Windows

Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars

Upon loading up Seven Kingdoms II: The Fryhtan Wars--and not having played the first Seven Kingdoms--I promptly said to myself, "great, another RTS for middle management types." Not a terrific first impression in my book. So I grudgingly launched into the tutorial missions and after a while, I’ll admit a rather long while, I found myself starting to enjoy the more mundane tasks that are an integral part of this game: kingdom management, trade, diplomacy--and particularly political backstabbing. Don’t get me wrong; this game has plenty of killing and looting and besieging, but it took me a while to learn the delicate balance between warfare and other social matters. Now I’m a convert; Trevor Chan and Enlight Software have put together one heck of a game that has so many facets that it’s initially daunting.

Seven Kingdoms II strikes a delicate balance well; it presents enough strategic problems to keep a wargamer happy, while still being fast-paced enough to cater to fans of RTS games. It provides a very rich gaming experience right from the clean lines of the beautifully presented main menu.

There are a few imperfections in this otherwise outstanding game. The first and most frustrating is the difficulty in managing the commerce in your empire. Caravans have to be manually selected and targeted, and even though there are a number of excellent summary screens that make it easier to manage them, it still gets to be a pain in the neck after a while.

Seven Kingdoms was one of the most pleasant surprises of 1998: an unexpected, original, and deep game of conquest, economics, and diplomacy. Created by Trevor Chan and Enlight Software, the developers of Capitalism, Seven Kingdoms became a favorite with critics and built a loyal following based on word of mouth. Chan then went right to work on the sequel to build on this success and improve and expand upon the original. And despite some bumps in the road, Seven Kingdoms II is finally done.

Seven Kingdoms II forges a rare kind of hybrid that falls somewhere between conventional combat-heavy real-time strategy games and more complex civilization-building games. Trade elements, research, diplomacy, race balance, fantastic monsters, mysticism, resource management, construction, expansion, and combat all figure into the mix. That's a lot of balls to keep in the air, but Seven Kingdoms II makes it work smoothly and creates one of the most addictive strategy games of the season.

Seven Kingdoms, as well as its improved form titled Ancient Adversaries, was just one of those games. Despite great reviews and jubilant cries regarding the game’s quality, one too many copies remained on store shelves. What is a game company to do? Publish a sequel, that’s what! There’s more to a game than how many copies it sells. It is a way for the designer to realize his vision, even if he/she has to cut some losses. And what a vision it is…Seven Kingdoms 2: The Fryhtan Wars is a complex piece of work. I hate to say it but I see many people being turned off by this. But stick with it, and you’ll be rewarded with one of the richest strategy game in years.

Seven Kingdoms II: The Frythan Wars is an impressive RTS for the year 99. Sadly, it seems to be doomed to suffer the same fate as the original Seven Kingdoms -- a great game overshadowed by larger marketing departments. Despite some genuine advancements to the genre, such as spies and a unique money-making system, other big-name RTS games are getting the shelf-space and recognition. However, true fans of strategy gaming who pick this title up won't be disappointed -- many will play this game long after Age of Kings sits on the shelf. This game simply has tons of depth. Don't let this one pass you up!

Mocht je de eerste keer Seven Kingdoms hebben laten liggen, maak deze fout dan geen tweede keer. Met name RTS-liefhebbers moeten deel II absoluut aanschaffen. SK II biedt eindeloze gameplay en meer inhoud, verschillende volken en units/taktieken dan de gemiddelde strategy game. Age Of Empires II heeft er in ieder geval een hele vette concurrent bij.

If all this sounds overwhelming for beginner gamers - it is - but after a few hands-on hours of gameplay (not to mention a robust tutorial and comprehensive manual), the steep learning curve makes it worth while in the end. Seven Kingdoms II is a highly-enjoyable and highly-detailed strategy game with seemingly limitless options and avenues for replayability. If you were one of the folks who missed out on its predecessor because you already dumped your cash on other RTS games or perhaps felt the genre was over-saturated, be sure to consider this sequel for an entertaining and deeply challenging gaming experience.

Enfin, le métaphysique est également bien présent dans Seven Kingdoms II. Chaque civilisation est transcendée par une force suprême : Thor, Mithra, Hanuman, Isis... ces dieux peuvent intervenir à tout moment et mettre tout le monde d'accord ! Un peu comme pour rappeler au commun des mortels que, même tout puissants, l'espèce vivante est condamnée à régler ses chamailleries à la cheville des divinités.

