Sorcerer King PC

Sorcerer King for PC is the third attempt of Stardock Systems (the creators of Galactic Civilizations series) at creating a fantasy turn-based 4X strategy game.

Plot

The realm in which the game takes place isn’t a nice place to live in – it was almost completely conquered and ravaged by the titular Sorcerer King. The villain, filled with lust for power that would make him equal to gods, now tends to devastate all the conquered realms. A group of countries rising in areas where the influence of the evil hegemon is smaller, are standing in his way.

Mechanics

The game starts when a “normal” strategy game would end – when one of the participants had conquered the world by defeating his opponents. Because of that, there is an asymmetry of strengths and goals among both sides of the conflict – the player is trying to destroy the Sorcerer King in order to restore order (or take the place of the ruler) while the artificial intelligence-controlled tyrant is looking for magic crystals that are the key to completely destroying the realm in which the game takes place. The faster he completes his objective (which is determined by how much the player is interrupting him), the faster the game will end in player’s failure.

There are six characters available: a Wizard, a Warlord, a Ranger, a Priest, a Warrior and a Tinkerer. Each of them has different units to recruit, development tree and spellbook. The general mechanics are similar to typical fantasy 4X games – the player explores the magic world, completes various quests, gathers resources (including magical items), builds cities, recruits armies and equips them with various items, recruits powerful champions, fights monsters and the forces of the Sorcerer King and shapes his relations with other countries that are also trying to expand while the hegemon is busy someplace else. The last of the mentioned aspects is especially important since the cooperation is the key to defeating the titular opponent. Every time an ally is eliminated, the chances for the victory are drastically reduced.

Technical aspects

Sorcerer King for PC offers three-dimensional graphics. The level of detail isn’t impressive, but the vivid colors and cartoonish style of the visuals of the game can be liked.

The game offers only singleplayer mode – as part of the story campaign and single scenarios (sandbox mode). The title lacks any multiplayer modes.

Last updated on 03 October 2014