by Rick - February 23, 2005

Disciples II: Gold is an engaging turn based strategy game akin to Lords of Magic. Five Disciples II: Gold is an engaging turn based strategy game akin to Lords of Magic. Five races, each with their own element of sorts fight amongst each other for dominance in a world thrown into chaos by an unknown power.

Turn Based Strategery

I don't know about the rest of you, but I'm a big fan of turn based strategy games, I've played the good the bad and the horrible, and Disciples II managed to rank amongst the awesome.

The game is based around specialized units called leaders. These leaders not only lead your regular units into battle, but wield incredibly useful leader abilities which can range from making your unit move faster to allow the use of magical scrolls that rain down fire upon your enemies. As the leaders level up, they gain access to more and more leader abilities, that get progressively more and more amazing. I can't tell you how awesome it is when you finally get the ability to increase your unit size... even if it is just an increase of one.

Your leaders aren't the only units that level up. Your regular joe schmo soldiers also grow and change with experience. Not only do they become more powerful, but the majority of the time you have the choice as to which sort of path they take. You can make your knight choose the path that leads to the armor clad uber paladin, or perhaps you wish him to ascend from this mortal plane and become an angel. The progression is controled with the construction of specialized buildings within your capitol.

The battle system in Disciples is interesting. Each unit has one attack/ability with which they attempt to smite their foes. A soldier might slash at the enemy with his sword while the mage brings down a rain of fire and the priestess heals them all. Due to the turn based nature of the system, I found myself planning out the course of the entire battle ahead of time, and when it works out just like you planned... it makes you feel like the smartest man in the world.

The only gripe I have with the gameplay, is that when moving your units around the map, they always opt for the shortest routes. That seems like the logical thing, sure, but the problem is that the shortest routes almost always take you past an enemy, and it is a pain in the butt to try and tip toe around the Ogre in your way. I'm sure that was the developer's intent, but that doesn't mean it wasn't annoying.

Thumbs up to the developers for making a smooth and efficient game.

This Land is My Land...

The graphics in Disciples were pretty good looking. Granted, the entirety of the environment was two dimensional, but that doesn't mean it didn't look good.

Disciples sorted some pretty interesting particle effects. Be it the rain cloud that you summoned over the enemy or the cackling blue energy that courses through your leader's weapons, the effects were nicely done.

Each unit for each species was very much original. The demons in particular were all pretty much gorgeous. I wish they gave you the ability to look closer at the models and to move all around them, because it's a shame that such good looking characters couldn't be appreciated to their full extent. I only disliked one or two of the models in the entire game, out of at least a hundred appearances... not bad if you ask me.

One thing I liked a lot about the game's graphics were the territories. In order to show you who owns what, the land is terraformed into a territory type according to your species. The undead transform the land into barren wastes, while the empire turns the land into green and fertile forests. The contrast between the land types and the effects they have on the trees and environment sets the mood for the entire game.

The only problem I saw, besides one or two models that I thought could have looked better, was that there was literally no lighting to speak of. As cool as some of the particle effects were, they didn't cast and real light or shadows on the other units during battle. If they had, it would have been stunning. But a small flaw in an otherwise great looking game.

NOOOOOO!!!

I have to say that it's hard to say anything definite about the music in Disciples. I hardly pay any attention to it. Be it because it's so soft, and unchanging, or that the rest of the game is engaging enough to draw my attention away from it. Either way, the best I can say is that the music isn't annoying or repetitive (even though there are only like three songs) but it isn't amazing either.

The ambient sounds are pretty standard, though it is interesting how they change depending on the environment you are currently hovering over.

The little tidbits the various units say when they are moving and such can actually be entertaining at times. One sound in particular is my favorite. When you kill a specific Dwarven unit, the unit screams "NNOOOOO!!" in a squeaky little Dwarven voice. I laugh every time. Poor dwarves.

Over all, the sound in disciples isn't bad, but it isn't awesome either.

I've Been Playing For The Past 13 Hours

Disciples II is probably one of the most addictive turn based strategy games I've played since Final Fantasy Tactics (not advanced). Not only is it addictive, and fun, but the game time is phenomenal. I've mainly been playing as the elves, for the past six days, and I don't think I much more than half way through the particular saga I'm playing through. Once I do beat the Elvish saga, there are four other races that each have two sagas to play through... that�s a lot of game time.

As if that weren't enough, the game sports not only a online skirmish mode, but a well done HotSeat mode where up to four people can play a game against one another on the same computer.

I don't see this game getting old very quickly, my proverbial hat goes off to the developers.

The Thief

When I started playing this game, and I first discovered the unit that each race has called a thief, I thought it was virtually useless. The little guy never levels up, and can't carry any other units with him, so if he gets in a battle, he's pretty much dead. Oh how wrong I was.

The thief quickly became my favorite unit when I discovered that it has an armory full of deceitful little tricks up it's sleeve. The little bugger can poison enemy armies, steal items and spells from stores, armies and enemy capitols, insight riots in enemy towns, and even bribe the populace of a town into handing the town over on a silver platter. While the thief is almost completely useless in battle, his presence can easily tip the scales in your favor.

Are You Sure You Wish To End Your Turn?

Disciples II is a must by for everyone who loves turn based strategy. For those of you out there who don't really have an opinion on TBS games, I suggest you also buy it, you may discover a new passion in life. And to those of you out there who aren't fond of the system, I suggest you play it once or twice over at a friend's house, just in case.