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Legio
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Graphics & Sound:
Legio is a strategy game, and like most, it doesn't have to take a fantastic route with graphics to be enjoyable. And it doesn't. No, it's not bad, but it's not mind-blowing. It's dark, and weird, that's for sure. You've got your battlefield, which is laid out like a checker board. That's pretty straightforward, but then, you've got your troops and your main characters, the King and Queen. The troop called the Warrabbit is, well, more like a collection of limbs than any kind of rabbit. There are troops that look like traditional knights, but then it's a little out of place next to the big, gaping-mouthed monster called a Giant. You can feel that this game was going for a dark tone, but things are somewhat inconsistent. You've got the traditional, almost safe looking knight troop, then you've got this sprinkling of monsters that came from who knows where.
Music is sort of dark, but with a humorous tone. Perhaps that's just how it feels when it's the backdrop for a bunch of other silly sound effects. When your army defeats a big enemy, they tend to squeal and cheer in a pretty cartoonish manner. Your King or Queen also tend to throw a hissy fit when they don't get their way.
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Gameplay:
In Legio, a caricature style king faces off against an equally comical queen in chess-like fights. The tone is dark, however, even though the leaders may act somewhat silly (the king will slap his forehead and call himself "stupid, stupid, stupid" for losing). The king and queen pit some nightmarish creatures against each other including a hairless, malformed creature called a Warrabbit and a Mage that chants in a dark, guttural tone.
Legio's story is that the king and queen are not actually yet king or queen. They were born twins, but they were born in a "loving" embrace, therefore making it impossible to say which one is the eldest and therefore has claim to the throne. Since then, they've fought endlessly for the throne. Now they pit knights, bishops, archers, and other minions against each other in ritual fights, trying to win their claim to the throne.
For a strategy game, there is very little element of chance here. Your enemy never misses, and so their attacks will take off predictable chunks of energy. You, however, can miss, if you miss the looping, swinging target when it's your turn to attack. Time your click right, and you'll get the maximum damage for your attack. If your timing is off, you'll attack with reduced damage, or miss altogether. This makes the whole attacking system seem a bit pointless when you think about it. You can only do worse, while your enemy can only do well, or exceedingly well depending on luck.
It is, of course, a little less pointless when you're battling a human foe. Legio has an online multiplayer component, as well as a hotseat version. Unfortunately, either the servers were not yet up, or no opponents were to be found at the time of this review, so that couldn't be tested. But the two player side-by-side mode works just fine. You'll just have to get used to swapping the mouse between two people. |
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Difficulty:
Legio is not a hand-holding strategy game. There's no tutorial, no guide. You're just thrown right in. At the easiest difficulty, I found it hard to win for a long time. I finally realized something a few games in. You cannot take your chances pitting a badly matched character against another. For example, if you use your archer to try to whittle away at a character that has high defense against arrows, you'll almost certainly be slaughtered before you've made a dent. You have to absolutely pit your best match against the enemy's best match to have any hope.
I swear the computer cheats. No really, it seems to know what units you've chosen before the battle begins, and chooses its opposing team accordingly. It just doesn't seem fair. I'll be the first to admit I'm not the best at strategy games, but Legio really takes it out of you.
But overall, there's just that feeling that you're so limited in your options, and it doesn't feel like so much of a strategy game as a restrictive, rule-following game.
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Game Mechanics:
Legio plays just fine once you've got the hang of things. You've just got to realize (fast) that you don't get the option to confirm your moves. When it's your turn, if you click a square, then you're done. You're going to be moving or attacking. Like most strategy games, you're also going to have to learn by trial and error that some things, like killing a mage, have unintended consequences.
There is also an option to rotate the field, though there's not much use in this. It's a bit like rotating a chess board. Besides the point and click interface, you can mouse over different units to see what their stats are. Another handy option is the option to speed up movements with "Fast Play." Choose this option, and you won't be waiting that grueling 5 or 6 seconds for each animation to complete.
In the end with Legio, I just didn't feel that excitement of discovery, of wanting to try different strategies. When you're losing in Legio, there's almost no hope of recovery. And in the end, there's not much game to Legio, with only a few boards to play on, and a limited set of troops to choose from. Give this demo a good, long try before you buy.
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-Fights with Fire, GameVortex Communications AKA Christin Deville |
Minimum System Requirements:
Operating system: Microsoft(r) Windows(r) XP / Vista / 7, Processor: Intel Pentium 4 2.4 GHz or equal AMD, Memory: 512 MB RAM, Hard disk space: 200 MB, Video: AMD/ATi 9600 or Nvidia Geforce FX or above, Sound: Stereo sound card and DirectX(r)-compatible sound driver, DirectX(r): DirectX(r) 9.0c.
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Test System:
Windows XP, 3.20 GigaHertz Intel Pentium 4, 1 GB Ram, RADEON X850, Creative SB Audigy 2 ZS |
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Related Links:
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