Spellforce: Conquest of EO Review (Lykurgos)
Holding off on playing this wonder of game in order to write a review will deplete my willpower so much that I will have zero resistance to drugs, alcohol and donuts for several days. Yet I do this. For you.
This is a real marvel of a very different beast of a 4X game heavy on the exploration, heavy on the extermination, light and mostly hands-off with the exploitation, and very light on the expansion.
Is it like Age of Wonders?
Yes! In that regular units come in Tiers (I-III) which you gradually become able to recruit or hire, and they level up after gaining experience. Units travel in stacks of 5+, with an optional hero. Also in that combat takes place on an instanced tactical map that reflects the terrain around it, just like Age of Wonders.
Is it like Warlock?
Yes! The game even opens by greeting you and talking about 'Great Mage', just like in Warlock. Also, it has a similar feel of nurturing one or more doom stacks as you move around and complete quests and level up, just like in Warlock. It does however have more going on on the non-combat side, for example, crafting, and lots more narrative.
Is it like Heroes of Might and Magic?
Yes! In the sense that you spend a lot of time moving around stacks of units with a hero or apprentice (kind of a hero) leader, and you harvest from various resource nodes, and you enter a dedicated tactical battle for combats that is separate from the main overland map for movement and exploration. However, resource harvesting is far less busywork in this game, since you do a lot of it by extending your 'domain' to include coverage of resource sites.
Is it like Fantasy Wars series / Fantasy General II?
Yes! The menagerie of units and beasts and summons is very similar, and the overland exploration hex-based map moving is very similar too. Unit level up progression, involving picking one of two or more perks / boons / stat increases is also very similar. However, unlike both, combat takes place 'off map' on instanced battlefields AND there you can almost always plan for combats instead of having huge scripted bunches of units sitting out of your sight hidden by fog of war, so there is little or less of the 'gotcha' ambushes from those other games.
Is it like Master of Magic?
Yes! In the sense that you focus on creating strong stacks to go and do interesting stuff in the world, especially killing, and there are some crazy powerful combos you can dream up. Also yes in that you are kinda playing as the understudy to a great mage and becoming one yourself, and dealing with rival great mages as you do so.
Is it like Fallen Enchantress?
Yes! In the sense that there is a huge asymetry between you (weakling) and your opponent mages at the start of the game, and you are initially left alone since you are so little threat, but you build yourself and your forces up to change that, walking a careful line between progress and escalation.
Is it like Thea 2?
Yes! The crafting system is very similar indeed, with ingredients having color pips, and more pips meaning more powerful craftables. Buildings work a little like Thea 2 as well, in the sense that they are moveable rather than permanantly in place, and you may well want to move them in order to cover a new area. In this game, movement is more or less essential though.
Is it a novel, special, never before seen combination of all the above
Yes!