Sorcerer King PC Review
Summary: Sorcerer King casts a spell on you and keeps you playing.
4
Hits its mark
Stardock Entertainment throws us a curve ball with this title, and not in a bad way. I did not know what to expect… However I was very pleasantly surprised and I love a good sword and sorcery game, and Sorcerer King really delivers some fun times… while there are some 4X elements as well.
The player is not just working the rules of 4X “eXplore, eXpand, eXploit, and eXterminate”. The elements are there, but there are some hybrid things going on here too. The player is also the underdog here and things are looking pretty darn hopeless as the world is in the control of an evil mage. Of course creatures of all kinds are out causing the mayhem of any good fantasy, sword and sorcery story so fans of these genres should enjoy this title.
So in terms of story… the world as you know it has ended and things can only get worse but there is hope with the player! All it takes is someone to stand up and work to sway the Sorcerer King’s hold on the lands, and that is where the player comes in. Starting out with a meager ability and limited resources, the player has to build themselves up and win the lands over from the evil one. All that would not be so bad, but the players character starts the game from the losing side of the war. A war has already taken place and now the Sorcerer King seeks to become Godlike. To reach that goal he has to kill everyone to do it so there are some incentives to defeating him, such as staying alive.
The game has some replay potential in that the player can choose any of six different sovereign characters to start the game with which impacts the rest of the game. Each character also has different abilities and through the course of the game, the player takes on different quests. These quests are pretty interesting and there is a staggering amount of them. In terms of quests, I believe that Chris Bucholz (a columnist at Cracked.com) wrote these quests so there’s a touch of humour thrown in as well. Some of the quests were also quite tricky which left me wondering how to even accomplish what they wanted me to do. Thankfully the game does a good job at explaining the basics as you move forward.
With the ability to play as different characters and all the options in the game and choices available to the player, each game can be played quite differently which adds to the overall replay value.
Furthermore, the key objective in Sorcerer King is for the player to build up their power and in so doing, it will whittle away at the Sorcerer Kings power. The source of the players powers and that of the Sorcerer King lay in elemental shards that are located throughout the lands. Grabbing these shards, the player can then use them to gain new spells, skills (which in turn gives them new abilities), or Mana energy to be able to cast spells. Players will need those spells to shift a very small advantage their way. So as players progress, the goal is to try and unite different rivals to form armies in order to expand your abilities and power to stand up to the Sorcerer King.
The game plays like a loveable mutt hybrid of all the games a gamer would love. There is some levels of strategy, there is some role playing and some levels of customization which gives the player some freedom. There is even some levels of city building and management and since the player has to deal with rivals and trying to band them together there is an element of diplomacy as well.
Combat is turn based so you have a bit of time to survey the battle area and decide where to move your soldiers and heroes. If you have played any of the Total War games, when two opposing forces meet for battle…. a pop up appears that gives the two armies basics information but that’s where the similarity ends. Each unit also takes turns in order of the initiative list that shows at the left of the screen. The higher a unit’s initiative score, the more moves they get to take.
Needless to say, it’s a thrill to be the underdog and somehow come out on top. Everyone likes that at some level of their inner selves plus that craving for adventure. So while the player battles and engages in quests, there is a race against the doomsday clock, so if you make too many bad moves, your heroic adventures may soon be over.
Final Thoughts?
I had a lot of fun playing the game, it has enough depth to keep you interested, but not so much going on that if you are new to this sort of gaming you would feel lost. It’s pretty cool indeed. Once in awhile the AI was a little stupid, but it was not so much that the game was not enjoyable. Pen, paper and dice gamers will also feel right at home and this game seriously feeds the gaming beast until your next gaming convention.
I see a good deal of gaming hours playing Sorcerer King for quite a few people… Have fun play games and beat the Sorcerer King!
Game Details
Title: Sorcerer King
Publisher and Developer: Stardock Entertainment
Genre: Strategic 4X plus RPG
Format: PC Steam (Download)
About the Author
Edwin Millheim Edwin Millheim is a freelance writer since the 1980's has worked in comic book scripting and story writing, for such magazines as Shadis magazine, Anime A2. and also has worked on role playing game creation and adventure creation in the role playing industry as a freelancer (For such companies as Hero Games ,Palladium Books Rifts Index and Adventures Vol 1 hook line and sinker story contributor) working over the years with his editor and co writer for many projects, Donna Millheim, his wife, together... wrote the "electronic games" article for Funk And Wagnalls Encyclopedia Edwin has also worked as writer on comic adaptations to some of his writer/created role-playing games such as Bright Future (Sci Fi) and Unknown Eagles (Based in World War II), and Moonsfar: Warrior's Creed.(Sword and Sorcery) Has also worked as an actor for various live action stunt shows and worked as action fight coordinator and action coordinator for film, and tv and live shows. He is also the Lead singer and Lyric writer for the band Dragon and Berr, who he works with his Drummer wife. Other than the albums they have released over the years, he has also started producing and mixing and mastering for other artists from his wife and his label Loose Bolt Records. All in all likes to keep busy, his first love will always be gaming though.
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