User Reviews (1 - 10 of 10)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

Pretty and fluid.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 22 / 23
Date: December 06, 2004
Author: Amazon User

After a long shortage of good non-historical based RTS games, the months from November onward appeared to hold much for those that like the particulars of this genre. Kohan II, Dawn of War, Armies of Exigo, Dragonshard and Dawn of Fantasy.

While I did skip Kohan II, I gingerly set foot in the Dawn of War universe. I was somewhat disappointed by the single player campaign, but had my hopes up for Armies of Exigo.

A simple explanation may be thus: update the graphics and cut scenes of Starcraft, place it in a more fantasy less sci-fi world, and whammo! However, this game warrants more than just a simple explanation.

From the beautiful intro CGI introducing you to the gameworld, to the narrarative interludes preceding ingame cut scenes to carry your journey forward, this game is visually very pretty.
The surface and Empire colors are vibrant, perhaps removing some of the intense atmosphere they are trying to portray. The Beasts and The Fallen so far have appeared a bit grittier, but nothing compared to Starcraft or Dawn of War. The voices and voice acting are far superior to Dawn of War, but we don't play RTS games for the voice acting do we?

Set in a typical fantasy world, with elves, humans, arcane powers and beasts, Armies of Exigo makes plenty of references to a war that predates our entry into the game. Rebuilding old alliances takes a shotgun seat during the first part of the game, despite not having any missions to specifically do so.

Players of most fantasy RTS games will be familiar with two of the sides, while players of Dark Planet or Lords of Everquest will be more familiar with the third (the beast). You have the Empire, which are pretty much the good guys; the human warriors, the elven archers, etc. During the first part of the campaign, you are fighting against the beasts, consisting of lizardmen and trolls (among other ferocious critters). The third group is referred to as The Fallen. These guys can only build on creep/blighted ground. The Fallen have the dark elves, some little buggers, and a few demonic units. For a Warcraft 3 reference, try squishing the Burning Legion into a Night/Dark Elf alliance that plays like the Undead.

The gameplay itself is pretty solid. I didn't notice many bugs in my 5 or so hours of playing so far, and the game runs smoothly. One problem I have is thus: when I scroll using the keyboard, the screen tilts slightly, then returns to normal when I let go of the scroll key. Aside from this, nothing really stands out as far as gameplay issues are concerned.

The campaign itself has a few "chapters" (three, I presume, judging by the amount of space available) per group. As far as having a campaign for all three sides, I cannot say. It looks like the Empire will have 10-13 missions, and there is room on the campaign screen for the beasts and the fallen as well. I haven't gotten that far yet, and if they are included - then you have to win the Empire campaign first.

I'm approximately half way through the Empire campaign, and no randomly annoying changing of sides has yet occurred. I could call that the Blizzard effect - as they do it quite often. It ruins the fun of the campaign after the third or fourth character changes sides ! Thankfully, I do not yet see it here - but I imagine it is possible that one of the characters may become part of The Fallen based on one of the missions I've completed. At least it makes sense in this game.

I suppose I should touch on playing on two levels. Is it something special? In a word: No. I was kind of excited to see how it would work, and after playing a few campaign missions and some single player skirmishes, I've found it's similar to any other multi-map RTS. These games include, but I imagine are not limited to: Conquest: Frontier Wars, and Dragon Throne. I am sure there are more, but if you have played these games or games with a similar feature, then this dual map thing will be nothing extra for you. The differences, however, are large enough to make it unique and a valid strategy. You do not begin with a map of your own, you begin on the same map as everyone else. You can fight for control on the surface, OR underground, or both. Attempt to secure a route from your surface base, underground to your allies - OR to your enemy for a sneak attack!

Multiplayer games will be incredibly frustrating for those that are not used to playing on more than a single map at a time. Learning and using spells that can affect the underground or surface from the other will be key, as this does add quite a bit of strategy for those capable of handling it. Imagine, running directly under an enemy base, using surface units to preoccupy theirs, then digging up with the rest of your army. It will add more strategy, and it does add a unique bit of gameplay, but not enough to get excited specifically for this function.

Breaking it down:

GOOD: The story far exceeds that of most RTS games presently (so far as I've gotten anyway), the nararration is unique and provides more of a storytelling feel, the voice acting ranges from decent to pretty good, the music is pretty nice and the dual map gameplay is just unique enough to bring a new element to the genre.

