Warlords Battlecry II

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Warlords Battlecry II
Developer(s)	SSG
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Designer(s)	Steve Fawkner[1]
Release date(s)	March 12, 2006
Genre(s)	RTS, RPG
Mode(s)	Single player, multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB Teen ELSPA 11+
Platform(s)	Windows
Media	CD
System requirements	Pentium II 350 (or equivalent) 64 MB RAM 8 MB graphics card DirectX 8.0a 845 MB hard disc space[2]
Input	Keyboard and mouse

Warlords Battlecry II is a real-time strategy and role-playing game, developed by SSG as the sequel to Warlords Battlecry. It was released on 12th March 2002.^[3] The game requires the player to build buildings and create units in order to defeat the enemy, whilst sending their hero on optional quests.^[4]

The game is set within the world of Etheria. In the campaign the player must take control of one of the twelve races and capture all sixty-seven regions of the land in a non-linear manner. The player does this whilst assuming the role of a "Hero" which he or she has created.^[5] There are twelve different playable races, each with their own type of Hero, buildings and resource dependencies.^[6]

The game was well-received by critics and users alike,^[3] with an average score of 82/100 on Metacritic.^[7] Warlords Battlecry III, the sequel to the game, was released in 2004.^[8]

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Real-time strategy elements 1.2 Role-playing elements 1.3 Game modes 1.3.1 Campaign 1.3.2 Skirmish 2 Development 3 Critical reception 4 References 5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

The gameplay of Warlords Battlecry II can be divided into two sections: the real-time strategy part and that of the role-playing.^[4] Whilst these are considerably different genres, the two games are played simultaneously. At any point during the real-time strategy game the player can embark on the role-playing elements of the game whilst the real-time section continues.

[edit] Real-time strategy elements

In the traditional manner of real-time strategy games, the player uses units to build buildings and the buildings create more units (most of which are used to fight).^[4] Researches offer upgrades to most aspects of the game. Each race has their own set of buildings, units and researches which they can build (with a few exceptions). Building, unit and research acquisition require resources (of which there are four: gold, ore, metal and crystal), which are collected from mines. Mines produce resources for whoever owns them (although only have a limited supply of resources), but some basic "builder" units can be placed into mines to speed up the rate of income. Different races need different resources in different proportions.^[9] Players gain possession of mines by "converting" them: a process carried usually only carried out by a General or a Hero. Buildings can also be converted.^[10]

There are twelve playable races to choose from, each with a different combination of buildings^[6] and units.^[11] Some are unique to a race (for example, the Salamander unit can only be created when playing the Daemon race), but some races can access the same units (the Thrall is available to both the Minotaurs and Barbarians, for example). Each race has a unique "titan": an extremely powerful unit which can only be built once in a game.^[12] Each race also has its own "General" unit, which, unlike the titan, can be bought more than once and shares many of the same abilities as heroes (ability to convert, occasionally summoning).^[13] Different races have different strengths, weaknesses and resource dependencies.^[6]

Before a game starts, the player is given the opportunity to select a set of units which he or she will start with at the beginning of the game. These units are chosen by spending points: units cost points, and the stronger units cost more. Titans and the other generals are unavailable for purchase from this screen. The number of points available to spend is 50 in the Skirmish game and can vary much more in the Campaign game. Also available for purchase are a set of characters, the player's "retinue", of units which have performed well in previous battles and have gained enough experience through fighting. Whilst more than one of each of the regular units can be bought, only one of each of the units in the retinue is available for purchase, and will generally cost more points than regular units. Any unit controlled by the player, aside from the Titan or the Hero, can be placed in the retinue after a battle providing they have a large amount of experience. If a member of the retinue, given a name once it joins it, dies in battle once, then they cannot be taken into battle again and appear on one of the gravestones in the "Graveyard", accessible from the retinue.^[14]

A standard game will start with these selected units, the player's Hero and usually some towers. The only building which can be built at the start of a game is the keep. This is the main building which will produce some units. It starts off at "level one", but can be upgraded (no higher than "level five") to allow new units, buildings and researches to be purchased.

The goal of each game is to win in accordance of the "victory conditions", of which there are thirteen. Common victory conditions include Standard Victory (in which a player must wipe out all of his opposition) and Raze All Buildings (in which there is a time-limit of five minutes to destroy all enemy buildings). Other game modes mean that victory can only be achieved through killing the enemy hero, destroying as many buildings as is possible in a given time limit.^[15]

[edit] Role-playing elements

Whilst role-playing elements can apply to most units, the main focus of the role-playing part of the game is on the player's Hero.

