Here at The Sussex Newspaper we love strategy games. Can’t get enough of ‘em. If we could we’d do nothing but play solid RTS games all day in between ordering Pizza and maybe watching a dose of Games of Thrones. So you can imagine our sheer joy when given the job of reviewing Battle Worlds: Kronos, a modern, shiny new version of the old school hex-based strategy genre. To say we were giggling and clapping our hands like school girls is no exaggeration (he’s not kidding, either – Ed).
Produced by indie developer KING Art Games, those of The Book of Unwritten Tales 2 fame, Battle Worlds: Kronos is a top down, 2D, turn-based strategy game not unlike Panzer General, Advance Wars and the widely acclaimed Civilization.
In KING Art Games ‘alternative world, the emperor of Kronos has passed away and now three major factions are thrashing it out for their chance to fill the vacuum and install their own candidate as the undisputed ruler of the world. As is expected KING Art Games have gone all out to create an intriguing and highly detailed storyline with characters talking to each other throughout the campaign. During the games 20 hour long campaign mode you’re tasked with fighting for the Yerla faction or Rebels. You progress by taking turns positioning your units on a hex-field map while keeping an eye on their attack range, armament and equipped upgrades.
Some units can attack opponents several hex fields away, but some can only attack opponents on the adjacent hex field. The same rule applies to counter-attacks.
The first thing you’ll notice when playing Battle Worlds: Kronos is that the game is hard . We don’t mean hard in the way that professional rugby (or ‘fooball’ for our cousins over the water) is hard. No, we mean hard like a grizzly bear armed with a flick knife. Hard. During the opening screens, King Art even acknowledges this fact by telling you that the game is difficult but, if you lose, it’s because you haven’t learnt to play it properly. You have been warned. There aren’t many games that we’ve played that had us failing even during the tutorial. One possible reason Battle Worlds: Kronos seems so difficult to master is the fact that the AI always seems to outnumber you with units. So, once you make your appearance on a level, you’re quickly surrounded by enemy AI and promptly have your behind handed to you on a silver platter. In fairness to the game, perseverance and plenty of retries will eventually pay off. But it’s a challenging and often frustrating journey.
Oddly enough, the very brief tutorial omits quite a bit of information that could help you master the game, like the ability to call in reinforcements. Ok, that is mentioned. But it was unclear just how to do this and we only discovered the answer after many hours of gameplay.
Graphically Battle Worlds: Kronos is a pretty good looking product. Not cheer leader pretty, but attractive enough to want to date twice. There’s a handy zoom option that lets you zero in on the action or pull up for a more strategic view of the battlefield. If you’re played Supreme Commander you’ll feel right at home with this turn-based offering.
Sound wise Battle Worlds: Kronos is a mixed bag. There’s virtually no in game music but the developers made a great job of reproducing the sound of gun fire, engines growing and explosions.
In the absence of any voice overs Battle Worlds: Kronos involves a lot of reading. Characters talk to each other and reveal new plot twists and offer advice on how to make your way through the games. But all of this is done through text boxes which slow down the pace of the game to a near crawl.
However, Battle Worlds: Kronos also offers a damned good multiplayer option which allows you to match your wits against gamers from all over the world. When we gave it a test run, the multiplayer mode worked like a breeze. In our opinion, just this feature alone makes the game well worth the asking price.
By no means a triple A title, Battle Worlds: Kronos is a great game for anyone who has the patience and inclination to learn to master something new and challenging. RTS games have taken something of a back seat over recent years as developers rush to churn out the latest first person shooter. We’re hoping that Battle Worlds: Kronos is the start of a new era for strategy fans. Go buy.
7 out of 10