Gameplay

Patton without tanks

Another big plus is the setting. Warrior Kings: Battles takes place on the world of Orbis, a D&D-inspired realm that resembles Europe right down to the archaic place names (you begin in the island province of Angland, which is of course England in the real world). You play one of a group of generals fighting for control of the land following the death of King Artos IV (the descendant of the protagonist in the original Warrior Kings).

Check out all the AI options

And their beautiful portraits

Don't you just wanna kiss and makeup?

This struggle takes you through some two dozen provinces, where you'll battles to vanquish a number of rivals with distinct personality traits. At times the civil war seems almost personal, due to regular threats from the enemy leaders and the strong characteristics that they display. One foe might be arrogant and display a willingness to attack, while another might be a mealy-mouthed weasel who prefers phony diplomacy. Overall, though, there's a distinct tendency for these guys to come off like medieval versions of Patton. Still, you have to alter your approach in each province, depending on the quality and constitution of these enemies.

Have some issues?

As in the first Warrior Kings, there are three main factions to align with over the course of your campaign. Imperial is something of a remnant of the old monarchy, complete with heretic-burning fanatics who make for the best defenders. Pagan is a throwback to the old ways, much like druidism, and offers outstanding attack options on par with the crazed offenses of the Celts in the Dark Ages. And Renaissance features the best of the, um, renaissance, allowing the player to crank up his or her economy with good banking acuity and pound on enemy defenses with advanced siege weaponry. There are also two combination factions, Imperial-Renaissance and Pagan-Renaissance. The former is self-explanatory, being little more than a more technologically advanced Imperial, but the latter is very interesting. Essentially, it lends a real fantasy flavor to the game, with the Pagans having discovered things like the ability to summon undead legions and rampart-demolishing DeathWyrms.

A la Shogun

Bodies strewn across the world

Archers seem quite deadly

Unfortunately, there are some issues that prevent you from fully enjoying the enemy artificial intelligence and the well-developed setting. Micromanagement is a necessity in pretty much every aspect of the game. During battle, you have to take direct control of most of your troops, as letting them go with general commands is a recipe for disaster. Fine-tune your battle plan and you can stage some fascinating examples of medieval combat; simply throw your army at foes en masse and you'll see troops running this way and that, refusing to attack or going out of their way to attack enemies in the distance. The game has a real problem determining the best adversaries on which to focus. Often, you'll see cavalry chasing a single enemy bowman across the battlefield while more numerous and dangerous enemies still man the front lines. Still, as long as you like looking after the finer details, engagements in Warrior Kings: Battles can be very fulfilling.