The developer has put so much of himself into this sequel to the already amazing KOTC. Intentionally and lovingly old school -- including the brutal difficulty level and steep learning curve, which is true of many of those old school games -- with deep tactical combat, this is as close as you get to that old school experience, by a designer who loves that aesthetic. Worth the money IMO since so much effort was involved in its making and the amount of replayability is vast.
The developer has put so much of himself into this sequel to the already amazing KOTC. Intentionally and lovingly old school -- including the brutal difficulty level and steep learning curve, which is true of many of those old school games -- with deep tactical combat, this is as close as you get to that old school experience, by a designer who loves that aesthetic. Worth the money IMO since so much effort was involved in its making and the amount of replayability is vast.
I've played this game several times over the years ... and yes, it has great replay value. It's deliberately and delightfully old school, with some nods to the wonderful SSI Gold Box games (esp. Dark Sun: Shattered Lands). Yes, it's a D&D game, using a highly modified and simplified form of the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 rules, thanks to the Open Game License. While there aren't many classes to choose from, and yes the graphics aren't anything special (it has that birds-eye 2D vibe), this game excels at exactly what it wants to excel at -- fun but incredibly tough tactical combat. Even once you master the interface, which doesn't take too long, you will still find fights tough and somewhat unpredictable. The game AI is smart and even once your characters advance and level up, don't expect them to just walk through battles with ease -- you really need to dig in and plan everything. If you like strategy instead of action, and you don't mind getting furious at times because your best tactics have been thwarted, then you'll love this game. Storyline is fun and uncomplicated. The presentation is charming. It was a labor of love for the one-man developing team -- you can tell this game represents what this developer loves about RPGs and nothing else. It's very stripped down and bare bones, but that's exactly what I love and appreciate about it. Again, this game is very challenging and often tough, even for experienced D&D players (you will likely yell at your computer at times), but it excels at what arguably is most important -- incredibly deep game tactics and strategy. If you like this sort of thing, then support indie developers like this (who care about gameplay, not graphics. And look for KOTC part 2, coming soon!
