Hundred Swords Preview
We take a look at this real-time strategy game from the creators of Jet Grind Radio.
Originally designed by Smilebit--the same development team responsible for Jet Grind Radio--for arcades and the Dreamcast, Hundred Swords was supposed to be one of Sega's earliest online games for the system. While the game made it out in Japan with full Internet multiplayer capabilities, Sega of America didn't see fit to bring Hundred Swords out here due to the untimely demise of the Dreamcast. Activision, which has ported several Dreamcast games to the PC within the past few months, has decided to bring Smilebit's real-time strategy game to the PC as a part of its value-priced line of games. We've had a chance to play through an early build of the game, and while it appears that some adjustments still need to be made, Hundred Swords has made the transition to the PC without any substantial problems. Of course, the notion that console strategy games lack the depth of most PC strategy games may apply in this case, but Activision hopes that Hundred Swords' combination of Myth-style gameplay (with limited resource management), as well as a deep and engrossing story, is enough for the PC audience to overlook the console strategy-game stereotype.
In the campaign mode of Hundred Swords, you assume the role of a young king named Larf Nalavale. During Larf's coronation in the Nalavale region of the continent, Mascar--one of the three other tribes on the continent--launches an attack on Larf's kingdom, seizing several key areas. The reason for the attack stems from the Mascar learning of secret negotiations between Larf and a young queen in another tribe and their desire to form an alliance. As you progress through the campaign mode, the story continues to unravel and eventually reveals that there's much more to these attacks than simple correspondence between two ruling monarchs.
If you want to avoid all of the game's story elements, Hundred Swords offers three other modes that essentially let you jump right into the action. In the practice mode, you'll be placed on a basic battlefield along with computer opponents. The only objective is to destroy all of the other enemy headquarters. This mode is perfect for becoming familiar with units and how they function, but it will also help you learn how to use resources. Since the enemy AI in this mode isn't exactly difficult to deal with, you'll also learn which strategies are most effective against certain types of units. For a little more variety, you can try out the mission mode, which basically functions as Hundred Swords' scenario option. The mission mode gives you five or so different scenarios to choose from in three difficulty settings--easy, medium, and hard. All of the easy missions have very basic objectives and straightforward maps with very few twists and turns. As you increase the difficulty, the objectives become much more difficult to complete, and the maps have been designed to make simple navigation an arduous task. If the computer isn't presenting enough of a challenge, Hundred Swords includes a multiplayer mode where up to four players can fight it out over dozens of maps featured in the game's other modes.
- Activision Value
- Smilebit
- Real-Time Strategy
- Release: Feb 4, 2002 »
- ESRB: Teen
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