Lords of the Realm 2 is a medieval strategy game. The King is dead and the nobles are all vying for power to become the next King. The game has a simple interface. The controls and play system are easy to learn and not difficult to master. The player must be adept at managing economies, leading armies on the battlefield, and also be a diplomat as well, trying to play all ends against the middle to buy yourself time to become strong.
I would stack this game up to and recent strategy game.
While the graphics are not spectacular by any stretch of the imagination they convey the mood of the game very well and suit its purpose. The cut scenes are well done and the mixes of units with which the player can fight are also well balanced and leave plenty of room for all those crafty tacticians out there. Managing the economy is an equal challenge as the player must raise army’s, keep populations happy, build weapons and castles, and make money to expand their empire. The game is played in turns called seasons. Every season the player makes turn based decision on economy and military management as well as planning the next campaign. When two opposing armies cross paths however the game goes into a real time tactical game of last man standing.
The AI is good for its time but with a little effort and practice the player should not have too many difficulties. The different opponents are very different from each other as well. One is a backstabber, one is a tyrant, one is a mix of the two, and one is in a category all his own. Each of the AI players will act and react differently to gifts, compliments, insults, invasions, and other interactions. As far as multiplayer is concerned the real time battles are better done with the lord of the realm 2 siege pack expansion pack. This will allow players to concentrate on real time battle although it does offer the tradition game new maps to conquer. To sum it up Lords of the Realm 2 s not only a worthy successor to the first game but is infinitely better than its successor.
This is a game that a real time strategy or military minded person should not be without. It is a great game for both newcomers and more skilled players.
