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By
Jim Overly
Cyber Exchange
Majesty
is yet another real-time strategy game, but wait, this one’s
different, really! It may look similar to other real-time
strategy games, but there is a twist. You’re the ruler
of an emerging empire that needs your guiding hand if it
is to succeed. Money is the only resource in the game. So
far, it sounds straightforward. The catch is you do not
have direct control over any of this world’s inhabitants.
That’s right, no control. So how can anything be accomplished
in the kingdom if the townspeople get to do whatever they
feel like?
This
is where the fun begins. There may be no direct control
of the people but the decision on how to spend the kingdom’s
money and establish a town is all yours. The money comes
from a set amount at the beginning of each scenario and
then from the income of each building and its inhabitants.
The
townspeople seem to react with the same greed as most people
do. Money makes the kingdom go round. Heroes make money
by collecting it from killing monsters, looting graves,
and exploring ruins. This money is then spent in the town
at the different buildings; gambling, buying weapons, drinking.
A proper-looking tax collector is sent to each building
and collects the tax that has accumulated since the last
visit.
The
longer between the visits, the more money collected. Finally,
the tax collector returns to the castle with the money for
his majesty to spend on more buildings. Get the idea?
Each
building has its unique characteristics and upgrades. After
constructing any of these buildings people begin to show
up in the town. Build a guard tower and guards start to
walk about; build a hero’s guild and summon a hero,
and presto, a hero walks about. Other buildings include
an inn where people can rest and heal, a blacksmith where
weapons and armor are purchased, a market to purchase potions,
even a place to gamble. The inhabitants of the town will
take advantage of any buildings that are present. There
are a few buildings that crop up on their own. The cemetery
appears and fills as heroes die, a sewer entrance appears
as the town grows. Be sure to watch the town closely; many
small details appear throughout the growth and prosperity
of the town.
However,
nothing happens right away. Place a building on the map
and there is a wait before peasants come from the castle
to start building. Need an area of the map explored? Place
bounty flags there and wait for a hero to explore to collect
the bounty. Bounties can even be placed upon a monster’s
head, making that monster a more attractive target and sometimes
more quickly dispatched.
Using
money to entice the heroes to complete certain tasks is
the only way to reach a particular goal. Sometimes it brings
a feeling of helplessness. After all, what good are 10 heroes
if they are all out exploring and a Minotaur is terrorizing
the town? (Remember, no direct control.)
Now
it wouldn’t be a game if some kind of monster weren’t
trying to tear down everything your majesty has worked so
hard to build. Here there is not much new; the kingdom plays
the good guys, evil monsters the bad guys. Whoever kills
more of the other usually ends up being the winner, although
some of the audio clips of each unit can be amusing.
There
is much simple fun to be had in Majesty. The game has humor
and a cuteness that helps a person to identify with the
characters and the kingdom. Watching the townspeople go
about their daily lives seemed, somehow, majestic. Having
no direct control over what the people did is a nice twist
to playing king (or queen). In the end, though, Majesty
is quite simple with no real depth to it. The scenarios
were linear and straightforward. There may be uniqueness
to its approach to the real-time strategy format, but it
does not reach the height of a truly great game. I did enjoying
playing the game and still go back to build a town from
time to time, but compared to what is available in games
today, I can only give it:
Gaming Goodness — thumbs up (marginally).
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