Publisher: Paradox Interactive
Developer: 1C Publishing
System requirements: Windows 2000/XP/Vista, 2 GHz dual-core CPU, 1 GB RAM, 4 GB hard-drive space, 512 MB GeForce 6800GTX or better graphics card with Shader Model 2.0 support, DirectX-compatible sound card, DirectX 9.0c, Majesty 2 version 1.4.356 or newer
Genre: Strategy
ESRB rating: Teen
Release date: Available now

Taking a game genre and making it unique is something that is difficult to do. Now take the one that is best served on a PC, also known as strategy games. Making it unique is something Majesty 2: Battles of Ardania, an expansion from Paradox Interactive, does.

Majesty 2: Battles of Ardania is the second expansion in the series. You play as a king who has brought peace to his kingdom. The only bad thing that comes with peace in a kingdom is boredom. While all goes well for the kingdom, something is happening. An evil werewolf, which is also a powerful mage, is coming to power and is threatening the land. You must face this unknown force, which threatens everything you’ve built.

Strategy games are most commonly known for direct control of resources, income and units. You build your kingdom by adding buildings to expand across the map and complete set objectives. Ardania, like the original game, does things a little bit differently. You click and choose which buildings to build and which units are spawned from them, but you don’t control the units directly. Instead, you click on areas of interest known as “flags.” Each flag has a specific command that units choose to follow, such as defend, explore, fear (stay away) or attack. You can also increase the number of units to follow the flag by adding money to it. Ardania bundles new campaign missions, new multiplayer maps, new monsters and weapons.

The most important thing in strategy games, other than resource management, is unit control. How you place the units or use them in battle is critical. So Ardania gets a creativity award from me for not utilizing direct unit control. Sitting back, watching the action and not being able to directly control the units is something rare and enjoyable. I found the game environment to be well put together, with various monsters and items to discover on the map. The single mission mode I found to be enjoyable. The missions apart from the main campaign gave it more variety; I just wanted to jump into the game and play.

The unique gameplay element that comes with Ardania does have its downside. Indirectly controlling units is challenging, and in the later levels I found it to be very difficult. Constant monsters wandering into the kingdom to cause a ruckus, in addition to the objectives I needed to complete, made my head spin. Also, there were no available players for multiplayer matches, but the single-mission option did help when I didn’t want to play the campaign.

Majesty 2: Battles of Ardania is a very challenging game, and at times very difficult. Players new to the genre might not like the unique play style, but seasoned strategy lovers might enjoy it. The expansion does offer many added bonuses that would be perfect for anybody who enjoyed the first game.

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