KB came out a few years ago, and was called "Kings Bounty : The Legend", and then they released a follow up game a few months ago called, "Kings Bounty : Armoured Princess".
It's an RPG / RTS, which sounds deeply confusing, but isn't, honest, (think "Heroes of Might & Magic"). In fact the entire HOMM series and all similar games are clones of the original KB of circa 20 years ago, as that great grand daddy created this entire RPG / RTS sub-genre.
The way KB works, is that you roam around a go anywhere / do anything world map as a single unit, (knight on a horse), picking up quests, having fights, collecting rewards, etc. More of the world is revealed / available as you progress the main plot, but each level contains loads of stuff to do, and you can approach it any order you like.
You collect the usual weapon / armour upgrades and apply them to your barbie doll on the world map, and these buff your entire army when in combat. You choose what type of character to play at the start of each game, (soldier / paladin / mage), and although the map and plot are the same, the unique items, (spells, weapons, armour, gems, units. potions, etc), are random. No two games are therefore quite the same, as you usually find some uber unit / weapon / spell / etc early on, and tend to play to that strength.
The tech tree has three branches to it, and there are a huge number of different ways to approach the game, depending on which tech you unlock, and in what order.
The world map is in real time, and it's important to understand that you are slightly faster than the NPC. You can therefore out run / out fly and out sail any NPC, providing you think about what you are doing. This is very useful, as it allows you to hoover up free weapons / upgrades / spells / gems throughout the game, as you can avoid combat, if you treat the world map as stealth game. There are three types of NPC on the world map.
Static NPC = these guard high value loot, but you can lure away if they are to strong to fight, but they will attack and force combat on you if you get to close, (game is quite good at springing ambushes on you ).
Roving NPC = these patrol small areas of the map, in an easy to see pattern.
Roving Mini-Boss NPC = these will break your army to bits, so you need to fight them at a time and place of your choosing, not there's.
The combat element in KB is turn based, and happens on a different map. The map reflects the ground you are on in the real world, so luring an enemy off a tight forest path and into an open glade might be a good idea if you have cavalry, but suck if you have 100% infantry and they have 100% cavalry. Some maps are therefore small and cluttered, others large and open. Nearly all maps have choke points, and there is often high value loot on the battlefield itself, but if the enemy get to it first, then you can kiss it goodbye. You can obtain recon info on an enemy on the world map, before deciding to fight or flee.
Your army has space for just 5 different types of unit. Each unit represents a stack, so you might start the game with say 2 archers in your stack, but end it with 2,000, because as you level up, you can add more and more to each stack.
There are a huge number of unit types available, many with special attack abilities, some with special immunities, and all have different strengths and weaknesses depending on who they are fighting.
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Soooo, just 5 units to move around, and turn based you say? OMG, that sounds as boring as hell.
Nope. Think of it as a mini game of chess, because that's the closest comparison that works. All RTS games are basically chess, regardless of what the map is, or what your units are. The difference with KB, is that you have the time to plan and control your moves, and it gives you a huge variety of really well balanced units to experiment with. The unit balance really is very well done, as the usual counter of rock, paper, shotgun still apply, but by combining the special abilities of each of your units, you can find some really clever ways to outfight an enemy who can have field both far superior numbers and far superior troops.
Successful combat in KB is all about minimising your losses. Fight the right enemy at the right place and right time with the right balance of units, and you can minimise your losses. Pick the wrong fight, at the wrong place and time, and you might win, but your losses will cripple you.
The game is quite forgiving in the early stages, as there is enough cash about to buy plenty of new or replacement units, but if you play badly over and over again, then your cash will become tighter and tighter, until eventually you will taste the bitter ashes of utter ruin and defeat.
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The game looks very Disney, (bright primary colours), fun and simple, but trust me, it's far from simple. It is however just a huge amount of fun to play.
I would recocommend that you play it on Normal difficulty, and start with, "Kings Bounty : The Legend", as the one they released a few months ago has far to steep a learning curve for new players, (it assumes you played Legend).
Plum's score = 90%
Demo available for both games, just google it.
Regards - Mr P
