New game Lionheart: Kings' Crusade

Not so long ago the company Neocore Games created a project with a historical and magical bias called King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame. It was created in the strategy genre and was similar to the games of Total War, Dark Omen and Mark of Chaos.

The creators of King Arthur: The Role-playing Wargame were able to release something new and unprecedented in this genre of games. It is for this reason that people wanted to continue this fascinating game. Everyone wanted new adventures and campaigns of King Arthur. But the developers decided otherwise. They changed the knights of the round table to the Crusaders. And now all countries learn about the life of Richard the Lionheart in the East. Lionheart: Kings' Crusade is a very realistic game with reliable facts, we will not see any magical aura here. In Russia, Snowball Studios helped to realize this project. So, in 2010, the eighth of October, and there was a game Lionheart: Kings' Crusade.

Similarity with other games

This game is a kind of continuation of the Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come, but not very similar. Continuity, of course, can be found, but not fully. Outwardly the game looks great, all the details are drawn perfectly clearly.

A bit of history

One of the great generals in history was Richard the Lionheart. He lived in times of medieval Europe. Glory to him came after the crusade, the third in a row. In addition, Richard was an excellent poet who wrote poems in Occitan and French. Not everyone knows this fact of his biography. Eyes blue, blonde hair, high growth, excellent physique - excellent data of an enviable groom. But military actions always stood for him in the first place. As for women and his country, he paid very little time. His period of government is associated with huge taxes and the regular absence of a ruler in the country. Only six months, Richard spent in England for ten years of government.

Game Modes

In Lionheart: Kings' Crusade provides two modes. The player opens dozens of provinces. Big cities, such as Total War, can not be found here. When capturing Jerusalem, one can not produce soldiers, build a market and fortify the walls. An analogy in this respect can be traced in the game Mark of Chaos. Figuratively speaking: the player simply moves around the map and rearranges the commander in chief.

When you hit the new province opens a tactical battle. All fights are quite familiar. In this game there are soldiers of different suits, cavalrymen of different kinds and any parameters, spearmen, swordsmen and archers. Everything is exactly the same as in the game Total War. All these heroes were in the period of the Crusades. The design of the landscape is quite true. Huge deserts, small cities with Arab population, buildings of yellow stone - all this reflects the reality of that time. At first glance, the two modes are simple and familiar, but this is not the case at all. This game is fundamentally different from its predecessors.

Distinctive features of the game Lionheart: Kings' Crusade

The review gives us the opportunity to see that in this game there are many features and differences from previous products of the same manufacturer. When a player hits a global map, he starts walking on it, defeating enemies, capturing strangers and various artifacts. And then Richard the Lionheart reminds us that the army is dying without our care and attention.

In Lionheart: Kings' Crusade provides for a complex role-playing system. In the window with the army on top of the icons, the pros are blinking, there are unfilled slots with weapons, and parameters for decreasing and increasing are also available. In all battles, each unit earns points that the player subsequently distributes on a global scale map. For example, swordsmen can increase the level of protection or attack. You can also improve morale or stamina. For the soldiers provided for as a wall, you need strong shields, steel nerves and a strong head. Proceeding from this, it is necessary to develop them along this path. They need to improve defense and morale. But the detachment, designed to kill heroes from the enemy army, you need to improve the level of power in the attacks. Thus, after several hours of play, you can get two units with the same names, but different in function and strength. With the growth of experience swordsmen can go to the category of Knights-Crusaders.

But the army can not only improve on the parameters, but also equip. Before the battle, you can choose a weapon, a potion. All these additions give different strength and opportunities to the soldiers. Any drink has a magical effect. After drinking such a potion, soldiers can become stronger, more active or more enduring for a certain period of time. This interpretation in Lionheart: Kings' Crusade is entertaining for the user. With the loss of warriors in Total War, they are just a pity, but in this game - this is a huge loss. The number of troops here is limited, so the battle takes place in small groups. And in this group everyone has a specific function. If someone dies, then the new recruits will have to be much more difficult. This is the tactic of this game is different from others. Here there are knights in large numbers, but cannon fodder, as in Total War, is not found here.

Tactical battles and their features

The battles in this game are completely different, unlike its predecessors. They differ not only in the strength and uniqueness of the soldiers, but also because the developers divided the tactical battles into several levels. This helps make them more interesting and exciting, although not quite familiar. A wonderful idea is that every battle is perfectly drawn, thought out to the smallest detail, and each has its own idea.

It is also interesting that all the steps in one battle are absolutely different from each other. This is due to politics. In the game Lionheart there are 4 factions who want to be friends with your army. But they have their own idea of friendship. They all let us know why they want to be with you and what your fighters will get in return. Any faction may decide to disembark in the north, but after their opinion on further actions will differ greatly. Each side offers its own variants of development of actions and promises in return its bonuses in case of victory.

In general about the game

A fascinating, informative and exciting strategy - that's what you can say about Lionheart: Kings' Crusade. In addition to playing for the Crusaders, this additionally and the story of the Saracens. Of course, as in any game, there are drawbacks. But there are so few of them that they are practically invisible. Someone may sometimes seem boring fights, someone will notice the shortcomings in AI, and someone will not like that you can not save the game during a fight. But all this is trifles, which against the background of pluses do not mean anything. Such computer games for boys are more suitable than for girls. After all, it is the male half of humanity that loves battles and choice of tactics.

Lionheart: Kings' Crusade will help you plunge into the world of a dangerous Middle East in the Middle Ages. The game will tell in detail about the crusade and King Richard. Together with him you will first get to the Holy Land, and then - to the Muslim desert. Then in the game you can conquer the lands of the Middle East with the help of soldiers of Saladin. Of course, if you want you can play the first Saracens, and the second - Europeans, but then the chronology of events will be incorrect. But you can go through the game first with one campaign, then another. But the most difficult way is the road with the sons of Allah. First, go through several missions with the Crusaders. This will help in the future when passing the game. Plunge into the interesting world of the Middle Ages. If the game seemed complicated, you can download for Lionheart: Kings' Crusade codes. Good luck and good pastime at the computer!