King's Bounty is out - 90% review from Gamespy

[1eyedking]

You're all joking right? I mean, gameplay better than HoMM's? Inspired music? Old-school graphics?

I'm missing something here, because this game came as some piss poor kiddie version of HoMM, minus the management, economy, and turn-based map that made those insanely fun.

 

[Kingston]

In no way is it better than HoMM. Its still good, but it doesn't outshine HoMM in any aspect.

 

[Lesifoere]

I don't really get the praise for the music, either. It sounds generic to me, and I just turn it off and turn on some MP3.

 

[A user named cat]

I'm missing something here, because this game came as some piss poor kiddie version of HoMM, minus the management, economy, and turn-based map that made those insanely fun.

Micromanagement and all that RTS material hoarding bullshit removed in place of RPG mechanics are what make this game better than all the HoMM, Age of Wonders and Disciple clones. Not to mention the battle system being a ton better than all of said games. Yeah, I'd say that makes it more fun.

 

[Darth Roxor]

Not to mention the battle system being a ton better than all of said games. Yeah, I'd say that makes it more fun.

Hmmm, I played only the demo so I might be missing something, but how exactly is the combat system all that different than the HoMM combat?

 

[JarlFrank]

It's not that different, but still... it seems more interesting and more fun. I dunno why, maybe it's the random chance for things like wasp nests appearing on the battlefield, maybe it's just the slightly different mechanics or the fact that units have more special attacks... it's just better.

 

[jagged-jimmy]

HoMM and King's Bounty arent comparable IMHO. The only thing in common would be combat and maybe a bit character development/ items.

Gameplaywise they are both different. HoMM is pretty much RTS and Bounty is more of dungeoncrawler.

 

[JarlFrank]

Gameplaywise they are both different. HoMM is pretty much RTS and Bounty is more of dungeoncrawler.

Uhm, turnbased?

 

[Darth Roxor]

I just tried to imagine RT HoMM. Talk about clusterfuck.

 

[Texas Red]

I don't really get the praise for the music, either. It sounds generic to me, and I just turn it off and turn on some MP3.

You're a woman so your taste in art is shit.

 

[Hümmelgümpf]

I don't really get the praise for the music, either. It sounds generic to me, and I just turn it off and turn on some MP3.

You're a woman so your taste in art is shit.

 

[Vaarna_Aarne]

I don't really get the praise for the music, either. It sounds generic to me, and I just turn it off and turn on some MP3.

You're a woman so your taste in art is shit.

 

[A user named cat]

The music is nice but it's no Divine Divinity. I'd hardly see a reason to turn it off though, not exactly repetitive and it varies enough.

 

[1eyedking]

I'm missing something here, because this game came as some piss poor kiddie version of HoMM, minus the management, economy, and turn-based map that made those insanely fun.

Micromanagement and all that RTS material hoarding bullshit removed in place of RPG mechanics are what make this game better than all the HoMM, Age of Wonders and Disciple clones. Not to mention the battle system being a ton better than all of said games. Yeah, I'd say that makes it more fun.

Wait, so HoMM was supposed to be a RPG? And all the "micromanagement" and "material hoarding" is bullshit?

And what's so great about King Bounty's battle system?

 

[A user named cat]

Wait, so HoMM was supposed to be a RPG? And all the "micromanagement" and "material hoarding" is bullshit?

And what's so great about King Bounty's battle system?

I didn't say HoMM was supposed to be an RPG, or even hint at it. I said King's Bounty used RPG mechanics in place of RTS-like elements used in HoMM games, nothing more. Are we not at RPG Codex anyway? I'd think that would be more favorable.

I suppose this would all be argument or discussion over taste, and what one of us finds fun. I never found HoMM fun, I didn't enjoy playing kingdom defense, guarding resources or all of that. I'd rather play one of the Total War games for something of that experience.

 

[Zhuangzi]

I'm missing something here, because this game came as some piss poor kiddie version of HoMM, minus the management, economy, and turn-based map that made those insanely fun.

