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Terra Nova - America's Forgotten
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Author |
File Description |
Bassi |
Posted on 08/08/17 @ 09:04 AM
File Details |
Version: |
Age of Empires II (2013): The Forgotten |
Required Modpack (if not included with the download): |
African Kingdoms, Rise of the Rajas |
Number of scenarios: |
3 |
Screenshot:
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Terra Nova is a three-scenario campaign about the Spanish conquista of the "New World".
All three scenarios feature a classical Build&Destroy gameplay. If you enjoy attrition warfare and tough sieges, this campaign should meet your requirements.
Scenarios:
- The Tlaxcaltec Revolt (1519 AD): Not all Tlaxcaltecs bow to the Spaniards. Under the leadership of Xicotencatl Axayacatl, a small, but determined rebel group tries to expel the white men.
- The Conquest of Yucatan (1528 AD): End the Maya rebellion and help Francisco de Montejo to conquer Yucatan. Defend Santa Maria de la Victoria, the base of the conquistadors, and destroy all temples of the pagan Indians.
- The Battle of Ollantaytambo (1537 AD): Slip into the role of Manco Capac to fight the armies of the Pizarro brothers and to defend one of the last hiding places of the free Incas, the fortress of Ollantaytambo.
Features:
- Three stand-alone-scenarios (like Battles of the Forgotten and Battles of the Conquerors)
- Classical Build&Destroy Gameplay
- Detailed Map Design
- 19 Artificial Intelligence Scripts
- 900+ Triggers
- 122 mp3s, including an atmospheric soundtrack
Please note: To play this custom campaign, you need the DLCs The Forgotten, The African Kingdoms and Rise of the Rajas. The graphics of the scenario selection menu will only be visible in-game, if you have subscribed to the campaign via steam.
Please note also: If you play this campaign and no custom sounds and music tracks are playing, make sure you run the English version of Age of Empires II HD to fix this problem. You can easily switch the game language in the general options (and you can switch back to another language anytime of course). |
Author | Reviews ( All | Comments Only | Reviews Only ) |
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Cataphract887
Official Reviewer |
Posted on 08/30/17 @ 09:15 PM
"Terra Nova - America's Forgotten" is a three scenario campaign depicting events in the Spanish conquest of the New World;The player is cast into the roles of Aztecs, Spanish, and Inca throughout providing an interesting view on events. The content is typically Bassi;An intense Build & Destroy affair with superb mapping with top notch technical work in all areas.
Playability 5
Attrition warfare and tough sieges were advertised on the tin, and that's exactly what you get. The battles were hard fought all the way through with the player up against the odds, but always possessing the tools needed to win. The experience was reminiscent of multiplayer team matches in a way, as you exit each scenario a tad drained and exhausted, yet the euphoria of a hard earned triumph is certainly worth the fight. There was a great deal of pressure placed upon the player from the onset, and the enemies do not let up as time goes on as in many B&D. Holding strong-points, maintaining a powerful economy, and advancing step by step while utilizing resources is key to victory.
Balance 4
Difficulty:I found the difficulty to be very good. The strong enemies are always manageable, and I finished every scenario with large resource reserves. You will likely want to preserve and use your resources carefully in order to ensure you do not get whittled down. The enemy comes often and quickly, so you must not get pinned down but always have a plan to push forward violently from your defensive choke-points, smashing the enemy production facilities swiftly.
Challenge:The player is confronted with an intense challenge;multiple enemies often at the same time, from positions of limited power, while often being challenged early by attacks. The intensity is so high it may very well be at the breaking point between tough-fun and stupid-hard. The individual preference of the player is essential here, as well as his playing style. During mission two I stubbornly refused to follow the advice of making walls and lost several games in sequence due to the overwhelming enemy attacks which come from every angle, while the player lacks suitable troop recruitment options. Eventually I gave in and fast walled a large starting area, which massively nerfed the difficulty even though I still had to hurry to get a castle up, nearly taking another loss regardless. Mission one had its own annoyance with one enemy being able to send warships right into the players home area, which was a mangrove swamp. The enemy comes from all angles with tons of troops in this scenario, and the interval between waves is crazy low. Understandable as they don't bring that many at once but having to handle so many enemy factions simultaneously is quite taxing.
