Expected Release Date: Q2 2001
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The phrase "cult hit" was coined for games like Disciples: Sacred Lands. Released in 1999 to a generally positive critical reception, the turn-based strategy title never garnered a widespread public following. Those who were lucky enough to stumble across the fantasy-themed game soon realized that they had happened across a diamond in the rough. Casual gamers who bought the game became fervent devotees, and at the end of the year, we gave Disciples the dubious honor of GameSpot's Best Game No One Played award.
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The Sacred Lands are more like the Scarred Lands in Disciples II. |
Thankfully, the committed fan base and media acclaim encouraged Strategy First to develop a sequel. Disciples II: Dark Prophecy is slated to arrive this summer with more of just about everything that distinguished the original game. The setting is once again the Sacred Lands, but a full decade after the conclusion of the Great War detailed in Disciples. The world has been freshly torn apart due to renewed warring between the four playable races--the empire, the mountain clans, the legions of the damned, and the undead hordes. Into this general chaos and confusion comes a chosen one, prophesied to bring harmony to some and destruction to others.
Along with the new storyline come a number of innovations. The design team working on the game at Strategy First's offices in St. Jerome, Quebec, has completely reworked the visuals, adding more detail and support for 800x600 resolution. A new zoom mode allows you to get so up close and personal with the improved graphics that you'll be able to count the whiskers on a wizard's chin. A High Medieval-era motif has been embraced for the overall look of the game's presentation, with all the elaborate architecture and florid design that it implies.
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Zooming in on your party is now possible. |
Strategy First is also relying on the elaborate talents of Patrick Lambert, whose striking artistry turned traditional fantasy archetypes on their heads in the first game. Hand-painted character portraits in the alpha build that we were shown possessed a personality and humanity that is rare in the often soulless world of fantasy fiction. One cloaked figure, drawn with just a single eye visible through the shadows of his cowl, seemed almost vulnerable. He was certainly a long way from the hardened warrior stereotype we've all become so inured to thanks to cookie-cutter fantasy gaming and fiction. In short, you won't readily confuse Disciples II with any other game on the market.
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Patrick Lambert's vision of an undead horde initiate. |
The game design has also been beefed up considerably. More than 200 heroes are available to lead your forces, all with different personalities and characteristics. Each of these troops is now able to access inventory items such as potions and magic scrolls during combat, adding greatly to strategic possibilities that were only hinted at in Disciples. Adventures have been revamped to include more-complex goals and dynamic options that change midstream depending on your actions. Objectives will constantly change based on what your characters do or what they choose to avoid. The designers expect that this will make Disciples II replayable, with many gamers going back to see what would have happened if they had taken the road not traveled and complete quests that were left unfinished previously.
For an even closer look at Disciples II: Dark Prophecy, we spoke to producer Pro Sotos and managed to cajole him into releasing some exclusive screenshots.
