modified random maps. Only the fourth scenario featured some eye-candy swamps, and even that was in a corner of a map, so that was a shame. The cities in all of the scenarios are well done, but I felt there was a little fortified wall overkill.
The campaign was balanced properly, the resources (or rather lack of resources) led me to exploring more of the map, so this a point where this scenario shined.
Creative victory conditions and objectives were used, particularly impressive in this area was scenario 2. I also must commend the designer for an inventive plot... don't expect to fight against the Veniceans in this campaign. :)
However, it was playability that disappointed me the most in this campaign. Though I would give the first two scenarios of the campaign a three and a four, respectively, (the second scenario featured innovative victory conditions), I didn't feel the third scenario deserved more than one point. The third scenario was unwinnable; when I completed the victory conditions, some looped objectives appeared, so I didn't know what to do from that point. Supposing it was the end of the scenario, I resorted to the 'i r winner' cheat, even though the average player surely isn't expected to cheat in a scenario.
Which leads me to my biggest dilemma when reviewing this campaign: When I finished the third scenario, I found myself in the main menu of AoK. I tried playing the third scenario again, and entering the 'i r winner' cheat, but I recieved the same results in that attempt, as well as the following attempts. Determined to finish this campaign, I extracted the fourth scenario via a program named "CPN Manager" (for Windows, not DOS), by Lloyd Kinsella.
The fourth scenario was also problematic, because in order to win the scenario, one was supposed to bring Emperor Belisarius to the flag where Emperor Kitabake once stood. There was the catch - I couldn't find Belisarius. Due to those faulty third and fourth scenarios, though keeping the first two in mind, I finally decided I should give this campaign a 2 in Playability, a score I found fair.
If you feel like an enjoyable historical fantasy campaign, challenging yet ultimately winnable, though don't mind the faults mentioned above, you should definately download "The Power of the Byzantines" and reign supreme as the conqueror of Asia! |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.2 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 2.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 3.0 | Story/Instructions | 3.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 3,806 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 932.66 KB |
Added: | 03/28/00 |
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