The problem with all this described above, is that it usually boils down to this formula:See stone, mine stone. See choke-point, build castles. The castles combined with a few cheap units such as pikemen can hold off every attack with perfect efficiency. The maps too often boil down to placing enough castles to strangle the enemies while getting in position to launch an overwhelming blow against the enemy base. This wouldn't be so bad in one mission once in awhile but its getting rather formulaic which makes the challenge provided by the scenarios a bit less appealing.
One last point here is that the presence of multiple heroes was often exasperating due to the high intensity taking the players attention away from micromanaging individuals. I took several losses simply from my heroes standing around somewhere and a random enemy coming upon them, and of course AoC was not built with heroes in mind unlike a game like Warcraft, so there is no GUI support informing you that your in danger of losing soon. Its an unnecessary game element that contributes little to making the gameplay more interesting. A good hero character needs a strong personality and sense of attachment from the player, as well as being a complete badass in fighting capacity.
Creativity 5
The campaign hits on all the notes one would expect for a very high creativity score. While all three scenarios are B&D they do manage to carry their own character with a different situation so that things do not become stale. The gameplay itself is elegant simplicity, with carefully crafted situations to create an intense B&D struggle. The AI are quite well done, and though not perfect with some glitchy behavior at times, the AI was certainly at a very good level. It never broke down, and did not fail in its mission to provide a good challenge to the player. Other elements like nice bitmaps and investment into interesting historical missions is also a plus. Contributing to the enjoyment is a good custom musical score, with some AoE1 tracks mixed in;those always put a smile on my face when I heard the familiar tunes fire up. The maps are creative as well being a perfect mix of form and function, with a good effort to make then well varied while being appropriate for the region.
Map Design 5
One could simply mention that the author is one Bassi and move on, but perhaps some explanation is in order. Three utterly spectacular jungle maps are present, but this is not the same jungle theme repeated times three. Each has their own character and spin to it keeping things fresh. The technical detailing is immaculate, with high points of detail alongside rivers and in cities. The jungles themselves have a convincing denseness to them, appearing wild, tangled, and decadently lush. The only one minor thing I would mention is that the rocky areas around mountains are somehow not entirely convincing. They are rarely the focus and this is not particularly important, but I do begin to desire a more harsh, even brutal toughness in these areas in order to contrast with the lush jungles. In summary a brilliant mapping effort, and one that should be examined by aspiring map designers.
Story\Objectives 5
The campaign covers three loosely related events as the Conquistadors conquer Central and south America. While this campaign does not weave a storyline from one map to another, the historical missions are sufficiently interesting to carry the day. The technical elements of the story section all conducted at a high level, of course. The pregame history section has a good rundown on the situation, while the scouts report was an exhaustive examination of the game situation, with useful data on enemies capacities and tips on potential allies. The hints section is informative and the player would be wise to act with this information in mind. As for ingame story elements, there is a good amount of narrative to explain the situations as they unfold. There is some minor grammar and spelling issues, but these are minor and don't detract from the experience meaningfully, nor do they obscure the meaning of the sentences. The objectives were always quite clear with no confusion over what to do next. All combined its sufficient technical excellence for the highest story score.
Summary:I highly recommend Terra Nova for a download and playthrough. Especially if you are a B&D fan, then you would be seriously missing out by not playing this campaign. |
HGDL v0.8.2 |
Rating |
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4.8 | Breakdown |
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Playability | 5.0 | Balance | 4.0 | Creativity | 5.0 | Map Design | 5.0 | Story/Instructions | 5.0 |
Statistics |
Downloads: | 1,948 |
Favorites: [] | 2 |
Size: | 68.50 MB |
Added: | 08/08/17 |
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