Sat, 27 Jan 2007

My favourite RTS game

Filed under: Software and Technology by Hari
Posted at 10:01 IST (last updated: Wed, 16 Jul 2008 @ 21:29 IST)
Have you ever heard of Seven Kingdoms? Chances are, you haven't. It's not a particularly popular game and I guess most mainstream Real Time Strategy gaming fans wouldn't have heard of it. It's a fairly old game and its graphics aren't really flash, but till date I've not found a single RTS game that matches Seven Kingdoms in terms of sheer depth and playability. It's truly a unique game in this genre. Here are some of the reasons why I keep coming back to Seven Kingdoms ahead of so many other more recent RTS games with flashier graphics.
  • More sophisticated economic system than the usual food/wood/gold resource gathering technique used in more popular games like the Age of Empires series. There is less micromanagement in this game than the typical RTS game, allowing you to concentrate on the really fun aspect of strategy gaming - expansion (peaceful or military) and conquest. Fun to play and doesn't overwhelm you with too many details to manage.
  • Dynamic diplomacy with AI opponents. You can create strategic alliances, trade treaties and friendly treaties with other AI opponents and then cancel them at any time. Also has a very good espionage/counter espionage system where you can recruit spies and send them out to the enemy camp to achieve a variety of sneaky ends.
  • Building an army involves more than merely recruiting soldiers from your villages. You actually train them in forts using "Generals" and they become hardened and elite warriors over time. This makes for some excellent games where you cannot go to war straight away and makes you think about expanding your empire simultaneously.
  • Concepts like "loyalty" for individual units as well as villages which depend on a variety of factors including your reputation as compared to rival empires and military might. These add a level of depth that most modern RTSes severely lack.
  • AI opponents are very sound and doesn't "cheat" allowing you to play normally and yet offers enough of a challenge without becoming overwhelmingly difficult. I've seen too many RTS games lack a decent AI. This game really shines in this aspect.
  • Primitive combat system, but fun to play. Unlike some modern RTS games, combat just means massing up your troops in overwhelming numbers and crushing your foes with pure brutality. It doesn't have finesse, but you'll love the clash of swords, spears and clubs, the torrent of arrows and the boom of catapults and cannons.
  • And here's my most favourite feature. This game can also be played in a completely revealed map with no fog of war. To me, this is a great feature that allows you to actually watch what the opponent is doing and then plan your game accordingly. Too many modern RTS games enforce the fog-of-war concept which often renders you blind to your opponent and you end up groping in the dark most of the time. Trust me, the "strategic" aspect of this game will truly shine when you are able to plan the mode of your expansion based on the moves of your rivals.

Seven Kingdoms is a rare gem in an otherwise formulaic RTS gaming scenario. If you are tired of the modern RTS genre with its primitive economic system, lack of dynamic alliances and trading/diplomacy, do pick up this game. You're sure to get it fairly cheap somewhere.

4 comment(s)

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  1. My favorite game of all time was kind of like a RTS but was labeled as a Strategy RPG. It was DragonForce on the Sega Saturn. I remember countless hours and nights, missing college classes just to play that game. I kept my Saturn for years just to keep that game and a few other rare RPG games I had until I realized I was never going to play them again so I sold the whole lot and actually made a decent profit from the sale(s).But yeah, not familiar with DragonForce, check it out here: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dragon_Force

    Comment by drew (visitor) on Sun, 28 Jan 2007 @ 09:34 IST #
  2. Sounds like a fun game, Drew. Sadly they don't make great games like these any more.Sad to say, but the popular taste in RPG and RTS gaming leaves a lot to be desired. Naturally the market for really in-depth strategy gaming is quite poor. The best games are often not the popular ones.Do try out Seven Kingdoms if you get the opportunity. It looks like you might enjoy it as much as I do.

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Sun, 28 Jan 2007 @ 10:14 IST #
  3. Try HITMAN series games HARI.. hope u will lik tht also!

    Comment by LogeshTamilSelvan (visitor) on Mon, 29 Jan 2007 @ 18:30 IST #
  4. Hitman series eh? I'll look at it. Thanks Logesh! :mrgreen:

    Comment by hari (blog owner) on Tue, 30 Jan 2007 @ 09:23 IST #

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