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Author |
File Description |
MG (id: Marshal Gandalf) |
Posted on 02/03/04 @ 12:00 AM
File Details |
Version: |
The Conquerors 1.0c |
Style: |
Mix |
Number of scenarios: |
5 |
First, this is my designing debut in AoK.
In this campaign, you will have 5 scenarios - 2 cutscenes and 3 playable scenarios. The campaign is difficulty dynamic.
Story:
The swedish duke Haakon is the last chance of Scandinavy to regain unity and vanquish foreign forces from land. Hopes you'll enjoy!!!
Marshal Gandalf (If any comments and bug reports, contact me at gandalf_pk@hotmail.com) |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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four hundred babies (id: Lord_Fadawah) |
Posted on 02/10/04 @ 12:00 AM
PLAYABILITY
Haakon, the Duke (HtD) is the first campaign by the very active forummer, Marshal Gandalf. While not exactly bad, as first campaigns go, there are numerous playability problems. It starts you off with a wannabe king of Scandinavia who is faced with a dilemna -- namely: invasion. With Teutons, Polish, and Skraelings converging on the snowbound country, things look grim. But when the three factions start warring amongst themselves, Haakon believes that it is time to strike. There are five scenarios: three of them playable and two of them custscenes. Two FFs, one B&D. The first one (FF) you start with a large army, and must destroy the cities of your three enemies. This scenario was the one that had the main playability problem marring this campaign. You see, to simulate an epic battle, Marshal Gandalf has set it so that your enemies are constantly being created and tasked to the battlefield. So, your enemies get an infinate number of troops. Marshal Gandalf probably assumed that they would kill each other off, but that isn't the way it happens. The Skraelings have Siege Onagers, thus giving them a huge advantage. The Siege Onagers soon destroy all of the Teutonic and Polish forces, and then wipe them out as they slowly trickle in, while the Skraelings just get reinforcements constantly! The end result is this, you are facing an enemy with +30 Siege Onagers and +100 Woad Raiders. There is no way on earth you can counter that with Longbowmen and Cavaliers. D'oh! After that the playability picks up. In the second scenario (B&D), you have a starting town, with military buildings to the north and west that you cannot replace and so must protect at all costs. It's pretty fun arm-wresting with the Teutons over the buildings, and gave me a lot of fun. In the third scenario (FF), you must find the sacred two relics, thus consolidating Haakon's rulership over Scandinavia. It is OK, but wandering along long paths getting pounced on by enemies got a bit repedive after a while. 3+
BALANCE
The abovementioned balance problem is the main factor for the low balance score. There is simply no real way to win the first scenario, except by cheating. I tried several times, (using ploys like stopping unit creation by moving units onto the creation tiles), but nothing worked. Also, the troops guarding the enemy camps were difficult to take out. The other scenarios were well balanced, so I will give an extra point for them. 4
CREATIVITY
The fight-the-baddies-to-become-king formula is a little tired, but there are some interesting creativity factors. For instance, you are told what genre the scenario is in the scenario menu, which is pretty handy. Your archers have 10 attack each, making it historically true. Gone are the days when you would need 100 arrow shots to kill a single knight! And, to my relief, the cutscene sequences don't drag on forever. HtD is pretty standard -- no bells and whistles -- but is still fun to play. -4
MAP DESIGN
HtD's map needs a lot of work, there isn't enough terrain variation for it to be truly impressive. There is some interesting eye candy (like the abandoned rug ship, and the archers concealed in the rocks), but some gaia would really do wonders. And, you'll notice, that the shape of Scandinavia is exactly like it is in real life! Really, try typing marco/polo. You can see Norway, Sweden, Daneland, Finland, and the Gotlandish isles. I found out how he did it -- he used the map from Gordon Farrel's Viking Prince series. A clever ploy, and he has edited it enough to make it look like it is his. 3
STORY/INSTRUCTIONS
The best part of this campaign is it's story. I, for one, have had a gutful of swords-and-sorcery fantasy RPGs. Although HtD is not historically accurate, it could be historically accurate. The units and setting is right, and Scandinavia was the place of innumerable turf wars and squabbles for power. Hints are abundant and comprehensive. 5
SUMMARY
The annoying bug in the first scenario is extremely detrimental to gameplay, but other then that, good job! This campaign is certainly worth downloading by novices and experts.
GOOD POINTS
-All-round solid gameplay
-Practical and real to history
BAD POINTS
-Balance issues
-Poor map |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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3.8 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 3.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 4.0 | Map Design | 3.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,805 |
Favorites: [] | 0 |
Size: | 282.56 KB |
Added: | 02/03/04 |
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