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Risk - The Teutonic Order
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Author |
File Description |
Jan dc (id: Den cekke) |
Posted on 12/07/14 @ 09:54 AM
File Details |
Version: |
Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten |
Style: |
Mix |
Screenshot:
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In 1226 a widespread crusader fervor spread through Western-Europe. The Teutonic Order active in the Holy Land was given a small piece of land on the borders of Poland to defend it against its Pagan Prussian neighbors. Seeing it as a good practice ground for their wars in the Holy Land the Grand Master took the opportunity and brought the fight to the Last pagans in Europe. Little did he know at the time that the tables would turn and this small piece of land in the Baltic would become a holy state the size of a country...
For all you risk fans out there. In honor of the great Risk maps created by King Bob VI I've made a scenario very much like it, set in the Medieval Baltic region. You might be familiar with King Bob VI's Risk: Crusader, Risk: Hundred Years' War and daftpanzer's advanced Risk style system on which I based this scenario obviously. I've always enjoyed playing them as it creates a strategic gameplay unique to age of empires. This Risk version features 19 capturable castles and outposts, 6 active players and is based on the actual Baltic region. Several alliances exist and may change during the course of the game. Be prepared for a fun and lengthy battle set in yet another historical background.
You can play this scenario from the custom campaign menu.
There's also a small scenario included which showcases the general Risk maps and shows you how they work. |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Mash (id: Mashek)
Staff
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 05/14/16 @ 03:16 AM
'Risk ~ The Teutonic Order' by Den cekke is a continuation of a long tradition of risk-style maps here at the Blacksmith, first developed by daftpanzer and King Bob VI. The game is fixed-force, while units can be purchased with gold by selecting the relevant building, and requires the player to capture all enemy settlements by means of razing castles in order to win the game.
You control the Teutonic Order from humble beginnings at the fortified keep at Gdansk, and must wage a bloody crusade against your pagan enemies the Lithuanians, Livonians and Prussians. Later, your ambition for conquest eventually draws in the powerful and dreaded arch enemy Poland.
PLAYABILITY: Risk-type scenarios have made somewhat of a show in the last few years, and provide a solid concept in just about every arena of war and historical era imaginable. Previous scenarios have encompassed the Crusades and perhaps more popularly the 100 Years War. The author here has chosen the brutal backdrop of the Baltic Crusade, which works convincingly with the North European setting and provides endless opportunity for conquest and bloodshed. The detailed and realistic layout of the Baltic provides the player with free reign for conquest, with fast-paced, relentless game play, and a constant challenge to survive. Each play through tempts the player with multiple avenues to conquest, by land or sea, and a particularly unique game in strategic play. The battlefield is ever shifting as settlements are won or lost, while smaller settlements lay interspersed between them provide small springboards for enemy attacks and must be dealt with quickly. The player must be wary in trespassing into neighbouring allied territory early on as this invokes unwanted consequences. The only downgrade to my experience included excessive lag at various points throughout the game as enemy attacks increased in size. With that said, this is lots of fun and provides good replay value. 4.0+
BALANCE: The player begins in a precarious position, and is immediately under attack by Prussian forces. From start to finish, you are always under threat of attack and you will quickly need to find the right balance between defending and attacking. It does at times prove to be too difficult depending on where the AI decides to send its attacks, and sometimes you are facing all three opponents at once. With that said, the fast paced game play is a double-edged sword. While it provides continuous action it also offers no break in between battles which sometimes prove to be exhausting. Most of the time you're trying to push in one direction, while you are also defending from one sometimes two other fronts. This of course comes with the game play style, and doubtless anything that can be done about it due to the nature of the attacking enemy AI. It is also interesting because you run the risk of doing exactly what the Teutonic Order of its time fell victim to; over-extending yourself against multiple enemies. 4.0
CREATIVITY: It's a concept that has been seen and done before in a number of other risk-style games, but this is still very solid and comes complete with an extensive and complex map, up to 19 cities to conquer, and a number of enemies to battle simultaneously. Each city specialises in different troop choice purchases, which makes capturing particular strongholds strategically crucial, and losing them so much more painful. Units can be purchased for a small sum of gold by selecting the relevant building, while gold itself is accumulated through the capture of settlements. Various events and circumstances force you to adopt different strategies, and you can expect crusading parties to join your bloody cause, including eventually the Livonian Brotherhood and even Danes from the far north. The soundtrack in particular was a highlight and suited the setting as I carved a bloody swathe across the Baltic. 5.0-
MAP DESIGN: The strength of the map design lays in its depiction of the vast Baltic region, with good attention to detail in most compartments. The seamless design provides multiple avenues to attack and to extend your burgeoning empire, while providing consistently challenging game play across the whole map. The many castles and smaller settlements were well-designed and easily accessible by large amounts of roaming troops. One particular highlight was when you captured a seemingly insignificant settlement, only for it to be razed before your eyes and constructed into a mighty fortress. There were a few parcels of land that weren't quite there, but only minor quips really. 5.0-
STORY/INSTRUCTIONS: The author provides everything the player needs to know about playing the game, including an extensive hints section and then some. There can be no complaint here. 5.0
OBSERVATIONS: One idea for the author to consider would be to include two options of play here. One: a historical option in which the player is tasked to capture only the historical cities conquered by the Teutonic Order, thus resulting in a shorter game. Two: the current game play which is to capture every castle on the map. This can be done by selecting outposts at the start of the game. I believe this would greatly appease most people depending on what time they're willing to invest in the game, but also provide a nice difficulty curve and make the game play more interesting and strategic.
CONCLUSION: Despite proving to be a very challenging game at times, 'Risk ~ Teutonic Order' is still lots of fun and more so very addictive. Furthermore it is yet another solid instalment to the 'Risk' series here at the Blacksmith.
In a sentence - Bloody, relentless and challenging.
In closing - A highly-recommended download.[Edited on 05/14/16 @ 07:33 PM]
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HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.6 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 4.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,002 |
Favorites: [] | 2 |
Size: | 5.41 MB |
Added: | 12/07/14 |
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