It's a lot like the first one, but that isn't such a bad thing.
Like I said, the gameplay here is basically the same as the first game. If you have played any of the RTS on the market the last few years, you should have no problem picking this game up quite quickly. The major change in the game is the way the single-player campaign is played out. In the first game, you had a storyline and more of a linear path through the game. And you mostly relegated to using the human race except if you played the game multi-player or used the 'skirmish' mode.
Well this time around things are different. You still start off by creating a hero from scratch. This is easily the best part of the game and is the only thing that really differeciates this series from all of the other Warcraft clones out there. Not only that, but there are a few more races to choose from. After creating your hero, you are then brought to a world map. Depending on what race you took, you start with their castle and you then preceed to fight battles for territories. There is literally zero storyline here. At first this was a HUGE turn-off for me. But after playing the first map, I really got into it.
Each race has their own castle, so to speak. You then pick territories to try to take over and add to your legacy. Each area has a special bonus if you own it, so that adds to gameplay quite a bit. You also have to compete with fellow races for areas, and that brings a lot of strategy into play. I used the new 'Daemon' race and took over alot of the western part of the map. Well while I was doing that, the Orcs were dominating the eastern part. I didn't think much of it, but when I tried to take over an Orc territory I found out it was much more difficult because they had aquired so many bonuses. In other words, I got my butt whooped at first. Not only that, but each territory you take over gives you a certain amount of 'crowns'. You use these crowns before each battle to purchase retuine points to add stronger troops to your army. You can also use these crowns to hire mercenaries and purchase special items when that opportunity presents itself. It's a fun and interesting twist to a one-player game in a RTS and I really got into it. It's very addicting trying to decide what is your next area you want to conquer.
The problem with that system, however, is that there is really no storyline driving you along. So it's just battle after battle. And the only way you can use a different race than the original one you picked for your hero is if you conquer an enemy castle. And that is much easier said than done. So by the time I conquered my twentieth territory, I was getting kinda sick of the game. At least the original broke up the monotony somewhat by offering you a few different races to use depending on which route you took in the storyline (good or evil). And even after all the fun I had with this game, I can't deny the fact that it's really hurt by not having a storyline at all. I feel that they should have had both a storyline campaign AND this 'take over the world' kind of campaign in the same game. Of course, then this game may have consumed even more time in my life than it already has.
The visuals got a nice little upgrade, but are were still behind the times back in 2002. If you take the first game as a template, then yes this game is a definate upgrade. Of course the original was never known for it's visual splendor, and this game continues that trend. It's definately not a bad looking game by any means. It's just not going to push your PC at all, which could be a good or bad thing depending on the person.
The audio is pretty standard for this type of game. At least they got rid of the sounds that were literally straight out of Warcraft 3. The music is nice, but nothing that really catches your ear. Like the graphics, this area is just par for the course.
What this game RELALY does well is completely consume hours of your life without you even realizing it. I spend many late nights with this where I didn't go to bed until the sun was already up. And if you like the 'skirmish' and multi-player modes, you have a ton of gameplay hours here if you include the lengthy single-player campaign.
In closing, if you liked the first game you will probably like this one. It still has the insanely addicting gameplay. And you still get to level up your hero in RPG fashion, which is still the best part of the game. I would highly recommend this to any fan of RTS games.