King Arthur: Role-Playing Wargame Review [PC]

18 Dec 2009 at 18:00:32 by Peter Parrish
Systems used to review this title: (PC)

Considering his noble lineage, King Arthur has appeared with very little pomp or fanfare. There's been no hype and little in the way of coverage (indeed, I only learned about the game thanks to some developer-diary videos posted on a games forum.) At present the game is only available digitally through Steam, but Hungarian developers Neocore suggest that a boxed version will hit stores "in the coming months." By then, it's quite possible that word of mouth will have generated a lot more enthusiasm for this title.

Anybody familiar with the early games from the Total War series - particularly self-contained, island-based installments like Shogun or the Viking Invasion expansion for Medieval - will be at home in Arthurian Britain. The main campaign stays faithful to the classic mythology and starts players off in Cornwall, from which point they must expand their influence over the South of Britain and unite the petty, local kings under one banner. Britannia itself is divided up into a mixture of period counties, from familiar provinces like Kent and Dorset to long-gone areas like Dumnonia and Mercia, where chess-piece armies go about their business. In the North lie the mist-shrouded Bedegraine forests, where giants, wargs and elfish fairy-folk dwell (I know, I live here), and even further afield the witch Morgause schemes on the Orkney Islands. All of these things will have to be confronted, in time.

The game uses a protracted tutorial to ease players into the realm. It begins with simple stuff like moving units around the turn-based map, controlling troops in the real-time battles (much more on these later) and reviewing objectives, but within a couple of hours it ramps up the features, unlocking research trees, allocation of fiefdoms and additional troop recruitment. A clever seasonal-based turn system dictates when certain activities can be performed (armies are unable to move during winter months, but this is also the only time decrees can be issued.) Almost anything you could expect to find in a contemporary strategic wargame is represented here, and represented well.

Indeed, the Total War comparison, while useful as a reference, does rather a disservice to King Arthur. There are multiple aspects unique to this title which set it apart from Creative Assembly's series. Each of these aspects are also neatly symbiotic, interlinking with and impacting upon one another with great craft. Take the Morality Chart, which represents the overall morality of King Arthur - and thus of his kingdom. This closely represents the classic political compass except with Rightful-Tyrant and Old Faith-Christian axis in place of the traditional left-right stuff. As Arthur's knights undertake deeds on the campaign map (such as quests, which take the form of choose-your-own-adventure style text interludes), the overall morality shifts accordingly. In turn, this can unlock new spells, new abilities and new units for hire. However, it will also affect precisely which knights you will be able to employ to your service (Mordred is unlikely to side with a Rightful king) and may even upset the loyalty of some already in your service - if they are a pious Christian and your faith moves too far towards Druidism.

Expansion of Arthur's rule is partially story-led and partially freeform. Narrative objectives generally have two potential outcomes, where each will have an effect upon Arthur's morality and bring differing rewards (an early example involves two warring brothers, one tyrannical and the other righteous, where offering your aid will result in the victor joining your service.) Certain of these narrative-specific objectives need to be completed to advance the story, but it is up to the player how they set about achieving these goals or even how long they take. Other time-limited but non-crucial quests and objectives will also appear on the map which offer their own rewards and challenges. An early, key objective is to establish the Stronghold of Camelot, which unlocks the chancellery, research possibilities, building improvements and all manner of other important functions for maintaining a strong kingdom. Two possible locations for Camelot are offered, and each path has its own problems and attendant solutions. Whichever location the player chooses it will have a long term effect on his campaign, demonstrating the combination of narrative and player-guided actions that drive progress in the game.

Naturally, this being a title rich in medieval myth, success in many of the objectives is down to the clash of steel and crackle of magic on the battlefield. When armies meet in King Arthur, the game switches from a turn-based strategy to real-time action, where deft command of units will win the day. Several aspects of the real-time battles do owe a debt to Total War. Peg markers for deployment zones and the little info circles for key events that pop up along the left-hand side of the screen seem especially familiar. So too do the camera controls and the rock/paper/scissors system of troop superiority (archers will cut down most things with ease but can be trampled by a well-timed cavalry charge, spearmen effectively stop cavalry, and so forth) - though this is was not unique to the Total War series by any means.

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