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loginReview of Dawn of Fantasy: Kingdom Wars
Dawn Of fantasy, what a game it is, it was originally launched in September 6, 2011, with so much excitement and a lot going for it, but was plagued by poor programming and bugs and rushed by the publisher, features promised but never delivered. Still we all had high hopes and knew there was something special there. So the Devs still apart of development that cared about the game and wanted to see it grow, ended up looking for funds elsewhere, so they started a kick starter, and now they released a new version on steam with many new features and updates that fixed a ton of the game making it a lot better than its first official launch.
So on to my review- I’m a huge Real-time strategy nut, I’v played nearly everything the genre has to offer. And this game has a lot to offer and more, with some concerns of course. But what game does not, even triple A games have their issues, and this game only cost 15$ with the same features if not more. This game is a combination of Real-time Strategy/MMO, hence why it’s called an MMORTS, which I believe is the first of its kind in a Medieval Fantasy setting compared to every game on steam which is remarkable.
Story- It’s set in a Medieval Fantasy Setting. The story is done by dialog text with Npcs. It’s not bad, but it’s not great either. So I won't go into story much. When the gameplay is the most important.
Gameplay- Definitely a highlight, but there are some problems. So let’s discuss the highlights. There are many many many features, Such as the ability to build Castles/Fortresses and gather resources to build massive armies, which is very addicting and rewarding. It’s set up like any other Rts, but a lot deeper. So how is it deeper? Well, since it is set up in a mmo environment, Buildings have a set timer on them till they finish. Some take as long as 2hrs or low as 10mins. This worried me at first, like why would I want to wait 2hrs for a structure to be built. However there is SECRET WEAPON. Crowns o crowns how I love the, Yes Crowns, it is the currency in game to buy dragons, units, resources or the big one, upgrade buildings or make construction faster , even instant.
So is it pay to win? Well yes and no, but in my personal opinion i don't think so, it is however done brilliantly, which is where pvp/questing comes in. Crowns are more for convenience and priced quite well, they also can be accumulated in pvp between armies or Sieging a castle or even questing. There is many types of quests such as Raiding towns/castles or even escort missions. Also you can buy crowns earned from gold gathered or a great new feature (Corpse looting) the looting of fallen units. You can play the entire game without even spending a penny on crowns, which is awesome. Here’s where things become very interesting, you have 3 races Humans, Orcs, and Elves and soon to have even more races, that play externally different from each other, not in just play style but the way they gather and build structures. There are also light RPG elements to help you progress your hero and units to perform better. There is an over world where u can level up your armies and make allies or enemies between towns which is pretty gorgeous. The game also plays for you while ur offline just at a slower pace which is quite nice.
Graphics/Presentation- The games art style is fantastic and the castles and environments are a pleasure to behold. However there are some bugs and glitches in the environments. Such as Catapults or units getting stuck in walls and having to relog to fix it is slightly annoying, otherwise for most part it’s a bright and lively looking game. They also give you a choice of regions before you start a city which give you passive bonuses that can change our whole game such as plains for better cavalry and mountains for defense, and you also get to choose from 2 traits that can strengthen your army or economy. The best part is seeing massive armies taking on Capitols which is breathtaking to watch, but I wish path finding could be better its kind of all over the place some units not responding or just sitting there and there is some great animations, and some very bad ones as well. And the ui is pre dated, it works, but it no means perfect, but the good news is the Devs are working on it nonstop, and we have great things to come. Such as Dx10 support and even ship sieges. Speaking of the Devs this has to be the most amazing community I’ve ever seen. The Devs and mods are always on to chat giving refunds for lost items or answer questions and even take criticisms and take responsibility for their choices. There has already been 3 patches that have fixed many issues and more to come.
Sound- The music and atmosphere is wonderful. However combat sounds, well sounds like I’m having a war with my kitchen, was amusing at first but now I can't stand it and for some reason its loud even on the lowest volume setting. Possibly it’s just an issue on my side.
In the end, The game is very addicting, I have 4 cities, and massive armies, sure theirs many issues and bugs and sometimes horrible path finding, and pvp doesn’t always work, yes there has been major crashes but only because the game has grown so fast, there was none of these issues before, but the community and gameplay is just so rewarding I can't stop.So glad I’m done with this review, Already 70hrs in and all I want is more! The Review easily could have been pages and pages with everything the game has to offer.
Final Verdict A solid 8.0/10
http://steamcommunity.com/sharedfiles/filedetails/?id=92931949