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Fantasy Scenario Reviews

Playability Rating

4 / 10

COMMENTS: Play is designed around two of the seven tribes in the game, Thordur´s Realm and the White Horde. A plethora of defensive units and ability to obtain terraforming technologies make playing Thordur's Realm more suitable for players who enjoy a long game with lots of development and long, difficult sieges. If you enjoy the military game best then the White hoard is the tribe to play.

The map design serves to enhance game play by separating the protagonist and antagonist civilizations until the discovery of seafaring technologies. It breaks up the game nicely into an early game and a post-seafaring mid-game.

Terrain: The map consisted of only three terrains, glaciers, mountains and ocean. Having chosen to use the glacial terrain slot to represent the icy landscape causes the most glaring of this scenario's problems: the AI does not found new cities and randomly appearing barbarian units vanish on their first turn. This combination of flaws insures that the endgame will be walkover for the player.

Game Objective: The game objective is straight forward, complete the quest for druidic magic then conquer the world. It suits the theme and setting of the game well.

I found the tech paradigm of 30/10 to be frustratingly slow. This paradigm also significantly lengthens the game, to between 500 and 800 turns. Good players will find that they can conquer their region of the map long before they discover the technology to progress into other regions. This is especially true when playing as the White Horde.

Deriving a playability score for this scenario was the most difficult part of this review. Despite the fact that the endgame was a forgone conclusion, the early and mid-game were both fun and challenging. Although I enjoyed playing this scenario I ultimately decided to give it a sub-average playability rating.

Level of General Care

9½ / 10

COMMENTS: No readme file was included to explain the story line or scenario goals which normally I would view negatively. In this case however no additional documentation was required, the opening text and event driven text boxes provided all the information and flavor that the scenario required.

A well edited pedia.txt was also included.

Unit graphics fit the theme of the scenario and role of the unit. City styles very varied and also matched the theme. Other graphical details, icons, flags and forts were also quite appropriate.

Although they had no effect on the playability of the scenario, the inclusion of random barbarians impressed me significantly. It is another element that reveals the depth of the author's research and care.

Overall a superior job was done with the general level of care.

Art and Originality

8½ / 10

The premise that the land is glacial and can be converted to a fertile landscape through the discovery and use of druidic magic is an imaginative foundation on which to build a scenario.

On the downside I felt the author failed to capitalize on this unique idea. One could imagine that beneath the glacial ice lie plains, hills, rocky tundra, or an even more imaginative landscape like lost ruins. To my disappointment, however, only desert lie under the ice. An endless desert which produces even less food when irrigated then the glaciers do. Go figure.

The tribes in the game were widely varied and cleverly composed. Each had interesting units and a unique style of play.

The technology tree was a complete departure from the standard civ tree and the advances were appropriately used and given interesting names that worked with the scenario's theme. The author clearly made an effort to weave the tech tree, unit progression, and rate of map exploration into a cohesive and balanced scenario. Were it not for the dramatic handicap the use of the glacial terrain slot had on the game, I believe that the author would have been completely successful in integrating the three.

CONCLUDING REMARKS: Despite a serious balance problem the scenario is challenging and fun to play and I recommend it to the fans of fantasy scenarios.

Though a junior scenario designer, Wilson Theodoro shows the imagination, innovation, and attention to detail that are the hallmarks of the best scenario designers. I look forward to his next creation.