Kingdom Wars 2: Battles

Kingdom Wars 2: Battles for PC is a real-time strategy set in fantasy realities, which is another instalment of MMORTS game Dawn of Fantasy published in 2011. In contrast to its predecessor released three years earlier in the free-to-play model, Kingdom Wars 2: Battles is a fully-paid commercial application. Once again, the game is developed by the fathers of the series – the independent Reverie World Studios from Canada.

Plot

The plot in Kingdom Wars 2: Battles takes us to the fantasy world engulfed in war between three fiercely-fighting sides – humans, elves, and orcs. Claiming thousands of lives, the conflict is going to get more bloody, as a new, fourth race of undead decides to join the party. Hordes of zombies march through lands and absorb everything on their way – anyone they kill soon joins their side as one of them. In the face of the new danger, ones hostile parties must now join their forces in order to ward off the mortal threat.

The campaign in Kingdom Wars 2: Battles is divided into five episodes, each gradually introducing the player with the game’s rules, races, and locations. What is more, apart from the original content, you can download DLCs which add new single player episodes.

Mechanics

Mechanics in Kingdom Wars 2: Battles combine elements of classic real-time strategies with solutions unusual for the genre, like card games elements, survival aspects, and the extensive crafting system. During gameplay you are in control of one of the mentioned races – each of them is characterised by different fighting style, units, buildings, and economic system. All of the races have individual development trees and a number of unique elements acquirable only through crafting.

Gameplay features two levels. The first one is the economic aspect typical for the genre – you gather resources, like food, timber, stone, and gold, develop your base, train and send troops to fight. The second element concerns real-time combat, which still features many tactical options and emphasizes fortifications and epic sieges (the inspiration drawn from the Stronghold series is noticeable). Defensive walls can be equipped with a variety of useful gadgets, like towers, covers for archers, containers with hot oil, and stones. During the siege of the fortress, however, you can use a wide arsenal of battering rams, catapults, ballistae, ladders, and mobile shields for infantry. The crafting system plays an important role – you can create +200 items and constantly develop technology, which gives you access to deadlier war machines and units, like dwarves, mages, and dragons. The tactical aspect allows you to use up to four special cards, which give you with bonuses during battles.

Game modes

In contrast to the game’s predecessors focusing on multiplayer, Kingdom Wars 2: Battles puts a strong emphasis on the single player campaign. Moreover, the game offers traditional skirmish and survival modes, in which your objective is to fend off another waves of the zombies. However, the game preserves the heritage of the former series’ parts and offers a wide range of multiplayer modes. Depending on preferences, the player can compete with others in 1 vs. 1, 2 vs. 2, or a ‘deathmach’ mode. The game features extensive community options – chat, a friends list, a player ranking, and an option of creating guilds. By winning in multiplayer, you gain items that serve as the game’s currency, with which you can buy different improvements, new buildings, units, and cards.

Technical aspects

Visually, Kingdom Wars 2: Battles published on PC is kept in a style characteristic to the series, in which intensive, pastel colours dominate. Yet, the game does not keep up with the newest productions and offers low quality of models and poor animation of units. The audio, however, deserves recognition – it is kept in a medieval atmosphere and features dialogues with a voiceover and a narrator.

Last updated on April 5, 2016