When playing their first game (be it campaign, skirmish or the tutorial) the player must create a hero. This involves several stages, but arguably the most important is the choice of race (the same twelve the player can choose to command during the game on a larger scale). Different races have different strengths and weaknesses, determined by four main areas: strength (physical might and health), dexterity (agility and speed), charisma (morale, personality and leadership) and intelligence (knowledge of magic and ability to use it). These figures cannot be altered during the creation of the Hero.^[5]

Character portrait, name and the option to password-protect the hero are also chosen at this stage. It is also possible to choose to create "advanced" heroes which are either "ironman", "bronzeman" or "tinman" Heroes. Ironman Heroes will gain double the regular amount of XP, but if killed once in battle they will become permanently dead (this is contrary to regular heroes, who will die in battle but come back to fight in other games). Bronzeman Heroes gain 50% more experience points than from all battles they fight in and survive, but death will result in having the experience point count reverted to that at the start of the level. Tinman heroes gain 25% more experience than usual, but will only gain experience if they do not get killed in the battle.^[16]

The Hero will gain experience at the end of each battle depending on how well they fared during the game. Once a certain amount of experience has been gained the Hero will gain a level. At level two and three, a profession and speciality are chosen and statistics and skills will increase accordingly. At level four and beyond, ability points (gained once the character has levelled up) can be spent on improving these statistics and skills. These skills are created by combining the four basic statistics (strength, dexterity, charisma and intelligence). For example, health is determined by a combination of strength and dexterity. In total there are ten different skills.^[17]

Providing the player has selected the correct options, their Hero will be able to cast magic. There are eleven "spheres" of magic, each of which performs a slightly different task. As the Hero levels up, they will be able to spend ability points on these spells if they choose to or can cast magic in the first place. Some spheres of magic allow offensive spells, some provide healing, whilst others will summon certain units.^[18]

Heroes take a prominent place in-game. They are the only unit which can pick up items (usually found on the bodies of other Heroes, , sometimes earned through quests and occasionally offered to the player by merchants). They are one of the only units which cannot be created through buildings or summoning, and if they die during one game it is impossible to resurrect them during that game. Heroes are some of the only units which can convert buildings and mines.^[17]

No unit other than the player's Hero is able to undertake quests. Quests are available from shrines: small buildings dotted around the map. Quests are undertaken whilst the main real-time strategy segment of the game goes on, and often the two are interrelated. A typical quest might be to kill a certain number of enemies in a certain timespan in exchange for a reward (usually an item, large quantity of resources or group of units). Other forms of quest are available: a quest might consist of a riddle, and some can simply be completed by paying some resources.^[19]

Other units also have basic role-playing features. With the exception of titans, any character can gain experience through combat. As with Heroes, this experience will result in gaining levels, although unlike Heroes this process takes place within the game rather than after it. After a game, any units which have performed exceptionally well and survive to the end can be placed in the player's Retinue.^[13]

[edit] Game modes

[edit] Campaign

Most of the gameplay can be found in the singleplayer campaign, entitled the "Battle for Etheria". The campaign is set in the fantasy world of Etheria, itself divided into sixty-seven regions.^[5] The goal is to capture all of the regions, and completing this task will result in the player's character gaining and item: the Orb of Etheria, which can only be gained in this way. The type of Orb gained depends on the difficulty level which the game is played at.^[5]

The player starts the campaign by either selecting a Hero or creating a new one.^[5] Only one campaign can be played per Hero at a time, and the starting race played is determined by the race of the Hero (for example, if the player chooses a Daemon Hero they will start by playing with the Daemon race). At the beginning of the campaign, all of the twelve available races (one of which is controlled by the player) starts with just one region: the race's "citadel". When control of these citadels is taken by the player, the player can play with the race of the original holder of the region. Any regions adjacent to any owned by the player can be assaulted. By default these regions are not in the possession of any of the races, but as the game goes on the player and other races will expand their empires. Occasionally, some regions will rise up against the player's rule and the rebellion must be quashed. Additionally, the player's hero may receive a challenge from another hero, which they can accept if they wish. Such challenges will often result in XP bonuses.^[20]

When each region is conquered, a bonus of some sort is gained. Normally this consists of a bonus (for example, +10% to Morale) and a tribute and income of the game's currency of Crowns. Retinue points, which in the Skirmish mode default at 50, are purchased using these Crowns.^[20] Occasionally groups of Mercenaries will offer to join the player in the the following game, and a Merchant might offer an item with certain bonuses to the player. These are also purchased using Crowns.