NOT SO GOOD: The graphics so far take away from the atmosphere of "fighting for your life, and the life of the Empire". I mean, do these guys all have wonderful family at home that can clean and shine their armor after every fight? It's too bright. Some unit movement just does not seem ... right. It's a bit nitpicky, but I've seen a worker with legs extended do a 180, THEN start running. Just, a few other weird things here and there - but most people won't care.

The worst thing: FEW PLAYERS! As you can see, compared to other RTS games there are - how should we say - few customer reviews for this game? It took me awhile to even find it in the stores, as it apparantly "missed" its ship date where I live. Even upwards of a week after, it was tough finding it. Also, sitting up next to Kohan II, Dawn of War, Warcraft 3 and the upcoming Dragonshard - you will need to be looking specifically for Armies of Exigo, or you just may be out of luck.

It's a fun game, don't let the happy graphics or the competition keep you from it. You will feel more complete after playing the Armies of Exigo campaign than you will the Warcraft 3 or Dawn of War campaigns - and NOTHING will make you giggle like a schoolgirl more than watching your best friend take his mass army to attack your well defended outpost, while you dig right up in the middle of his!

FAR BETTER THAN WARCRAFT

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is an excellent game, far better than warcraft and other fantasy RTS types. Very creative units, an excellent story, fine graphics and the unique aspect of the underground make this probably the best fantasy RTS out there.

Underrated but well worth the purchase

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: October 03, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Familiar with Starcraft or Warcraft? Then this game should come easily to you. It is often billed as a "ripoff" of Warcraft3, but the primary similarity there is that they both have orcs and humans, although the orcs are really just a part of the beasts side. In reality though the game is more similar to Starcraft than Warcraft3, which contained a large number of fundamental changes to the game since its predecessors while Armies of Exigo still stays true to the general mechanics behind Starcraft.

Armies of Exigo is more than just a fantasy based Starcraft however, it contains many improvements of its own while not to the degree Warcraft3 did which made some huge mechanic altering changes. Here's a list of some of the major changes:

-Subterranean Map: Most boards have 2 layers/maps, the above ground portion and below ground portion which gives each map a more 3-dimensional feel.

-Garrisons: A unit can be garrisoned in most structures to protect them and many neutral structures can be garrisoned which often supplies with certain special abilities or bonuses.

-Formations: Troops will setup in formation, archers usually behind and warriors up front to keep your weak support units from foolishly standing on the front lines.

-Supergroups: A very helpful feature, this allows you to not only setup groups of units like in SC/WC but you can also create groups of these groups to allow you to move your entire force much more efficiently.

-Unit Strengths/Weaknesses: Many units have specific types of enemy units they are strong or weak against, such as pikemen being almost necessary to kill off ogres while a single ogre can butcher a regiment of swordsmen.

-Hostile neutral units: Starcraft always had neutral units that were just sort of ... there. But Armies of Exigo has neutral units that are hostile that can add another level of difficulty to already difficult missions.

This game has great sound and the graphics are quite good, adopting a more realistic appearance than the cartoonish appearance of the Warcraft line. The cinematics are very well done, some of the cutscenes that just use character models seem rushed and the voice acting in them isn't always the greatest, especially the parts in the council chamber. The unit responses in gameplay and the ambient sounds though fit well and don't detract from the game, some of the cutscenes just seem like they were rushed and were more of an afterthought.

The multiplayer is great, but as another player stated it can be difficult to find people to play against as this game is unfortunately virtually unknown. The mission difficulty is quite high and can be frustrating to those not accustomed to RTS games. On easy mode this game likely matches Starcraft and Warcraft3's difficult on normal and the average mission length is a good deal longer.

This is a greatly underrated game that deserves far more credit than it receives. It gets alot of bad reviews from players that claim it to be a Warcraft clone, and while it does obviously take alot of inspiration from Starcraft, the reality is Armies of Exigo is the game that Warcraft3 should have been. I have no doubt in my mind that if Blizzard had released this game exactly as it is as Warcraft3 it would have been just as popular as WC3 is now or more.

