GOTD – Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars
Seven Kingdoms 2: The Fryhtan Wars – Strategy (PC)
Enlight Software
Everyone’s heard of the standard RTS games – Starcraft, Warcraft, Command & Conquer – but the Seven Kingdoms games have largely escaped notice despite their quality.
Created by Enlight Software, these games portray an unlikely combination of cultures at the peak of their power in a world filled with monsters called Fryhtans. Although the game’s name claims “Seven”, there are actually a dozen unique human cultures to play as and several Fryhtan races as well.
What makes the games more interesting than standard RTS fare are the resource management system, commander management, and the spy system. These factors – as well as the variety of gameplay – add up to an excellent single-player game that could potentially have great multi-player as well.
The resource management system is fairly simple on the surface. You have gold and food, and if you run out of either, your citizens and soldiers will quickly grow disloyal and your buildings will begin to crumble. Gold is most easily generated through the market system – you either mine and manufacture your own goods or import them from elsewhere – by selling goods to your citizens. Food is generated by idle citizens. Keeping track of gold especially is difficult in higher difficulty settings.
Combat in the game is streamlined somewhat for ease of use. Your troops are divided into groups by placing them into the same fort. You can appoint a leader (or lead them with your King) for a troop who will give a “leadership” bonus to combat. Individual soldiers as well as generals improve with experience and training. There are some small touches that really add to the game, such as some soldiers improving faster than others.
All in all, a great RTS that is underappreciated. It’s a bit more complicated, but it can be a very satisfying game.
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