King's Bounty: The Legend
Preview
Mixing genres and defying categorisation
by Deis
previewed on PC
Battle arenas and experienced units (cont.)
Units can will also be able to acquire greater skills and specific features to give battles a greater tactical aspect. Your hero can command up to five squads, and while he summons Rage spirits and casts spells, his parameters, skills and totems will influence the units. Speaking of Rage spirits, this is one of the new features you will find in King’s Bounty: The Legend. In the beginning of the game, your hero will receive an artefact containing four creatures who can be summoned while fighting. Much like summon spirits in Final Fantasy X or VIII, each Rage Spirit can gain skills and levels to help you in battle. However, calling them will cost your character Rage points, so it is best to use them wisely.
World filled with locations
The graphics of the game don’t look particularly impressive, but then, they don’t claim to be. So far, the graphics don’t look any more advanced than, say, Might & Magic VIII, a game released eight years ago. That said, the Might and Magic series looked pretty good for its time, and the sheer size of the game helps to offset this. The world contains a huge variety of locations, from elf-filled forests to snow-capped mountains, and even the belly of a large fish. There are lava lakes, dungeons, ancient treasuries, pirate islands, deserted graveyards, worlds of demons and death, a magic labyrinth of Time, dragon caves, and a flying city.
There’s a ton of places to explore throughout the gameworld; however, the plot of the game is essentially linear, with no multiple endings. It seems that the actual plot will take around twenty hours to complete. In order to fully explore the world, the player will need to talk to NPCs and take on a multitude of side quests. The game is said to be packed with them, and it is only through these side quests that you will fully enjoy everything the game has to offer.
Real-time RPG!
Another interesting element of the game is the fact that it takes place in real time. As your hero moves around, completes plot points and takes part in side quests, enemies will be moving of their own accord, rather than waiting for you to come to them. Day will change to night, and presumably, the date will change, allowing for certain quests to be available only at given times.
Overall
King’s Bounty: The Legend seems like a mixed bag of all sorts of interesting and entertaining qualities, but only time will tell whether the linear gameplay will prove a boost or a hindrance to the concept. RPG players are usually dead against linear plots in their games, voting instead for free-roaming adventures. Still, the tactical combat and and other treats that this game will offer may well prove an entertaining ensemble.
