First Look: Battle Realms

Southern California-based Liquid Entertainment is currently working on a real-time strategy game with heavy Japanese overtones. The game is called Battle Realms, and while it's still a significant way's away from release, the original early concept artwork suggests that the game is promising.

Players will take on the role of Kenji, an exiled prince of the Serpent Clan, who's returned to his homeland to fight off the invading forces of neighboring clans. Battle Realms will employ an interesting twist to tradition resource management. Players won't be able to build specific units like ninjas or samurais. Instead, units will be produced at a rate according to your town's economy; if you maintain a healthy crop and constant cash flow, your town's birth rate will increase, yielding you more peasants. You can then individually train these peasants in various schools of knowledge to become warriors, magic users, ninjas, and so on.

While Battle Realms will be developer Liquid's first game, this group of developers is no stranger to the RTS genre. The company was founded by Ed Del Castillo, lead producer for Westwood's immensely successful Red Alert, and employs a number of other ex-Westwood designers.

Liquid has already signed a publishing deal with Crave, but you probably won't see Battle Realms anytime before 2001. However, we'll be providing more coverage on Battle Realms in the coming months. In the meantime, we've been provided with a pair of concept artwork drawings from Liquid. And be sure to check out more details of Battle Realms in the March issue of Computer Gaming World.