Posted February 16, 2009
Let me first make a bold statement: this is one of the best turn based strategy games released in the last decade that no one played (in the US, at least). What do I mean by that? Well, this is a sandbox economic/political simulation with RPG and real-time combat elements where the goal is essentially to destroy all rival dynasties and become the most powerful person in your town. Despite an unpolished implementation, it gets quite a bit right.
The good:
Most of the items you can craft or buy in the game actually serve some purpose other than income generation. They can give you a bump in reputation, more action points per turn, the ability to annoy or hurt your enemies, avoid bad events, or even increase your children's talents (you will eventually take over as one of your children when your character dies). The sheer amount of items later in the game can become problematic since there are only 6 slots in your player's inventory. You will have to make some tough game-play decisions.
Politics pays off, but in the long run. All the higher offices have quite a few perks that go along with the nice income bonus. You can be immune to crimes, threaten rivals if they get out of hand, build stuff cheaper, and train skills for less AP (action points per turn). It can be annoying and overly expensive to move up the ranks in the early game, however.
All buildings are unique and upgradable. Your own house will help you live longer and gain reputation, plus you can build rooms which allow you to sabotage your enemies and hold banquets to make new friends. When your businesses reach higher levels, you can craft more lucrative/powerful items, and build additions that can generate income on their own.
If you tire of being a crafter, you can try your luck at being a thief. I frankly view it as the most unbalanced class, but it's quite fun to play. You can rob people's houses and shops, physically attack (and take over) all of the rival thief/robber baron/city guard buildings (but not normal shops/houses), and even avoid prosecution by kidnapping the people foolish enough to charge you with crimes (you can even get a ransom for them afterwards).
Finally, the castle keeps the end-game pretty interesting. You can hire a wizard to research random potions (which allow for all kinds of interesting bonuses), assassinate rivals, and even shoot the castle's cannon at buildings in town.
The Bad:
To put it simply: the balance can suck.
For example...You can marry very rich old women, toad slime their house, and wait for them to die so you can inherit their money. Every few turns. Also, some professions are easy-mode due to the items you can produce, the easily predicted market forces the game simulates, and the passive income buildings you can build (I'm looking at you entertainer's).
In fact, the game's fairly primitive AI can be pretty disappointingly easy (multi-player exists, but can be buggy...and good luck finding English speaking players if that's a requirement). Even on the most difficult levels, it's easy to take advantage of the predictable marketplace and keep enough people happy/threatened to remain in office.
The Ugly:
The real-time combat in this game is horrible. It's unintuitive and obnoxious to the point that it makes classes like the city guard and robber baron unplayable. If you're sucked into combat constantly, it will drive you absolutely crazy.
In conclusion, this game is quite complex and can be played in any number of ways...so don't let any of the short-comings I mentioned deter you from an addictive and truly underated game. It is quite a bargain at this price, and not something any turn based strategy game lover should pass up.
The good:
Most of the items you can craft or buy in the game actually serve some purpose other than income generation. They can give you a bump in reputation, more action points per turn, the ability to annoy or hurt your enemies, avoid bad events, or even increase your children's talents (you will eventually take over as one of your children when your character dies). The sheer amount of items later in the game can become problematic since there are only 6 slots in your player's inventory. You will have to make some tough game-play decisions.
Politics pays off, but in the long run. All the higher offices have quite a few perks that go along with the nice income bonus. You can be immune to crimes, threaten rivals if they get out of hand, build stuff cheaper, and train skills for less AP (action points per turn). It can be annoying and overly expensive to move up the ranks in the early game, however.
All buildings are unique and upgradable. Your own house will help you live longer and gain reputation, plus you can build rooms which allow you to sabotage your enemies and hold banquets to make new friends. When your businesses reach higher levels, you can craft more lucrative/powerful items, and build additions that can generate income on their own.
If you tire of being a crafter, you can try your luck at being a thief. I frankly view it as the most unbalanced class, but it's quite fun to play. You can rob people's houses and shops, physically attack (and take over) all of the rival thief/robber baron/city guard buildings (but not normal shops/houses), and even avoid prosecution by kidnapping the people foolish enough to charge you with crimes (you can even get a ransom for them afterwards).
Finally, the castle keeps the end-game pretty interesting. You can hire a wizard to research random potions (which allow for all kinds of interesting bonuses), assassinate rivals, and even shoot the castle's cannon at buildings in town.
The Bad:
To put it simply: the balance can suck.
For example...You can marry very rich old women, toad slime their house, and wait for them to die so you can inherit their money. Every few turns. Also, some professions are easy-mode due to the items you can produce, the easily predicted market forces the game simulates, and the passive income buildings you can build (I'm looking at you entertainer's).
In fact, the game's fairly primitive AI can be pretty disappointingly easy (multi-player exists, but can be buggy...and good luck finding English speaking players if that's a requirement). Even on the most difficult levels, it's easy to take advantage of the predictable marketplace and keep enough people happy/threatened to remain in office.
The Ugly:
The real-time combat in this game is horrible. It's unintuitive and obnoxious to the point that it makes classes like the city guard and robber baron unplayable. If you're sucked into combat constantly, it will drive you absolutely crazy.
In conclusion, this game is quite complex and can be played in any number of ways...so don't let any of the short-comings I mentioned deter you from an addictive and truly underated game. It is quite a bargain at this price, and not something any turn based strategy game lover should pass up.