Medieval Conquest

Anyone who’s ever played any PC RTS or RPG knows just how involved, complicated, and serious this genre is.  You’re usually presented with encyclopedia sized game manuals and a list of about ten bazillion different stats, units, sliders, and equipment to manage to the ‘nth degree.  Thankfully, Medieval Conquest is not one of those games.  It’s a lighthearted, fun, and simple take on the genre that has far more in common with the movie Shrek, both in appearance and humor, than it does with the Warcraft’s, Diablo’s, and Civilization’s of the world.  This isn’t to say that this is strictly “kiddie” fare, because it’s not, nor is it just merely RTS/RPG lite.  While it does have a comparatively short learning curve, there is a fair amount of strategy and adult humor to keep even the most jaded gamer amused.

The story behind the game and your whole purpose for playing is pretty standard fantasy fare.  A king and his kingdom have been overrun by all manner of evil and beasts.  So overwrought with evil, the king cannot spare any of his men to try and turn back the tide of the hordes.  Many others have failed, but those numbers do not include you.  You begin the game by hiring would-be warriors to help you and therefore the king in exterminating the evil denizens.  You are presented with three classes of stereotypical fantasy warriors: the Ranger, the Warrior, and the Mage.  Basically these three classes are pretty self-explanatory with the Rangers being skilled in ranged attacks, the Warriors are skilled in up close and personal battles, and Mages are skilled in all manner of spells.  It is in your selection, mix, and placement of these characters that you’ll first begin to get a taste of the game’s strategy offerings.  Different types of monsters require different ratios of your troops for the most efficient exterminations.

But it doesn’t end there; your troops have needs too.  You must provide buildings for healing, entertainment, food, and weaponry.  As your troops continue to level up and become more proficient, they’ll require better and better facilities with which to meet these needs.  By catering to their needs and skill levels you’ll not only keep your fighting masses happy and healthy, but you’ll also increase your own valor rating which makes it easier and cheaper for you to hire more experienced troops.  Fail to meet the needs and demands of your troops and they’ll quickly become deserters, lowering your valor and making it much more difficult to hire the best troops.  It is in these mechanics that you find the heart of the game.

You don’t actually do any of the fighting yourself, it is simply your job to hire your people, place them in areas where there are concentrations of monsters, and of course to keep them happy.  Your troops are completely self-sustaining and self motivated, featuring a fairly decent AI routine.  For the most part they will behave as you’d wish, fighting anything that moves within their “hunting area” and healing, resting, eating, etc as needed, but there are times where you’ll find them wandering aimlessly, leaving a trail of blood, or complaining that you are not meeting their needs.  As you play you’ll be presented with various objectives consisting mostly of killing a certain amount of certain creatures for a bounty.  Once completed, you’ll sell the remnants of your quarry back to the kingdom for gold, which you use to better the facilities, increase your numbers, and stocking your weapons shops with better, stronger weapons befitting of your troops.  Your troops will also come across various treasure chests, which aren’t always what they appear.  Sometimes you’ll find a bounty of rewards in gold and the ability to level up faster, while other times you’ll find only bad news.  Some chests are actually monsters, while others unleash monsters, or even curses.  This is a nice touch, which helps to keep things tense and interesting.

The graphics of the game is where you’ll draw your first comparisons to the Shrek universe.  The characters, creatures, and environments would all look right at home in the world of big, green, lovable ogre.  The characters and creatures are whimsical and humorous both in their design and appearance, choosing to go with a cartoon look, rather than trying to go the more “realistic” route that most games in this genre shoot for.  While to some this may be a turn off, it is strangely endearing and helps to separate this game as something different.  The environments are lush and well created, but unfortunately there is not a whole lot of variety from one end of the game to the other.  This problem is somewhat offset by the fact that the environments are so well done and nice to look at, but some variety certainly would have helped.  On the creature end of things, there is a really nice variety of baddies with which to hunt down and exterminate.  On the whole, the graphics fall squarely in the “nice” variety.  There is nothing too groundbreaking here, but the graphics engine does an admirable job of creating a cohesive, immersive game world.

