Publisher: Kalypso Media
Developer: Akella
Minimum requirements: Windows XP SP2/Vista/Win 7; 2 GHz Pentium 4 or better CPU; 512 MB RAM; 128 MB Nvidia 6800 GT or better graphics card; 10 GB hard-drive space; Windows-compatible sound card
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Release date: Available now

The struggle between the gods has shown no respite since the creation of Nevendaar. Their disciples, eager to follow their deities’ bidding, are rewarded with death on the battlefield, mere pawns in the immortals’ implacable and merciless thirst for revenge and bloodshed. As the gods’ hatred of each other grows, so do the number of graves spreading everywhere in the land, while truces are broken without regret. The world is corrupted by foul plots, and the gods are willing to sacrifice their creations as mere accessories to their schemes.

Welcome to the newest entry in the Disciples series, in which the human Empire, the Elven Alliance and the Legions of the Damned are once again swept into the schemes of the gods who created Nevendaar. It’s perhaps the best of the series, and I’ve once again been drawn into playing a game for hours at a time. The last time that happened was…well, not so long ago, actually, with Tropico 3, but prior to that, it had been months since a game was so addictive that I’d spend more than an hour or two at a time with it.

Disciples 3 features three game modes. The first is campaign mode, in which you can play one of the three main races of Nevendaar in a multi-act story. Each act is played on one very large map. If you’re like me and you like to explore everything, you’ll spend hours on each act, even at the easiest setting, because the maps are just that vast. You have a capital city that can be upgraded by spending gold and stone, which lets the units in your army become more powerful as they gain enough experience (XP) from combat. In all cases, if more than one upgrade is available at a tier, then building one automatically blocks the others. For example, when he gains enough XP, a Squire becomes a Knight if you’ve built an armory at Tier One or a Witch Hunter if you’ve built a Dungeon; you can’t build both. You can heal and hire units in any city you control; neutral cities can change hands many times, but losing your capital city costs you the game.

You can have multiple armies, but each one must have a leader. Leaders gain experience as well, and each time they gain a level, they can buy two upgrades from their skill grid and get three points to spend increasing their attributes. However, in campaign mode, only the main hero keeps his experience between acts. Heroes can also find (or buy) equipment that improves their attributes; depending on the hero’s leadership score, he can command between three and seven other units. Each army can only move a certain distance on the overland map each turn; when they move into a hex next to another army, combat begins. You can also cast one overland spell per turn, or make runes of spells you’ve learned to be used in combat mode. Combat is carried out on another hex grid, but in true 3D, with a cinematic camera that zooms in on the action. In each turn, each unit can move up to its limit and either attack or use a rune, potion or special ability. You win a fight if you can destroy the enemy army or force it to retreat.

In addition to campaign mode, you can play a single map, of which there are currently only two. There is also a Hot Seat mode that has two maps for three players, and six maps for two players. Disciples III is extremely well written, and the story is compelling. I noticed no major bugs beyond one or two items whose descriptions are incomplete, both of which came from random treasure drops. My only complaint, if you can call it that, is the limited number of maps for single-player and Hot Seat modes; I’m assuming (and hoping) that a map editor will be released, and/or that future installations of the game will include more maps for these two modes. I also find it slightly unusual that a game distributed by Steam doesn’t have online multiplayer, but I’m willing to excuse this because I’ve found that turn-based strategy games are extremely boring to play online while you wait for the other player to decide on his moves. I also wish that some of the Achievements in the Steam release had more specific details; some are pretty obvious just from the name alone, like Great Explorer, but I really wish I knew exactly how much life mana is needed to earn the Life Mana Guardian achievement.

If you like turn-based strategy games, or have been a fan of the other games in the Disciples series, or just don’t care about the fact that it’s turn-based as long as the story is solid and well thought-out (which it is), Disciples III is a worthwhile addition to your library. I’m not going to be like some reviewers and criticize it for being turn-based; I’d be a hypocrite if I did, because I’ve spent up to eight hours at a time playing it. If I can find a game that compelling, and if my only major complaint is the shortage of maps for solo and Hotseat modes, then you know Akella has done something right. Still, turn-based strategy games are not for everybody, so Akella has made a 3.7 GB demo available for those who want to try before they buy.

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