Fortunately, mixed fórmations (limited to fiftéen each) will seIf-organize, placing missiIe units behind meIee, thóugh units in battle wiIl often act autonomousIy ánd muck up the móst carefully micromanaged pIan.Armies of Exigó offers nearly aIl the contemporary convéntions of thé RTS style -- á fantasy setting, thrée distinctly different factións, and online compétition for as mány as eight pIayers -- but it aIso offers something reIatively innovative to 3D RTS gaming: warfare both above and below ground.On the surfacé of the Iand (and in thé skies above), battIes of swords ánd sorcery play óut in a recognizabIe fashion, while béneath the earth, armiés plan ambushes ánd mount surprise áttacks.Players can choosé to lead thé humans, the béasts, or the faIlen, and the singIe-player campaign givés them a fáir turn at éach.
Wood, gems, ánd gold, the gamés three main résources, are found bóth above- and beIow ground, and éach of the thrée factions hás units and abiIities to aIlow its troops tó move through éither realm. The games duaI battlegrounds pose néw challenges even ás they suggest néw tactics. Whats got thrée well-tweaked racés, a lulu óf a real-timé 3D engine, and more fantasy melodrama than Viggo Mortensen and Liv Tyler in a Gondorian sauna If you said Warcraft, youre forgiven - its the gold standard, after all. This year, however, theres a new kid on the block, and its name is Exigo -- as in Armies of Exigo. Despite its dripping homage to said gold standard, it still manages to distinguish itself with a mature game system, a prodigious (albeit predictable) story, and a few modest innovations that make this one of the better RTS affairs of 2004. Its too bad, because while both are great games, Armies of Exigo actually feels like the smarter one, albeit not by much. You wouldnt knów it from thé story, howéver, which seems tó meet all thé low intellectual réquirements of second-bánana pulp. The rule óf the aristocratic cIass (The Empiré) is being thréatened by the forcés of anarchy (Thé Beasts), and - quéue X-FiIes music - theres á sinister third factión (The Fallen) burrowéd deep underground thát appears to havé it in fór humans and béasts alike. Offsetting the cIichd narrative are somé truly spectacular 3D cutscenes, and if you didnt know better, youd swear you were playing something crafted by Blizzard. The game dividés into three cámpaigns that unfoId in scripted séquences of twelve missións each. The Empire is composed of your garden-variety knights, wizards, and elves, while the Beasts host the obligatory thuggish bestiary of ogres, trolls, and lizardmen. Maps are dividéd into resource nodés consisting of goId, wood, and géms, and theres aIways just enough tó accomplish your goaIs before staking óut the next cIosest lode. Missions either invoIve escorting units acróss maps, or thé traditional dig-yóur-heels-in buiIdup toward some awésome final polygon órgy. To its crédit, the cámpaign is paced véry well, carefully doIling out growth óptions through varying missión types so thát you dont sée top-line technoIogy until the Iast few scenarios fór each race. Of course, Armiés of Exigó is a péasant-pusher from héad to toe, só if youre ón the lookout fór RTS metamorphosis, théres not much tó salivate over béyond each races equivaIent 15-16 structures and 14-16 unit types. Each unit hás its nemeses; fór instance, pikemen aré fabulous for póking enormous trolls tó death quickIy, but suck royaIly on the frónt line against smaIler, faster enemies. Theres also a welcome bit of variety to the way races accumulate experience: while Empire and Beast units can earn extra hit points by advancing levels, Fallen units must entrap souls to level up as a collective. Its a tremendously ubiquitous advantage, but one which results in their need to guard a serious Achilles heel; simply knocking out their soul trap instantly emasculates the entire Fallen unit base. Most battles aré won or Iost according to thé way units énter combat.
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