Fantasy Empires Pc Game

[Laurence Jabali]

Definitelyone of the best fantasy games ever made, Fantasy Empires is an incredibly addictive fantasy strategy game that combines real-time tactical combat, numerous strategic options, and brilliant graphics and sound effects into an unforgettable gaming experience.

Features real-time combat in an overhead view, as well as a computer controlled The Dungeon Master, who provides insight as well as comic relief. Form alliances, recruit armies, train heroes, send them on quests, cast spells, manage resourses. All set in the enchanted world of D&D.

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Fantasy Empire is a mix between RPG, turnbased strategy, and small-scale tactical battles where you directly control your warriors/heroes the RTS-way (this can be avoided by seleting "Simulate battles).

The game takes place in the fantasy land of Mystara, where "the dungeon master" (hey - I've heard that one before) has given you a challange (defeat your opponents as usual). Apart from that, the storyline doesn't matter - the "campaign" consists of different maps where you basicly do the same - command & conquer.

The turnbased strategy part is straight foward - you control your Fantasy Empire, build buildings in the kingdoms (regions) you control, create new armies, send heroes on quests, attack other kingdoms, etc. It can be quite confusing in the beginning (if you haven't read the manual), since there's no way to tell what the different buildings do, or why certain things happen. This could have been a serious problem, but is made up for by one of the nicest features in Fantasy Empires: The "tutorial".

Instead of the traditional textboxs popping up and telling you what to do, the old wizard at the top of the screen sometimes opens his mouth. I was shouting at my screen because I couldn't figure out why I kept losing the kingdoms I conquered, and suddenly the old bastard woke up from his snoring (he does that when you've been idle for a little while) and says:

"Build keeps to impose power over your kingdoms - you have lost many warriors because you have not done this...."

Aaah, helpful indeed....

The RPG part of the game is not as important as you would expect, having created your character the same way you do in AdD. All troops can gain exp - though the effect of this is only that they gain a lvl and now are "Veteran troops" (or elite when they gain another level). Your heroes will also improve - with the same result. Futhermore heroes can gain special items on quests, which you don't control - you simply send them away on a quest, and then they either return a couple of turns later, or they die questing. The character that you create at the start of a game gains levels after each completed map in the campaign, which improves your entire empire.

In the tactical part, after you've deployed your army, you control a random unit in the army. You move around the battlefield using the keyboard and battle out until the unit dies - then you gain control of another unit. The fun part here is to control the heroes involved in the battle - you can switch between heroes/units by pressing F1/F10, depending on whether you're the attacker or defender.

The single player part of the game is worth 3,5 of 5 - it is very average, there are very few features that haven't been seen before at that time (93/94), the strategy resembles that of Defender of the Crown, and the RPG-part is very limited. The tactical game-in-the-game isn't very interesting single player, but when you play against your friend (I only have one :D ) in hot-seat mode, the tactical part steps into character - it's great fun killing your friend's lvl 35 hero and watch as his world fall apart.....

Set in the D&D world of Mystara, Fantasy Empires is similar to SSG's Warlords and SSI's earlier Sword of Aragon. Combat is, however, real-time; although the arcade segment will be fairly acceptable to most wargamers who dislike frenetic action games. You begin by creating your character, as well as up to 4 opponents. Gameplay is split between the strategic map, where you can cast spells, select diplomacy actions, build several structures to train different unit types (similar to Master of Magic), and the close-up tactical view screen where you can see and control your armies in battle. You can also use spys to wreck havoc on your enemies.

One of the best features of the game is the "Dungeon Master" -- a computer-controlled wizard who will give you advice and general remarks during the game, in a surprisingly well-done digitalized voice. As in RPGs, your characters and units grow in experience as you progress through the campaign, earning you access to more powerful spells and buildings.

Overall, Fantasy Empires is simply a must-play for all fantasy wargamers. My only gripe is that because you must conquer EVERY territory to win the game, later stages can become a long, boring waiting game of attrition. Two thumbs up!

Fantasy Empires is available for a small price on the following website, and is no longer abandonware. GOG.com provides the best release and does not include DRM, please buy from them! You can read our online store guide.

First, what is an empire? Contrary to the nomenclature, an empire is not defined by having an emperor or empress. An empire is a state that subjugates other peoples and nations across a large area, usually by force. Even though we divide Roman history into the Republican and Imperial eras, both the Roman Republic and the Roman Empire were empires because they controlled vast swaths of territory and people beyond Rome. On the other hand, modern day Japan is not an Empire, even though it has an emperor, because it governs only itself.

Humans want stuff. From iron ore to smart phones, people will go to extreme lengths to satisfy their desires. Many early European empire buildings can be traced back to this motivation. In the 1600s and 1700s, Europe discovered that it had a thirst for goods from abroad and they produced little that anyone else wanted to trade for. Most of the good stuff, from gold to fine porcelain, came out of Asia and Africa. All Europe had were powerful guns and advanced ships. So European states like the Netherlands, Portugal, and eventually England quickly used their guns and ships to seize colonial holdings. From these new outposts, they gained access to the resources they wanted.

A dictatorship has several advantages for a budding empire. If the dictator is charismatic and capable, they can engender extreme loyalty from the people. Augustus of Rome was so popular that when he voluntarily gave up some of his power, the people of Rome demanded he be restored. Beloved dictators can lead their empires into total war with ease, commit massive resources to building projects, or reform how society is organized in any way they please. This makes a dictatorial empire more flexible and better able to focus its resources.

Another downside of dictatorship is that transfers of power rarely go smoothly. In a dictatorship, no state institution has the authority to regulate who becomes the next dictator. So when a dictator dies, anyone with a power base can make their own claim for the throne. A dictatorial empire will often be wracked by civil war, just like the Roman Empire was.

Most empires have a religious institution of some kind, but when that institution rules in its own right, you get a theocratic empire. Religion and religious values often form the basis of law and governance.

Regional empires would be considered large countries by modern standards, but their territory and influence are contained to a relatively small part of the world. The Austro-Hungarian empire is a good example. It spanned much of southeastern Europe, and it exerted considerable influence there, but had little impact on the global stage.

As contiguous empires grow, they reach continental scale. They are the dominant power in their region, and they have influence that extends far beyond it. At its height, the Ottoman Empire was truly continental. The Ottomans held significant territory in Europe, Asia, and Africa. They dominated trade between east and west, and the only empires powerful enough to challenge them were far away.

Many empires, especially the European variety, are not contiguous at all. Instead they comprise many far ranging outposts and colonies. This is almost always facilitated by a powerful navy to transport goods and personnel from one enclave to another.

A scattered empire is harder to maintain than a contiguous one, but it also allows for the conquest of choice territories. The Portuguese pioneered this style of empire building in the early Renaissance, grabbing dozens of valuable ports from southern Africa to southeast Asia.

While this has never happened in real life, it is entirely possible that your fantasy empire might hold dominion over the entire world. This would represent a truly massive reach and probably require the aid of magic or fantastic technology to maintain. An empire that rules all the world has no external enemies, but its internal politics are likely to be a nightmare of biblical proportions.

Even the most laid back empire needs some way to control its territory. Modern nation-states are held together by a shared sense of identity, but few empires possess such a thing, and so they have to rely on more coercive methods.

Some empires use the most heavy-handed option available: controlling territory through total occupation. Soldiers are garrisoned in every city, locals have few freedoms, and every aspect of life is controlled by imperial officials.

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