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Review by: Terrel
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Reviewers Score:
7 / 10
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Posted: November 21, 2005
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Graphics (8 / 10):
The graphics were quite well done, right from the blowing up of the buildings to the infantry movements. The shading was incredible. There were a few issues with the requirements to get the best quality graphics (can you say insane computer required?). Also the fact that you could only zoom in / out a certain amount was very annoying, especially as the height of the terrain is different in some areas causing some areas to be very close and others far.
Sounds (9 / 10):
The Music and nature sounds were amazing. Music matched what was going on the map perfectly. Calm when nothing major was happening, a good war music when attacking, even better when attacking town centers. The speech was also very well done, although as each sentence was done by a separate MP3 file, it caused a lag between the animations on speech the odd time. In total it was nicely done, but the few speech issues did ruin the experience a bit.
Story (6 / 10):
The first act was perfect! Great history on the characters and the story was something anyone could get attached to. Sadly, that was only 1/3 of the game. The rest of the game was based on the decedents of the main character in the first act. I found
those story lines quite shallow and didn't have the same feel. If they would of just stuck with the 1st act, the game would of been better, although the twist at the very end did help a bit.
Gameplay (7 / 10):
Standard for any strategy game. There were a few issues that only true gamer would notice (like were do the peasants put all that wood and ore they are mining?), but there was nothing new that sets it apart from all the others. I guess Microsoft believes the saying "If it
isn't broke, don't fix it".
Replay Value (3 / 10):
Once you play the single player campaign once, there isn't anything that will drive you to play it again. The single battle skirmishes are only good for a few games, then they just get boring.
Multiplayer (?):
I have never tested it out as it uses the msn network and I prefer playing through IP or WAN.
Overall (7 / 10)
This game had so much potential, but once again, Microsoft blundered. If you have the chance to borrow the game from a friend, I would recommend it, but not good enough to buy it. |
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