King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame ties directly to the end of its predecessor: after King Arthur managed to reunite the country everything seems fine. But two problems emerge: an evil witch sends her demon army against the royal family and Arthur is mortally wounded. So the player takes the role of Arthur's son William Pendragon.

The basic playing principle is still a mixture between role-playing, turn-based strategy and tactical battles in real time. However, the complexity of the strategy map has been reduced (less province management) and the importance of quests and story is greater. One of the consequences is that the player is restricted to one army until two more are gained during the course of the plot.

Both strategy and tactics bear resemblance to the Total War series: on the strategy map, troops are moved between provinces (only in summer turns), resources are managed (reduced to two) or provinces enlarged. Other options are research and diplomacy. During the tactical battles, battalions are moved against the enemy in order to defeat him. Of course it is important to use the correct type of units because everything has strengths and weaknesses.

The quests, which can be started during the strategy part, either set a certain diplomatic or battle goal or start a sequence similar to choose-your-own-adventure books: a situation is presented in text form (this time fully voiced) and the player has to choose between several possibilities to proceed. Between certain in-game effects, the choices influence the hero's morality (good/tyrannical and Christian/Pagan) which in turn has effects on unlocked special abilities. The heroes (overall three) can unlock more skills as they earn experience points, too.