Micromanagement and all that RTS material hoarding bullshit removed in place of RPG mechanics are what make this game better than all the HoMM, Age of Wonders and Disciple clones. Not to mention the battle system being a ton better than all of said games. Yeah, I'd say that makes it more fun.

Wait, so HoMM was supposed to be a RPG? And all the "micromanagement" and "material hoarding" is bullshit?

And what's so great about King Bounty's battle system?

What's so great about the battle system is that the game actually rewards intelligent thinking. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of different units that can be used and dozens of spells. The three hero classes completely alter the way the battles are played out.

Even better, the location for the battle is influenced by the place on the worldmap where the combat is initiated. Therefore you can pretty much get yourself a long thin battle map by initiating combat on a narrow road, or one with chokepoints by initiating combat next to some big object (like the Book of Death).

There are literally dozens of different strategies that people use effectively, and combinations of units to suit. Part of what makes the battle mode so good extends beyond the battle mode itself into the wider game, i.e. the various items the hero can equip, as well as the 'tech tree' upgrades.

Most importantly, the battle mode is FUN. You will spend probably 75% of the game in fights, so this is crucial. After 200 hours of gameplay (in about 5 weeks) I am finally bored with it, but this represents sensational value for money. In about 15 years of PC gaming, this would have to be in my top 10 gaming experiences. It's up there with XCOM, MOO 1 and Fallout 2 in terms of how addicting and how much fun it is.

In fact, the only thing lacking in this game is multiplayer. A lot of people seem not to want it, but I think it's the only way forward. Ultimately, the battle AI is too stupid and there are plenty of exploits. Only another human player would be a challenge now.

 

[Admiral Rimjob POOBUM]

Even better, the location for the battle is influenced by the place on the worldmap where the combat is initiated. Therefore you can pretty much get yourself a long thin battle map by initiating combat on a narrow road, or one with chokepoints by initiating combat next to some big object (like the Book of Death).

I, er, didn't get that, actually. I only played the demo, but there was one fight (I think it was a "boss" werewolf in a cave somewhere) that was giving me a bit of grief, so I tried luring him out to other areas of the cave to see if that changed the battle arena to something more in my favour. It was the same arena, with the exact same obstacles and so on, every time and everywhere I went.

 

[1eyedking]

And what's so great about King Bounty's battle system?

What's so great about the battle system is that the game actually rewards intelligent thinking. There are dozens, perhaps hundreds of different units that can be used and dozens of spells. The three hero classes completely alter the way the battles are played out.

Even better, the location for the battle is influenced by the place on the worldmap where the combat is initiated. Therefore you can pretty much get yourself a long thin battle map by initiating combat on a narrow road, or one with chokepoints by initiating combat next to some big object (like the Book of Death).

There are literally dozens of different strategies that people use effectively, and combinations of units to suit. Part of what makes the battle mode so good extends beyond the battle mode itself into the wider game, i.e. the various items the hero can equip, as well as the 'tech tree' upgrades.

Most importantly, the battle mode is FUN. You will spend probably 75% of the game in fights, so this is crucial. After 200 hours of gameplay (in about 5 weeks) I am finally bored with it, but this represents sensational value for money. In about 15 years of PC gaming, this would have to be in my top 10 gaming experiences. It's up there with XCOM, MOO 1 and Fallout 2 in terms of how addicting and how much fun it is.

In fact, the only thing lacking in this game is multiplayer. A lot of people seem not to want it, but I think it's the only way forward. Ultimately, the battle AI is too stupid and there are plenty of exploits. Only another human player would be a challenge now.

And this differs from HoMM in...?

 

[Zhuangzi]

Haven't played the HOMM series so I can't say. I did download and play the HOMM V demo and found it to be boring and retarded. IMO.

From reading what others have said, it would appear that there is more emphasis on castle management in HOMM, basically a 'strategic perspective.' King's Bounty has NO castle management. It is a combination of 'RPG lite' on the worldview level and outstanding turn based combat. The combat is in fact this game's biggest strength. Play the demo and find out for yourself.

 

[Texas Red]

Where the hell is that elf who wants a flower? I got the flower bu for the life of me can't find him.

 

[Lesifoere]

In the house near the seaside, if I recall right.