Majesty 2 (PC) Preview

Posted by Chris Vicari on 03.02.2009

Hands on: The sequel to the 2000 fantasy kingdom sim is finally here, and I get a first look.

After nine long years of waiting for a sequel to Majesty: The Fantasy Kingdom Sim, the game featuring a unique blend of fantasy role-playing, real-time strategy, and a hands-off approach to commanding units with a mind of their own, I'm happy to report that the wait is finally over. I just got my hands on a preview copy of Majesty 2, and everything is coming along splendidly. If you've enjoyed the first game and its expansion, your excitement for the upcoming follow-up is well-placed.

The jump into the realm of 3D is a huge plus for Majesty 2, and while the visuals aren't exactly jaw-dropping, they are appealing, utilizing bloom, shadows, and what have you. It's nice to finally see the characters and buildings we've come to know and love in the original, receive quite the facelift in this latest incarnation. One particular piece which seems to be lacking though is sound. Most of the game's original charm came from the units themselves and what they said. I recall laughing heartily when a wizard was killed and exclaimed, "I'm melting!" a la Wizard of Oz. Sadly, unit sounds are absent here. I'm not sure if it's because I'm playing an early build and they'll be added in the full release, which I truly hope so, but I find myself enjoying the game less without them.

The long-awaited jump to 3D was definitely worth the wait.

Aside from the graphics and the puzzling lack of sound, little has changed in the realm of Ardania. There are still monsters to hunt, quests to complete, and heroes to coax. Much like the first game, you are the ruler of your kingdom, but all your loyal subjects have a mind of their own, as you hold no control over them whatsoever. For instance, peasants automatically repair damaged buildings and build new ones, while guards patrol the kingdom for monsters or other such pests. To order heroes about, you must place different kinds of "flags" which include a bounty to urge them to perform the task. Flag types range from explore and kill, to avoid and defend. Sometimes, it can get a tad annoying when monsters are invading your town, since guards aren't very powerful, and heroes spend most of their time exploring, but it's not that big a deal.

As supreme ruler of your people, your task is to build up your kingdom, one which can adequately defend itself from the denizens of the area, and perform the necessary quests for each mission. To do this, you construct various buildings such as guilds to recruit heroes, markets and smithies to earn money, and guard towers to protect your lands. Quests can range from protecting a caravan en route to its destination, slaying a group of bears disturbing the local peasantry, or even taking on another province. Many buildings make a return, and there are some new ones to get acquainted with as well. Thankfully, guard towers aren't nearly as expensive as they were in the original, and only cost several hundred and not thousands.

Majesty 2 is shaping up to be a quality game. I'm happy the formula hasn't changed much from nine years ago, and yet it's still a breath of fresh air in a genre littered with games that all seem to be the same thing only with different wrapping. The lack of unit speech and sound puts a hamper on the enjoyment, because you lose a portion of the game's humor, but hopefully it'll be added in the full game. Regardless, if you were a big fan of the original all those years ago, I definitely suggest picking the game up when it comes out, and for those who aren't familiar with the series, and would like to try something different for a change, I wholeheartedly recommend a purchase too.

In any case, I can't wait to play the whole thing.