Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf

Developer(s)	Liquid Entertainment
Publisher(s)	Crave
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date	Nov 11, 2002^[1]
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, Multiplayer
Rating(s)	ESRB: Teen (T)
Media	Compact disc
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse

Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf is the standalone expansion pack of the real-time strategy computer game Battle Realms, developed by Liquid Entertainment and Crave Entertainment and published by UbiSoft. The game was announced on July 1, 2002 ^[2] and released on November 5, 2002^[1]

1 Gameplay
2 Story
3 Reception
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Gameplay

Winter of the Wolf is placed in a historical fantasy setting largely inspired by martial arts movies and anime.^[3] The player controls a range of military units in order to complete objectives set in a series of campaigns. These units can be commanded to construct useful buildings or fortifications or attack enemy units or buildings. Player controlled units can be grouped together in order to coordinate movement and attacks.^[4]

The game is broken down into a series of 11 single-player campaigns and 30 multi player maps. The campaigns start off simple in nature, with the player controlling a single character. As the story unfolds, military units are encountered that ally themselves to the player.^[5] In later campaigns, the player can order the construction of buildings and units in order to complete objectives and solve puzzles.

Winter of the Wolf features a number of environmental features that were unique at the time. As the campaign progresses, winter begins to set in, changing the terrain from a tundra to a snowscape. ^[5] Day and night cycles are also present, providing further variations to the campaigns. ^[6] The musical score is also dynamic, changing according to events occurring in the game. ^[6]

[edit] Story

The story begins with Grayback, the last heir to the Wolf clan's throne, explaining that long ago that life was better for their clan before the storms came and drowned their paradise. They were saved from death by their druidess order using their clan's most sacred treasure the white wolf's skull, given to them by their clan's totem, the white wolf.^[5]

The skull guided them to the lands of the Serpent empire where their new neighbors the Serpent and Lotus clan welcomed them as allies but unfortunately they trusted them.Thinking that their lives seemed simple and good again little did they now that Lord Zymeth of the Lotus clan made a deal with the Serpent emperor and attacked them by surprise. The Serpent clan looked away as the Lotus burned their towns and killed their people, many wolvesmen tried to fight back but were unsuccessful, the survivors of the battle became slaves in the Lotus shale mines, ever since then Grayback trained his fellow miners in the arts of war, led them to rebellion and struggle for freedom from the grip of their slave master Mistress Yvaine.^[5]

[edit] Reception

Reviews
Publication	Score
1UP.com	D+^[7]
ActionTrip	8.1 out of 10 (Very Good)^[6]
GameSpot	7.3 out of 10 (Good)^[4]
IGN	7.5 out of ten (Good)^[5]
Compilations of multiple reviews
Compiler	Score
Metacritic	71 out of 100^[8]
MobyRank	75 out of 100^[9]

Battle Realms: Winter of the Wolf mostly received mixed reviews. The release of the original game was largely unnoticed due to the arrival of Blizzard Entertainment's Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos. As a result, Winter of the Wolf was packaged with the original game for $30. ^[4]