Disciples 2 : Dark Prophecy Review (no fat)

Game Description

Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy is the sequel to the classic turn based strategy game Disciples: Sacred Lands, based on a fantasy setting. Following the path of the original game, you have the same four factions to choose from: the Empire, the Mountain Clans, the Undead Hordes and the Legions of the Damned. Each faction has a very unique style and look and different advantages/disadvantages.

Disciples 2 Gameplay

This game kept the simple and effective interface of its predecessor, everything can be done comfortably with a few clicks making the gameplay experience smoother and more enjoyable.

The campaign is divided into four sagas, one for each faction, each comprised of seven missions. The missions are quite challenging and give you diversified objectives, this ensures that you won’t loose interest in the many gameplay hours needed to finish them.

When starting a campaign you have the option to choose from 3 different leader classes: the warrior lord, mage lord or guildmaster lord. Each gives bonuses suited for different playing styles: the warrior lord makes your troops tougher, you can cast more spells per day with the mage lord (and also you have access to the most powerful spells) while the guildmaster lord makes you’re thieves more powerful.

The thief is the 4th leader type in the game. You can use him to spy on enemies, poison troops, and challenge leaders to duel. If you choose the guildmaster, your thief can even assassinate weaker troops or counterfeit orders. Each faction also has a rod planter leader used to convert ground near resources thereby harnessing them.

The resource system is easy to understand, it comprises of gold and four mana types, one main type for each faction. You will need all of them for high level spells so harnessing them is very important. You cannot start a mission with a thief or rod planter. Also at the end of each mission you can keep your strongest leader along with 5 items to carry over to the next one. It’s quite painful that you can’t transfer your leveled up units, and you have to start with basic units again. But with a high level hero, leveling them up will get increasingly easier. This also allows you to take different unit development paths on the next mission.

Disciples 2 Strategy and Combat

The strategic part of the game takes place on a detailed 2D map view. On the map you can clearly differentiate the territories of the four factions, because each faction transforms its territory according to its unique style. On the map you can see lush green (Empire), snowy (Mountain Clan), desolate land (Undead Hordes) and volcanic soil (Legions of the Damned) so you can easily observe the expansion of your enemies. The only negative aspect of the map is the fact that you can sometimes loose track of your units especially on your own territory, because they blend in almost too well.

You have a starting capital where you can make buildings and troops. Each capital has a very powerful guardian so losing it (or conquering it) is very hard. But unlike most strategy games when you march on the battlefield with large troops in Disciples 2 you can only have small teams comprised of a leader and up to 5 units. Each unit gains experience during combat and when it levels up it transforms to another type of unit, depending on which buildings you’ve built in your capital.

You have multiple mutually exclusive paths to choose from, and this gives great tactical depth to the game. There are also new high level units to choose from, making a path choice even harder and more interesting. You cannot afford to lose your high level units or strongest hero so you will have to take care of them in battles. If a unit dies in battle it can be revived at a castle but only if at least one unit from that team stays alive.

Disciples 2 Graphics and Audio

The combat graphics have definitely gone through the biggest improvements from the original game. The tactical turn based combat takes place in an isometric view. The units are shown in great detail and the attack animations, spells are stunning. You can arrange your troops in two rows as you wish, with hand-to-hand fighters in front row, ranged units and spell casters in second row being a basic setup. The developers have also introduced more options in combat, making it possible for units to defend, increasing the tactical possibilities.

The background music and sound effects generally fit well into the game atmosphere, the combat sounds especially effective.

Disciples 2 Summary

All in all, Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy is a really good turn based strategy game. Despite the good graphics and sound, combat gets repetitive after a certain time but the numerous missions/sagas are interesting enough to outweigh this. Also the leveling system motivates you to engage in combat as much as possible to train your units.

This game is a must have for TBS fans and for other gamers it’s definitely worth a try.

Disciples 2 – Cost

Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy currently retails for $4.99US at the time of writing.