King Arthur II is the sequel to none other than the original King Arthur. Paradox Interactive is releasing this game Q1 of 2012 aiming for sometime in January, though some sources said it was to be released on the 10th and that day has come and gone without an official release. Set in Camelot, this fantasy RTS is very similar to the Total War games with some unique game play elements that separate it from the crowd. With giants, soldiers, harpies, and elves, this game gives the feeling of living in a fantasy world that matters. Looking at the battle system first reveals that there is a lot of depth.

The battle system in King Arthur II is similar to Total War where you need to place your army in a deployment zone, and then using strategy moving your units around to get the best advantage. The combat system also includes magic that your hero unit can use. This can turn the tide of battle really quickly by wiping out an entire enemy unit before they can even retreat. You can also get access to new spells by controlling certain areas on a map. This is just one of the moments that keep this game fun and worth checking out. Next, looking at the depth of the campaign map shows that this game can leave you with a lot to do.

The campaign map is very common for this genre of game. There is the starting region that you own and you need to make your way across the land and conquer other regions. Your hero unit represents your army on the campaign map, though an interesting feature is that you can only have one army at a time (at least in the prologue). This keeps things from getting too hectic and crazy, having to keep track of one army can make things a lot easier but does leave you open for backstabbing, but it will be exciting to see what the entire game will be like. The campaign and the battling are great, but there is still the diplomacy that was really interesting.

The diplomacy in this game is very simple, as you would expect, but what is interesting about it are the Diplomacy Quests you can take. These are little text based adventures where you are given a situation and then asked how you would like to handle it. Being a lot of fun, I liked this element a lot and hope to see more of it in the final release. The amount of tension that they can create just through voice acting and some important choices is really immersing and very well done. It does sound unlikely on paper, but in practice this was a lot of fun.

These are some of the big things to look forward to when the game comes out, and it seems any fan of the Total War games will enjoy King Arthur II. Look for the full review when the game finally gets released and be sure to check back for more content from me and the rest of the news team!