Battle Realms Preview

A promising cooperation between Liquid and Crave Entertainment shaped a new RTS game by the name of Battle Realms. The first time I considered writing the preview for yet another RTS, I was pretty unenthusiastic and annoyed with the notion of slapping up an article on one of the most common game genres. Nevertheless, I faced two alternatives - right the preview, or be sacked. At long last I sat down to discover more about the game itself. To my initial surprise, it appeared to have quite an interesting way of incorporating a wonderful Asian-style legend into a graceful strategy game. I, suddenly, lost all doubts and actually started to enjoy finding out more and more exciting info on Battle Realms. The patience and commitment that the designers exercised throughout various development stages also really amazed me, as I realized that, at the same time, a conventional game concept could still be molded into quite a unique result.

Hold the line men!

Who the hell are these guys?

Martial arts movies and ancient Far East cultures provided inspiration for the authors of the Battle Realms story. It portrays several characters, designed in coherence with this Asian-based legend. When we speak about the story's basics, we have a standard situation of eternal war between dark and light - based on the yin/yang principal, where the two conflicting forces preserve the balance of the universe. This solid sphere remained undisturbed for a long time, until, one day, the two opposite sides divided and consequently each took on a physical form. The dark side takes shape almost instantly and assails a small settlement situated on the far north continent, thus driving the inhabitants perpetually southward. Eventually, the pursued populace came to the end of land itself and encountered nothing but water for as far as the eye can see.

A hero named Tarrant got caught in this predicament together with the refugees, who accepted him as their leader. Tarrant had in his possession an ancient artifact called the Serpent Orb, which held certain mystical powers unknown to all, even Tarrant himself. Facing an inevitable clash with the foe, he decides to unleash the powers of the Orb, as his only hope against a more powerful enemy. Unexpectedly, the tremendous unchained force created a bottomless and immense abyss that now stood as a barrier between the refugees and the evil chasing them. Sadly the uncontrollable energy that was released also took Tarrant's life, leaving the people with a feeling of great loss. Marooned on the newly formed island the people decided to honor the good Tarrant and unite into a Serpent Clan. However, thanks to corruption and constant squabbles, the clan was soon in turmoil. In time, other opposing clans came - The Wolf and Lotus Clan, both of which intended to land on the island and claim it for themselves. Several generations passed and the civil war goes on as the clans engage a never-ending struggle for existence.

Apart from the Wolf and Lotus clan, the player has the possibility to choose the Dragon Clan - a clan that evolved out of the Serpent Clan and is being led by a prominent character called Kenji Oja.

Anyhow, exotic lands, misty atmosphere, skillfully designed units are all the key elements of Battle Realms. Furthermore, an inspiring array of details in the living environment already created a huge commotion about this game. The developers have announced that a lot of these features are going to bring more depth to the RTS genre in general. Mostly, this will include things like effects of height - units that are located on a hill, or any sort of higher land, will inflict more damage to enemy units (a similar thing occurs with mounted units, but more on that later). Next, there's the issue of sight-range (a line of vision if you will), which plays a most important part for battle tactics: Climbing the hill would give you a great view of the land ahead, so you can see the enemy before he sees you - this move will give you the advantage to plan out your attack more cautiously.

Moreover, the terrain and atmosphere changes can be used to your advantage in various ways. Rain, for instance, allows the rice to grow faster (which certainly means more food, peasants, and eventually combat units), however, it can also stand against you in battle and decrease the effectiveness and speed of your fighting units. As you can see, the makers of Battle Realms have devised a real-life environment, which will be a vital gameplay element.