[h1][i]““All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better.”[/i]
~Ralph Waldo Emerson[/h1]
Do you, guys, like pro wrestling? Weird question to start a review of a fantasy strategy / RPG hybrid, but just bear with me, it'll make sense. In every wrestler's life there's that moment when they want to get signed by a big promotion and work really hard to achieve that. For [b]NeocoreGames[/b] it was the [b]King Arthur[/b] game that marked such a period. They really, like [i]really[/i] wanted to make that epic game that, aside from the [b]Braveheart[/b] / [b]Total War[/b] strategy part, included an RPG element. They even made a whole separate game called [b]Crusaders: Thy Kingdom Come[/b] just to convince [b]Paradox[/b] that they had all the right skills. And since they weren't lying ([b]Neocore[/b] are pretty talented devs), well, they've got signed. Which brings us back to my pro wrestling analogy.
[b]Paradox[/b] signed [b]Neocore[/b]. With a five-year exclusivity period and sequels/expansions being greenlighted. And almost exactly like with those wrestlers, [b]Neocore[/b] found themselves in a “what now” situation. Like, their “indie” times were over. They were working for the big guys now. Yet they didn't have a clear vision of the future yet, while clearly, they needed to make... something. Because naturally, [b]Paradox[/b] wanted their games being made. What did [b]Neocore[/b] do? They did exactly that. [i]Something[/i].
Long story short, they took [b]King Arthur[/b], altered it a bit and, well, here we are. With a short, story-driven, character-oriented............ Like I said, it's hard to put a finger on what exactly [b]Fallen Champions[/b] is. And that's exactly its biggest problem. [i]Technically[/i], it's [b]King Arthur[/b], all right. Looks and feels [i]exactly[/i] the same. Yet the [b]Risk[/b]-like map is limited and only lets us play... three missions. Like... [i]what?[/i]
Like I said, [b]Fallen Champions[/b] is a story-driven experience. There are three characters here. [b]Sir Lionel[/b] ([i]Hello, is it me you're looking for?~[/i] 🎶) is trying to save a damsel in distress (whose lips, of course, he kissed a thousand times in his dreams), the Sidhe enchantress [b]Lady Corrigan[/b] (not to be confused with [b]Sarah Kerrigan[/b]) tries to find her way home, while the Pictish shaman [b]Drest[/b] is [strike]high as F[/strike] driven by his visions. Funny crowd, huh? And no, you can't choose. You're supposed to play 'em all.
Don't worry, though, it won't take long. Like I said, every character has only three missions to beat. Sure, thanks to some little touches here and little alterations there, those are a tiny... little bit... more complicated than our usual [b]King Arthur[/b] stuff?.. [i]Kinda?[/i].. But yes, they're almost exactly the same and overall disappointing. To say the least. Thankfully, [b]Neocore[/b] kept those text-based quests I enjoyed so much in the original [b]King Arthur[/b] game. But you know what? Those are lacking too and feel more annoying than satisfying.
The problem with this game is not that the idea was bad (it actually had one heck of a lot of potential). The problem is that it feels like nobody cared about it, not for real. Its only real purpose was to fill the gap between [b]King Arthur[/b] and [b]King Arthur II[/b]. With [b]Neocore[/b] being the way they are, they were unable to just throw in some half-ass crap without caring, they actually used the opportunity to make an experiment, but still, it's kinda sad that all the ideas that were introduced here were just that – ideas.
Add more missions, make progression for each character non-linear (by adding choices and more complicated text quests) and this here will shine bright. As is... It's just (very) short... well, nonsense, really. Because making up some three random heroes, making us play three missions for them all and then calling it a day is just lame. [b]Fallen Champions[/b] just... isn't worth your time. Not because it's terrible, because again, all the mechanics here feel almost exactly like those from [b]King Arthur[/b], but because there's nothing special to do. It feels almost like a tiny little mod.
But of course, all the technical issues from the original [b]King Arthur[/b] are presented here too. You'll need one of those “4Gb Patches” in order to make the game work on a 64-bit system (those that let the game access more than 2Gb of RAM), you'll need [b]DgVoodoo 2[/b], etc. Nobody really tried to update this release either. And while with the [b]King Arthur[/b] it may be worth spending some time on making the game work, here? It isn't. Like I said, [b]Fallen Champions[/b] is an experiment. Smart one, sure. But still, it's something that's interesting for geeks and historians nowadays, not for those who just want to, you know, [i]play a good game[/i]. Dixi.
