WorthPlaying writes: "Seven Kingdoms: Conquest is the highly anticipated sequel to one of the most sophisticated and underrated real-time strategy games ever created. The original Seven Kingdoms and Seven Kingdoms II represented a complex but well-balanced RTS design that featured both detailed city management and challenging real-time combat. After a prolonged five-year wait, Enlight Software has released the latest installment of this RTS classic. The title includes tutorials, a human and demon campaign, a single-player skirmish mode and a multiplayer option for up to eight players.
In the process of reviewing Conquest , I was struck by a serious case of déjà vu. The end result of playing Conquest was not unlike what I recently experienced while reviewing Empire Earth III: a great amount of anticipation, followed by bewilderment, and concluding with a general feeling of disappointment. Similar to Empire Earth III, Conquest takes a formula that worked quite well and was unique among the myriad of RTS games and reworked it into an entirely unrelated and unremarkable RTS title. Conquest is unlike its predecessors; it borrows features from several other popular RTS games, and as a result, it never truly creates its own identity."
This is an even worse game than Empire Earth 3 for the simple fact that the design shows promise, but it's utterly undermined by the horrible execution. With a better interface, a stable engine, and better pacing, this could have been a decent RTS, particularly for multiplayer. To the developer's credit, it didn't waste its time on a turgid storyline (see also Sins of a Solar Empire), and it knew enough to borrow from better games. But for whatever reason, the execution completely falls apart.
Presentation - 2.5
Graphics - 3.0
Sound - 4.0
Gameplay - 3.0
Lasting Appeal - 4.0
Overall -
I remember when the Seven Kingdoms series was actually good...sigh those were the old days
Dated graphics, poor AI, buggy gameplay, cumbersome controls, and uninspired design choices make playing Conquest an exasperating experience. So, why bother?
You'll love:
- Weird story
- "Special" units
- Huge scale
You'll hate:
- Units lack variety
- Dumb AI
- Like a time capsule to the 90s
This is a mediocre offering at the strategy table. There isn't anything here to raise this above the crowd, and there are many more excellent games to play. Thinking isn't required, and players can just choose to hammer their way along through to the end. GameZone long for the old days of Heroes of Might and Magic.
Gameplay - 5.0
Graphics - 6.0
Sound - 6.0
Diificulty - Medium
Concept - 6.0
Overall -
