Review: Majesty 2
by Sean Meakin-Bolderston | Monday 14th June 2010
The Review
Sequels are well-known for being worse than the original, especially when taken on board by different developers entirely, but with Majesty
2, this simply isn't the case. In fact, the game has been radically improved from its predecessor, improved gameplay elements and more
in-depth characters, while still retaining the original charm and humour that came with the original Majesty.
It's difficult to compare this game to another on the market; it takes the best elements from so many different games and forces them all together in one package, and this is one of its best qualities. Too many recent games have simply followed the same formula as others in their genre, something that rapidly becomes tiresome and tedious, and puts everybody off it completely. Majesty 2 can help rectify this, being an RTS game, but with a twist, perhaps it can inspire more games like it, more games that take one base element and build on it to create something new, unique and ultimately enjoyable.
Visually, this game is something magnificent. In the more recent times, there is an ever increasing demand for game graphics to become better, higher quality, and generally more detailed, and this is something that Majesty 2 doesn't fall down on. While they aren't Earth-shattering photorealistic, the graphics are better than you would expect from an RTS game, and with the bright cartoon elements, it just makes the game warmer and more charming that most others.
When you start the game for the first time, you can choose to either start a new story, or you can go straight into a one mission game if you don't have the time to start a new game. However, this method could leave you at a disadvantage, since to fully understand the controls of the game, there are elements that are simply not obvious to you, such as having to offer money on flags for your troops/townsmen to respond, something which I feel could be a major disadvantage to those who simply don't want to, or don't think to, run through the tutorial. I for instance tried this method, and I simply couldn't grasp it, and within minutes I was being attacked and destroyed...not particularly something you want.
Once you run through the beginning level however, things become much different. It's very in depth, and it takes you through a series of different activities and challenges to help you fully get to grips with the controls, and rather than simply teaching one by one, it builds up, until you finally need to use most of your new arsenal of skills to complete the final challenges. It's when you get to this point that you fully begin to appreciate this game for what it is. The large amount of features that you can use to complete each task, and the inherent realism; everybody has a price, and in the real world people won't go and attack a wolf for nothing, not even an army, even they are paid. And it's this attention to detail which gives the game that extra uniqueness, which helps it retain the charm the series is known for.
The game does take a new spin on the characters though. While with ordinary run of the mill RTS games you tend to find that each unit in an army has a health bar and that's it, in this game each one has their own stats and inventory, something that takes it into the role-playing genre, and a feature that I love. It just increases the amount of involvement you take, and makes the game that much more in-depth and exciting. How many RTS games of late can you think of that do that?
This game does have a multiplayer feature, but I've not had the chance to test that out. However, I will say this about it: the RTS genre has an excellent multiplayer system, sucking you into the game and keeping you involved with the random and unpredictable movements of your opponents can keep you hooked for hours, and considering how this game is going with improvements on the genre, all I can say is that I expect big things.
If you're a big fan of RTS games, then I would definitely recommend getting this game, however, I think that if you are new to them, or if you don't regularly play them, then you may be looking in the wrong place, this game simply isn't designed for people who aren't fans of the genre. While it is humorous, it is charming and it is very enjoyable to play, it still requires that strategy, that quick thinking and that ability to apply logic to a situation, something that does put some people off RTS games on the whole. However this game CAN succeed, it's not a tired old sequel rushed out purely for the money, the time, dedication and effort is apparent, and I'm very certain that is going to pull off for this game. Want my recommendation? Go, get this game. Now!
It's difficult to compare this game to another on the market; it takes the best elements from so many different games and forces them all together in one package, and this is one of its best qualities. Too many recent games have simply followed the same formula as others in their genre, something that rapidly becomes tiresome and tedious, and puts everybody off it completely. Majesty 2 can help rectify this, being an RTS game, but with a twist, perhaps it can inspire more games like it, more games that take one base element and build on it to create something new, unique and ultimately enjoyable.
Visually, this game is something magnificent. In the more recent times, there is an ever increasing demand for game graphics to become better, higher quality, and generally more detailed, and this is something that Majesty 2 doesn't fall down on. While they aren't Earth-shattering photorealistic, the graphics are better than you would expect from an RTS game, and with the bright cartoon elements, it just makes the game warmer and more charming that most others.
When you start the game for the first time, you can choose to either start a new story, or you can go straight into a one mission game if you don't have the time to start a new game. However, this method could leave you at a disadvantage, since to fully understand the controls of the game, there are elements that are simply not obvious to you, such as having to offer money on flags for your troops/townsmen to respond, something which I feel could be a major disadvantage to those who simply don't want to, or don't think to, run through the tutorial. I for instance tried this method, and I simply couldn't grasp it, and within minutes I was being attacked and destroyed...not particularly something you want.
Once you run through the beginning level however, things become much different. It's very in depth, and it takes you through a series of different activities and challenges to help you fully get to grips with the controls, and rather than simply teaching one by one, it builds up, until you finally need to use most of your new arsenal of skills to complete the final challenges. It's when you get to this point that you fully begin to appreciate this game for what it is. The large amount of features that you can use to complete each task, and the inherent realism; everybody has a price, and in the real world people won't go and attack a wolf for nothing, not even an army, even they are paid. And it's this attention to detail which gives the game that extra uniqueness, which helps it retain the charm the series is known for.
The game does take a new spin on the characters though. While with ordinary run of the mill RTS games you tend to find that each unit in an army has a health bar and that's it, in this game each one has their own stats and inventory, something that takes it into the role-playing genre, and a feature that I love. It just increases the amount of involvement you take, and makes the game that much more in-depth and exciting. How many RTS games of late can you think of that do that?
This game does have a multiplayer feature, but I've not had the chance to test that out. However, I will say this about it: the RTS genre has an excellent multiplayer system, sucking you into the game and keeping you involved with the random and unpredictable movements of your opponents can keep you hooked for hours, and considering how this game is going with improvements on the genre, all I can say is that I expect big things.
If you're a big fan of RTS games, then I would definitely recommend getting this game, however, I think that if you are new to them, or if you don't regularly play them, then you may be looking in the wrong place, this game simply isn't designed for people who aren't fans of the genre. While it is humorous, it is charming and it is very enjoyable to play, it still requires that strategy, that quick thinking and that ability to apply logic to a situation, something that does put some people off RTS games on the whole. However this game CAN succeed, it's not a tired old sequel rushed out purely for the money, the time, dedication and effort is apparent, and I'm very certain that is going to pull off for this game. Want my recommendation? Go, get this game. Now!
Overall Score:
8.0