Unlike most games, the campaign does not follow a linear storyline. Instead, the player chooses which regions to assault by using the map screen. A "progress report" gives a bar chart showing how many regions are controlled by which races. The "region bonuses" screen will display a complete list of the aforementioned bonuses. Any "sparkling" areas of the map are not taken by the player and can be taken. When choosing a region to attack, a predicted amount of resistance (the difficulty in winning the assault) will appear. Changing the race the player uses often changes this predicted amount of difficulty.^[20]

[edit] Skirmish

Whilst in the Campaign mode the scenario options are predetermined, in the Skirmish Mode the player has the opportunity to choose the scenario options themselves. Options such as victory conditions, maximum keep level, the number of enemy and/or allied AI players and the ability to build walls can be configured. A pre-built map can either be selected from the list, or a random map can be generated and customised (the player can customise options such as the map size, map terrain, number of temples, number of animals and number of resources on the map). AI players' race, team and difficulty (ranging from "Squire", the easiest, to "Emperor", the hardest of the six difficulty settings).^[21] The number of unit setup points can be customised and be anything from 0 to 50.^[22]

With the exception of a few differences, Multiplayer and Skirmish games are identical. Players can send in-game messages to one another in Multiplayer games. The victory condition "Capture The Flag", in which a player must convert and own all the flags on the map to secure victory, is only available in Multiplayer games.^[23]

[edit] Development

On October 4th 2001, SSG announced that a sequel to Warlords Battlecry was in development and was at the stages of beta-testing.^[24] The game was slated to feature a non-linear campaign^[25] (as opposed to the linear, story-driven campaign of the game's predecessor^[26]) and feature almost a hundred and forty different unit types (sixty of which would be brand new), twelve races (nine from the previous game, three created specifically for this game^[27]), 20 hero classes and more than a hundred spells and special abilities.^[24]

Six days later, on October 10th 2001 a new official website was launched, featuring a summary of the game's features as well as screenshots, desktop wallpapers, messageboards and information on the armies and races.^[28] Over the following months, details concerning the units and races were added to the website.^[29] After the game's release the website provided a source of official downloads. Patches, custom AIs, scenarios and tools were made available to download.^[30]

On 5th February 2002 SSG released a 100MB demo of the game. It featured two maps, two playable races, and two spell spheres. It was made available for download from the German Ubisoft website.^[31] Ubisoft announced on 21st February that the game had gone gold and was on target for its release date of March 12th.^[32] This target was met and on 12th March the game was released across the USA, with a retail price of $39.99.^[33]

[edit] Critical reception

The game generally received positive reviews, with Metacritic giving an average score of 82 out of 100 ("generally favourable reviews").^[7] The Armchair Empire said that "...[playing the] game has been the most fun I’ve had in playing an RTS since Dungeon Keeper 2 and Warcraft 2". The review site rated the game 8.9/10.^[34] PC Gamer US described the game as "welcome on my computer for a long time to come", in particular praising the non-linear campaign and the sheer scope of the game, awarding it 90%.^[27] IGN stated that "...[Warlords Battlecry II] may not have a ton of really noticeable new things when it comes down to the real-time strategy aspect of play, but it definitely had enough to draw me through my jaded curtain and get me playing and interested again". It too praised the campaign, giving the game an overall rating of 8.5 out of a possible 10.^[35]

GameSpot, whilst describing the game as "a solid real-time strategy game" and giving it a rating of 8.2 out of 10, noted that "[the game] doesn't take a big leap forward".^[36] According to the game's Metacritic page, this was an opinion held by many reviewers.^[7] Another criticism concerned the game's save feature. Despite the positive review the game received from The Armchair Empire, it criticised the save feature. The review described how "....during battles, saves are unlimited, but there is only save game, meaning that a save at an inopportune time is worse than no save at all".^[34]

According to the game's official website, the game recieved three awards: PC Gamer US' Editor's Choice award, Computer Gaming World's Editor's Choice award and Computer Games Magazines' Editor's Choice award.^[37]

[edit] References

• Warlords Battlecry II English manual

[edit] External links

• Official website
• Warlords Battlecry II at IGN
• Warlords Battlecry II at MobyGames