The game also fairs pretty well in the sound department.  There is a decent amount of voice work contained in the game and the voice actors have done a really nice job in not only delivering their lines, but also in keeping with the mood of the game world.  There is a good amount of humor contained in the voice acting; from snappy one-liners to some of the chants you’ll hear your denizens perform as they go into battle.  You will run into some lines being repeated with some frequency, but it never becomes too big of an issue.  There is a nice range of music that fits perfectly into this fantasy world that does a good job of never crossing over into the distracting or the grating, which is all that we gamers can hope for.  On the creature front, there is a decent variety of groans, grunts, howls, and screams to keep your ears busy.

In closing this is an admirably constructed game.  It chooses to forgo the sometimes maddening depth and micromanagement that most games of this sort offer, but it is in its simplicity that you’ll find its beauty.  The game strives hard never to take itself too seriously, which is definitely a nice change of pace.  It is a game that will offer some challenges to most gamers, but it never becomes so frustrating as to turn novice gamers away.  The graphics and the sound combine to make for a very lighthearted and at times comical world that is mostly a pleasure to visit.  However, this is not a game without problems.  Its strongest points could also prove to be its biggest weaknesses.  For veterans of games such as Warcraft or any other number of such games, it may be hard to get into this world and its simple gameplay.  In a genre that has long been dominated by the ultra-serious and the ultra-involved, it may be too much to ask for fans of this game to let their guards down long enough to allow themselves a fun diversion.  The game also suffers from some pretty serious load times.  The PC with which I played this game far exceeds the developer’s recommendations and there were numerous times that I was faced with load times so long that I often wondered if the game had frozen.  Are these reasons enough to pass on this game?  Absolutely not.  It’s a game that is deceptively addictive and immersive that dares you not to have a good time.  Fans of games with a comedic slant or gamers looking for an entry level RTS/RPG style should definitely give this game consideration.

Gameplay: 7.5
The gameplay and management of your troops is pretty straightforward and simple.  You’ll never be at a loss as to what to do next, nor are you overburdened with a ridiculously long list of button commands and stats to manage.  The game can be played entirely with your mouse and everything functions, as it should.  Aside from some AI issues with both friendly and unfriendly characters, the gameplay is generally an enjoyable experience.

Graphics: 8.0 
Simple, but effective.  The game does not feature any sort of groundbreaking visuals, but everything in the game world is crisp, clear, and somehow alive.  The character designs are top notch and the environments pleasant to look at.  It is somewhat disappointing that there isn’t more variety in the environments, but what is there is well done.

Sound: 8.0
The voice acting is surprisingly well done and often humorous.  The music is what one would expect from a game of this type, set in a world of this type.  It’s not exactly memorable, but it flows nicely with the game.

Difficulty: Medium
The interface is pretty simple and easy to learn, which is where a lot of these types of games generate a degree of their difficulty.  Novice gamers will never feel overwhelmed by the act of actually playing the game.  There is a fair challenge in managing your resources and your troops that keeps things interesting.   

Concept: 8.0
The developer isn’t reinventing the wheel here, but they do deserve props for creating a game that mixes Shrek like sensibilities with the base mechanics of RTS/RPG hybrids, creating an enjoyable gaming experience that should appeal to a wide range of gamers.  It is a unique take on the genre.

Overall: 8.0
This is a simple RTS/RPG hybrid that just oozes charm.  It’s not groundbreaking by any means, but it is imminently playable and more importantly fun.  It might not even register as a blip on the radar of the hardened fans of this genre, but they’ll be missing out on a well-constructed, enjoyable game.  It’s not without its problems, but the things that it does do right far outweigh the negatives.  Anyone giving this game a shot will likely come away both surprised and happy.