Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: 1C Company
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista; 512 MB RAM; 128 MB graphics card
Genre: Turn-Based Strategy
Release date: Available now

Back in the spring of 2009 I was thrust into the hexagonal chessboard that is Elven Legacy, a turn-based strategy game that did more to pull me into the genre than thrust me out, as I mistakenly thought it would. I found easily grasped mechanics, functionality on low-tier systems and a $30 price point that adequately fit the amount of content and quality I received. It was a little bit o’ alright by me, to summarize, and apparently the same feelings were had by developer 1C Company, because here we are with the first of a proposed trilogy of expansion packs: Elven Legacy: Ranger.

While the original EL had our pompously pointy-eared heroes doing battle against an evil human sorcerer, Ranger is just looking for a place to call home. Cornelius is your main man on this secret mission from the top brass of his affiliation, the Order of Ticsus, although the mission’s not as glamorous as you might think. Instead of saving the world, or something equally legendary, Cornelius is searching for a plot of land. Yes, it’s basically a fantasyland house hunt, but it’s not to help you to raise a couple of kids and buy a station wagon. This is a quest to prepare a place for the imminent return of Cornelius’s people from exile.

From the outset you realize that it’s going to take a lot more than a good realtor to find a place for the Order to call home. The missions run basically the same as in the original game, tasking you with getting somewhere or destroying something that’s hampering your progress without letting your hero(es) die along the way. Sixteen brand new campaign missions await to tell you the story, and new spells are included, some of which can affect Cornelius’s attack before he actually attacks. There are also artifacts to be found that can be attached to units and can grant a variety of perks in battle.

And all this comes in at a very reasonable $10. You can get a good four to six hours of play out of Elven Legacy: Ranger, even more if you take the extra time to get to know your units and put them into the proper roles. Like other strategy offerings, this is not a game for the impatient; speedy decisions can be met with a classic flank-and-overcome maneuver from an enemy unit if you’re not careful. This doesn’t prove the AI to be a genius, by any means; it just proves that you need to think things through a bit more before you press the “end turn” button. Otherwise, the name of the game is attack until they break and run, place an available unit in front of them and corner until dead. And while this might seem a trifle on the predictable side, the fact that you’re outnumbered on every mission keeps things challenging, if not a little frustrating.

Oddly enough, it seems as though 1C skipped the voice acting this time around, which is not a bad thing, but other issues I had with the original game still persist.  The interface hopscotch is still present and ready to give me a good back and forth clicking exercise every time dialogue pops up, and there are some Alt-Tab issues that cause the game to freeze outright. The music is the same, too, which is surprising; not that I was fawning over it the first time around, but some new tunes would have been nice.

Despite these relatively minor gripes, I found it was easy to load up Ranger, move some units around into a devious configuration and save, only to come back later on to bring the hammer down. It’s not too often you can find a game that lets you do this so easily. Adopters of the original would do well to pick this expansion up if they are seeking to add to their strategy collection, but those who didn’t buy the first time aren’t missing anything. Elven Legacy: Ranger might not be treading any new ground, but once again, the price is right for what you get.

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Our Recommendation: