Defender of the Crown

The Good
The English romance i.e Jim Sachs' artwork. I think the game has meaning particularly to the British or those with British roots, seeing the familiarly shaped continent and familiar counties. It's a short game, you only have to conquer England (depending on the game, you have to defeat the Norman lords or both Saxon and Norman lords), but the randomness makes the game quite replayable.

The gameplay is an improvement over the Amiga, first release. In this version you're not forced to be a murdering or thieving bastard to end your turn and continue the game. You can end your turn with a "pass" or by buying army. Also, your fellow Saxons actually are your fellows. They'll let you camp your army on their land.....sometimes anyway. They may also conquer your lands and besiege your castles.

The Bad
There's nothing much in the game itself I don't like. It's the promotional material I have a real problem with. The box art and blurb make it seem like it's some sort of sexy, adults only adventure, when really, even the love scenes in the game itself are fairly tasteful.

The Bottom Line
It's like an interactive Robin Hood or Ivanhoe adventure. Semi-historical, romanticized violence. Personally I still enjoy it and I think the DOS version is better despite inferior graphics and sound.