Was Seven Kingdoms 2 vor allem auszeichnet, sind die immer anders verlaufenden Szenarios. Der Computergegner agiert ab der dritten Spielstufe ziemlich clever. Auch die eigenen Truppen bewegen sich sehr smart, "Irrläufer", wie man sie von der Konkurrenz kennt, habe ich nicht ein einziges Mal erlebt. Richtig gut hat mir gefallen, daß meine Einheiten auf dem Weg zu einem Ziel auftauchende Gegner selbstständig angreifen und sich dann wieder ihrer ursprünglichen Aufgabe widmen. Wenn Sie auf der Suche nach mehr als 08/15-Strategie sind, liegen Sie bei Seven Kingdoms 2 goldrichtig.

Though 7K2 may not stand a chance at competing against RTS juggernauts like Age of Empires II, Starcraft, or Command & Conquer: Tiberian Sun, it certainly beats games like Total Annihilations: Kingdoms and Settlers, in my opinion. It will definitely garner its own cult of followers due to its many innovations like the ability to use spies in the game. Playing 7K2 was an interesting gaming experience and I was glad I got the chance to play it, but it's not a must-buy unless you're a huge strategy fan. So, if you have the cash, and want a new and refreshing RTS game to play when you are tired of all those other great RTS games, pick this title up and give it a try. You never know- maybe you'll end up loving the game so much that you'll forget all about those other RTS games. Hey, it could happen.

Wie zoekt naar een nieuwe Kingdoms zal in 7K2 zijn gading niet vinden. Liefhebbers van Age of Empires, Caesar 3 of Civilization die de complexiteit en diepgang van de diplomatieke en economische mogelijkheden van 7K2 weten te appreciëren zullen zich met dit spel echter geen moment vervelen.

Без всяких угрызений совести могу сказать, что Seven Kingdoms 2 — элитарная игра. Не для всех. Как и ее предшественник. По большому счету, это все та же потрясающая комбинация экономики и боевой системы, уникальная разработка в стиле RTS, которая никогда не попадет в ряд успешных игр в плане доходов от их продаж. Может быть когда-нибудь геймеры научатся понимать серьезные игры, а не возвеличивать попсу, встречающуюся сейчас на каждом шагу. А пока SK2, скорее всего, ждут скромные похвалы и быстрое забвение. Но мы-то запишем ее в наши скрижали. Пусть потомки вспомнят...

This is a game that is a lot of fun some of the time, pretty fun a good bit of the time, and downright tedious every once in a while. Its downfall is that the tediousness sometimes comes sooner rather than later, making the game a drag. It's too bad, really, because people may stop playing it because of that. 7K2 plays much like the bastard child of Warcraft and SimCity would -- part grunt rush, part structure building.

Egal, ob Diplomatie, Spionage, Wirtschaft, Handel oder Kriegsführung - alles, was das Strategenherz begehren könnte, ist enthalten. Der Wiederspielwert ist enorm, da selbst die Missionen der verschiedenen Kampagnen bei jedem Neustart verändert werden. Allerdings ist die Handlung vergleichsweise mager und läßt ein wenig eine Führung vermissen. Zudem ist die Präsentation, insbesondere in Bezug auf die Animation der Einheiten, nicht völlig gelungen. Wer sich leicht von Statistiken und fummeligen Unterfunktionen abschrecken läßt, wird keine Freude an diesem Programm haben.

Het uitgangspunt is simpel: monsters tegen mensen. De uitwerking is goed en op sommige momenten verassend. Wie met iets simpelers dan Age of Empires genoegen neemt, doet met 'Seven Kingdoms, The Frythan Wars' zeker geen miskoop.

Als fanatischer Age of Empires2-Spieler muß ich dem zwar ambitionierten, doch um ein bis zwei Klassen schlechteren Enlight-Produkt eine Abfuhr erteilen. Zwar ist Seven Kingdoms 2 beileibe kein unausgegorener Schnellschuß und bietet Hardcore-Strategen mit abwechslungsreichen Missionen, hübsch gerenderten Gebäuden und einer Vielzahl an leicht zu steuernden Einheiten vermeintlich alles, was das Herz begehrt. Doch nach einigen Stunden Spielzeit vermißte ich schmerzlich eine dichte Atmospähre sowie lebendiges Gewimmel auf den allzu steril designten Karten.

Seven Kingdoms II met en scène le développement et les affrontements de différents peuples de l’Antiquité. Les sept civilisations qui avaient donné son nom au premier opus sont devenues douze : vous pourrez incarner indistinctement les Grecs, les Romains, les Perses, les Egyptiens, les Mongols, les Chinois, les Japonais, les Normands, les Vikings, les Celtes, les Indiens et les Carthaginois.