SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars

Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars is a computer game by the German developer Phenomic Game Development that mixes elements of real-time strategy and computer role-playing games . It is the successor to Spellforce: The Order of Dawn and was published in April 2006 by the Austrian publisher Jowood , which in 2007 and 2010 published two standalone add-ons. With the bankruptcy of Jowood, the rights went to the Swedish company Nordic Games , which published a third standalone add-on in 2014 and the successor SpellForce 3 in 2017 .

action

background

Since the power of the runes from the first part has expired with the final end of the circle in Shadow of the Phoenix and the rune warriors have become mortal, there is a new immortal race with the Shaikan who provide the avatar. The Shaikan were once created by the alchemist Malacay, who incurred the wrath of the gods. For this reason the Shaikan are despised by the “people of light”. Through a blood bond with the dragon Ur it is possible for them to resurrect members of their own people. In addition, the avatar can call or summon other Shaikan even over great distances.

Course of action

Civil war has broken out in the realm of the dark elves after some of the people have allied themselves with the shadows. A powerful force under the command of the magician Sorvina begins a merciless campaign of conquest against the "peoples of light" (humans, dwarves, elves) in order to subdue them. Shadow Song, the daughter of Dracon Craig Un'Shallach, who fell in the battle against Sorvina, flees to the borderland between dark elves and humans to warn of this threat. There she meets the Avatar, who has only recently returned to the home of the Shaikan. Together they embark on a dangerous journey into the realms of the "light people". Only if their old covenant is renewed can the shadow army be stopped. Meanwhile, the hero can also look forward to a confrontation with the past of his own people.

Relation to the first part

Although Spellforce 2 is not a direct continuation of the first part, there are some allusions to what happened there. Some well-known characters or groups reappear: Craig Un'Shallach's death is shown in the opening credits. A representative of the Order of the Awakening is in the city of Lichtwasser. The trader Flann Gondersen can be found in the city of Siebenburg, the well-known crook Flink McWinter among the orcs at the gate of swords. On his journey, the Avatar also meets the hero from The Breath of Winter , who has become a shadow himself through the curse of the shadow sword. The circle mages are mentioned a few times; their former ability to control time is the basis of an assignment that the avatar receives in the course of the game.

Gameplay

Although the game is also set in the fantasy world Eo, you cannot visit well-known cities such as Graufurt or Empyria. In addition to the races known from the first part (humans, dwarves, elves, orcs, trolls and dark elves) there are also gargoyles, barbarians and shadows. The now nine races are divided into three large blocks: the covenant (humans, dwarves and elves), the clans (orcs, barbarians and trolls) and the pact (dark elves, gargoyles and shadows). For example, if you command the federal government, you can develop extensions to the main building for humans, elves and dwarves and thus control the respective race. In contrast to the predecessor, however, no complete warehouses for the allies can be built, but only two buildings for unit production. The number of raw materials was limited to stones, silver and lenya. Craftsman specialists can be trained in the main building to automatically dismantle them.

The AI of the opponents has been improved. These can now also build camps and are no longer limited to defined spawn points without consuming resources. The hero's companions now also level up and stay by their side for the entire campaign. The travel stones (the counterpart to the soul stones) are now activated automatically as soon as you get close enough to them. To get to an already activated travel stone, you only need to select it on the overview map. In addition, great emphasis was placed on the graphics during development, which meant that the game could only be played without problems on very powerful PCs at the time of publication .

Add-ons

Spellforce 2: Dragon Storm

The expansion for Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars was released on March 23, 2007 after several postponements.

Compared to the main game, the Shaikan and their allies form a fourth power block that can be controlled by the player. In addition to “Combat” and “Magic”, there is also the “Shaikan” development strand, for which experience points can be awarded.

content

Years after the demise of the circle magicians, their once strong magic is now also disappearing. The portals that were created by Rohen after the war of convocation to connect the individual continents of Eos are gradually losing their effect. The few resource-rich islands that are connected with each other thus become the target of the desire of all power blocs and alliances.

The protagonist of the game is a former rune warrior who was once in the service of Hokan Ashir and who was later entrusted to his daughter Yasha. Fallen in battle, the rune warrior was revived by a Shaikan, so that he now belongs to their bloodline. In view of the predicament he was given the task of investigating the cause of the portals being closed and of finding a way out.

Dragon Storm loosely ties in with the events of Shadow Wars . So the protagonist is u. a. supported by Shadow Song, and other characters from the main game have different roles. In the course of the campaign, the protagonist meets the soul bearer , the hero from Shadow Wars . Parts of the plot are also located in areas that are already known from the main game, such as the city of Siebenburg.

Spellforce 2: Faith in Destiny

The second add-on for Spellforce 2 was originally supposed to appear on April 30, 2010, but the release has been postponed several times. The game was finally released on June 19, 2012. Although the expansion presents itself as a standalone game that does not require an installation of Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars , unlike its predecessors, activation on Valves Steam is required.

Faith in Destiny offers a new campaign with about 10-15 hours of game time and a new faction: the Nameless, who are a people of demons. There is also a multiplayer section where players can compete in the classic one-on-one or in the new domination mode against each other. This mode is about conquering strategically important points. In both modes, players can choose between all five factions.

From December 17, 2012, three additional expansions were released in the form of downloads (DLC) every month. These rely more on the role play and less on the strategy part:

DLC 1 - Flink's Secret Diary

Released on December 17, 2012. This additional card tells the “real” story of the thief Flink McWinter from his own perspective.

DLC 2 - The Golden Fool

Released on January 18, 2013. This expansion deals with the Drakkar master Carla: After her defeat against a Shaikan, she is looking for the legendary golden fool, a Drakkar stone that cannot be struck and thus guarantees victory . This quest is a kind of continuation of a side quest in Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars .

DLC 3 - The Last Stand

Released on February 15, 2013. This additional scenario takes place before the events in Faith in Destiny and focuses on the character Caine in the defense of the elven city of Dun Mora against the nameless.

Spellforce 2: Demons of the Past

The third add-on, which can also be played independently, was released on January 16, 2014.

The magazine GBase.ch gave Spellforce 2: Demons of the Past a rating of 7.0. The test report praised the extensive campaign and the varied mix of strategy and role play. In return, the outdated graphics and the somewhat cumbersome controls were criticized.

reception

For the main game, Metacritic gave it a good score of 80 points based on 35 reviews. The two later addons Faith in Destiny and Demons of the Past were far less well received and only got average ratings of 55 and 54 points at Metacritic.

Novels about the game

Spellforce: Wind Whisperer , Volume 1 by Uschi Zietsch , Panini Verlag , April 2006, ISBN 3-8332-1324-8
Spellforce: Heirs of Darkness , Volume 2 by Uschi Zietsch, Panini Verlag, December 2006, ISBN 3-8332-1454-6
Spellforce: Sturm auf Shaikur , Volume 3 by Uschi Zietsch, Panini Verlag, August 2007, ISBN 3-8332-1573-9