ELECTRONIC ARTS Armies of Exigo ( Windows )

Rating:
Summary: Pretty and fluid.
Review: After a long shortage of good non-historical based RTS games, the months from November onward appeared to hold much for those that like the particulars of this genre. Kohan II, Dawn of War, Armies of Exigo, Dragonshard and Dawn of Fantasy.

While I did skip Kohan II, I gingerly set foot in the Dawn of War universe. I was somewhat disappointed by the single player campaign, but had my hopes up for Armies of Exigo.

A simple explanation may be thus: update the graphics and cut scenes of Starcraft, place it in a more fantasy less sci-fi world, and whammo! However, this game warrants more than just a simple explanation.

From the beautiful intro CGI introducing you to the gameworld, to the narrarative interludes preceding ingame cut scenes to carry your journey forward, this game is visually very pretty.
The surface and Empire colors are vibrant, perhaps removing some of the intense atmosphere they are trying to portray. The Beasts and The Fallen so far have appeared a bit grittier, but nothing compared to Starcraft or Dawn of War. The voices and voice acting are far superior to Dawn of War, but we don't play RTS games for the voice acting do we?

Set in a typical fantasy world, with elves, humans, arcane powers and beasts, Armies of Exigo makes plenty of references to a war that predates our entry into the game. Rebuilding old alliances takes a shotgun seat during the first part of the game, despite not having any missions to specifically do so.

Players of most fantasy RTS games will be familiar with two of the sides, while players of Dark Planet or Lords of Everquest will be more familiar with the third (the beast). You have the Empire, which are pretty much the good guys; the human warriors, the elven archers, etc. During the first part of the campaign, you are fighting against the beasts, consisting of lizardmen and trolls (among other ferocious critters). The third group is referred to as The Fallen. These guys can only build on creep/blighted ground. The Fallen have the dark elves, some little buggers, and a few demonic units. For a Warcraft 3 reference, try squishing the Burning Legion into a Night/Dark Elf alliance that plays like the Undead.

The gameplay itself is pretty solid. I didn't notice many bugs in my 5 or so hours of playing so far, and the game runs smoothly. One problem I have is thus: when I scroll using the keyboard, the screen tilts slightly, then returns to normal when I let go of the scroll key. Aside from this, nothing really stands out as far as gameplay issues are concerned.

The campaign itself has a few "chapters" (three, I presume, judging by the amount of space available) per group. As far as having a campaign for all three sides, I cannot say. It looks like the Empire will have 10-13 missions, and there is room on the campaign screen for the beasts and the fallen as well. I haven't gotten that far yet, and if they are included - then you have to win the Empire campaign first.

I'm approximately half way through the Empire campaign, and no randomly annoying changing of sides has yet occurred. I could call that the Blizzard effect - as they do it quite often. It ruins the fun of the campaign after the third or fourth character changes sides ! Thankfully, I do not yet see it here - but I imagine it is possible that one of the characters may become part of The Fallen based on one of the missions I've completed. At least it makes sense in this game.


I suppose I should touch on playing on two levels. Is it something special? In a word: No. I was kind of excited to see how it would work, and after playing a few campaign missions and some single player skirmishes, I've found it's similar to any other multi-map RTS. These games include, but I imagine are not limited to: Conquest: Frontier Wars, and Dragon Throne. I am sure there are more, but if you have played these games or games with a similar feature, then this dual map thing will be nothing extra for you. The differences, however, are large enough to make it unique and a valid strategy. You do not begin with a map of your own, you begin on the same map as everyone else. You can fight for control on the surface, OR underground, or both. Attempt to secure a route from your surface base, underground to your allies - OR to your enemy for a sneak attack!

Multiplayer games will be incredibly frustrating for those that are not used to playing on more than a single map at a time. Learning and using spells that can affect the underground or surface from the other will be key, as this does add quite a bit of strategy for those capable of handling it. Imagine, running directly under an enemy base, using surface units to preoccupy theirs, then digging up with the rest of your army. It will add more strategy, and it does add a unique bit of gameplay, but not enough to get excited specifically for this function.

Breaking it down:

GOOD: The story far exceeds that of most RTS games presently (so far as I've gotten anyway), the nararration is unique and provides more of a storytelling feel, the voice acting ranges from decent to pretty good, the music is pretty nice and the dual map gameplay is just unique enough to bring a new element to the genre.

NOT SO GOOD: The graphics so far take away from the atmosphere of "fighting for your life, and the life of the Empire". I mean, do these guys all have wonderful family at home that can clean and shine their armor after every fight? It's too bright. Some unit movement just does not seem ... right. It's a bit nitpicky, but I've seen a worker with legs extended do a 180, THEN start running. Just, a few other weird things here and there - but most people won't care.

The worst thing: FEW PLAYERS! As you can see, compared to other RTS games there are - how should we say - few customer reviews for this game? It took me awhile to even find it in the stores, as it apparantly "missed" its ship date where I live. Even upwards of a week after, it was tough finding it. Also, sitting up next to Kohan II, Dawn of War, Warcraft 3 and the upcoming Dragonshard - you will need to be looking specifically for Armies of Exigo, or you just may be out of luck.

It's a fun game, don't let the happy graphics or the competition keep you from it. You will feel more complete after playing the Armies of Exigo campaign than you will the Warcraft 3 or Dawn of War campaigns - and NOTHING will make you giggle like a schoolgirl more than watching your best friend take his mass army to attack your well defended outpost, while you dig right up in the middle of his!

Rating:
Summary: FAR BETTER THAN WARCRAFT
Review: This is an excellent game, far better than warcraft and other fantasy RTS types. Very creative units, an excellent story, fine graphics and the unique aspect of the underground make this probably the best fantasy RTS out there.