Rage of Mages II

Reviews / previews

Review: Rage of Mages II

The game pits your party of a dozen fighters and mages against forces of evil that threaten to overwhelm the medieval kingdom of Yases. However, the few roleplaying elements in RoM II are thinly stretched over a simplified, combat-only real-time strategy framework. True, lots of people wear armor and magical robes, cast spells and wave swords, and sure, a few statistics have to be set for your character. (The others are pre-set.)

But you'll find no real interaction with the inhabitants or environment as in the Ultima series or Fallout 2. The 43 quests are acquired automatically, when you speak to someone at an inn. Pre-arranged dialog handles the decision-making elements for you every step of the way.

Visually, the game is as enchanting as its predecessor is. The painted backgrounds are particularly memorable in the shop menus and in the shimmering forest animations on the regional maps. In fact, much of RoM II's beauty derives from non-interactive elements, such as those wonderfully distinctive buildings you see in each town. I wished I could've clicked on some of the houses, windmills, and temples to get hints or quests from the occupants-or travel down into subterranean dungeons.

That game's poor movement algorithms and a broken formation command (It couldn't keep a party in formation once the party hit the road) offset the animations, backdrops, and well-balanced combat system of the original RoM. Unfortunately, movement isn't improved in RoM II. I've frequently ordered my party to attack or go to a location, only to watch one character halt behind a small barrier while others advanced. Some commands are a hit-or-miss affair, like "P" for "pickup all visible treasure" which sometimes fails, or succeeds only in part, leaving large portions of nearby loot on the ground.

Formations in the first RoM were implemented by a command that supposedly let you "fix" the relationship of distance and direction between each party member, and maintain it over your travels. So you could (supposedly) put fighters in front, mages behind, and NPCs you were required on a quest to protect, in the rear. In fact, none of that worked out. As soon as you moved, the formation was lost. The formation command problems have been fixed-if you can call it that-with a statement in the manual to the effect that formations only work before you move, and after you stop. That's about as useful as a broken analog watch advertised as telling the time correctly twice a day.

In multiplayer mode, RoM II supports up to 16 players via serial, modem, IPX network or Internet TCP/IP connection. You can edit any of the enclosed 2D maps for multiplayer use, though the game does not provide the tools to create new maps. Standard quests are included minus the standalone plot, and you have the ability to hunt other players if you click on non-cooperative play.

It's fair to say that if you liked the original RoM, you'll enjoy its more-of-the-same successor. Personally, though, I prefer my RPGs with more substance, and my RTS games with movement algorithms and commands that always work. And finally RoM II's music score, like its predecessor, is repetitious and unimaginative to the point of annoyance. In the end, the 3D version of RoM that's currently scheduled for winter release may meet that need, but RoM II certainly doesn't.-- Barry Brenesal / GamePro