Pretty Well Done

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 14, 2005
Author: Amazon User

If you have played Warcraft, Lords of Everquest, or War of the Ring, then this game is along the same lines. A RTS game that involves resource collection and leveling up tech trees to go out and complete differant missions connected in a pretty interesting storyline. I was actually having some problems getting by certain levels on normal difficulty. I found that there were no cheat codes to be found for this game. Luckily it does allow you to adjust the difficulty. What makes this game unique from the others I have listed is the ability to take the action underground. That in itself makes it worth buying. Otherwise, it is pretty much like the others.

Armies provides hours of gameplay

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: January 09, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Awhile back I was looking for a good RTS game after having played through all of the "hype" titles.

Desperate, I found Armies of Exigo and decided it sounded like it was worthy of at least a try.

Gameplay: 9.0/10

The controls in AoE are tried and true. Anyone whose played just about any RTS out there should be able to pick up the game and have the general hang of it in ~30 minutes.

One unique feature (well sort of at least) is the fact that in AoE the battle can take place above or below ground. When you find an underground access point and enter it you'll have an additional mini map open on the bottom left (usually where you have a talking head of the last unit you selected) of your screen.

This will become more important in later missions where you're forced to move underground and attack the surface or to get from one point to another. Sadly side from finding a secret here and there (usually extra resources or stat boosting items) it never really feels it adds a lot of strategy to the game.

The game can be really hard at times and you'll need to be able to deal with limited resources/units in certain levels. Normally in an RTS if you can control the resources early on you can win by attrition. This is a viable tactic in most missions but later on in the different campaigns it will not seal the deal for you.

AoE has everything you need in an RTS, three playable factions (though you're forced to play them in a certain order ie: beat faction X campaign to unlock faction Y), tons units and upgrades for those units, and special buildings you can garrison for special abilities like extra resources or access to merc units.

Graphics: 8.5/10

I was really impressed with the opening movie, for a game that's a few years old it still looks top notch. Other mission cut scenes use the in game engine which obviously isn't nearly as nice as as your opening intro, but they get the job done.

Your units are all well modeled and the attack animations are nicely done. You'll be reminded a lot of Warcraft, but I feel the presentation in Armies is actually much better.

Sound: 8/10

The sound in AoE is reasonably well done. but at times (like most RTS games) the constant voice of your peons can get annoying.

Most of the voice acting is well done though a few unit types get repetitive. The cut scenes are well acted and add to the theme of the game.

You also have the ability to adjust any of the sound volumes in the game to better suit your play style which is a needed feature IMHO.

Overall: 9.0/10

As a whole the game gets a 9.0/10 in my book. The single player game will keep you busy for a good 36 hours and likely much longer than that depending on how you play the game.

Many called this just another Warcraft clone, personally I feel this game is so much better than warcraft 3, if this had been released as warcraft 3 you'd see 5 star reviews across the board and a player base of millions. As it stands this is a unique gem that has a small following but is worth being played by anyone that has ever enjoyed playing an RTS game.

Who did this crummy multi-player!!!

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 11
Date: March 01, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is fun... But the multiplayer is terrible! It took me almost an hour to get though there crummy 'registration' thing just so I could get online and play... That is if there was anyone to play. There never seems to be anyone online... LAME!

Armies of Exigo

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: January 24, 2007
Author: Amazon User

Armies of Exigo is a strategy war game, very similar to Warcraft 2 & 1, if your a fan of the old school strategy games like me, you'll love this game. Your troops are abit hard to control, due to the controls, but otherwise this is a great game.

"Summary" I gave this one a 4 on the fun factor, a close 5. But a 3 on the quality, not of the game, but of the condition the box was in when I recieved it, the box was smashed & buckled inwards.

It's not Warcraft and will never measure up.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: February 13, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I must say the graphics are 100 times better then in Warcraft 3 but that's the only positive to a game that tried to outmatch Blizzard. They failed. Miserably.

At first this game was awesome, it had all the prospectives of measuring up to be a fantastic RTS (Real Time Strategy) but it went all down hill from there.
The game - as usual - follows the average fantasy theme with Orcs, Humans, Elves and Undead (Warcraft 3 anyone?) that was a little bit of drag. But if that's what your after, that's all well and good, but the main problem I have to pick with this game is, for some reason it's hard to all buggery to do. Even on easy, without proper healing characters, etc. you just die as soon as you meet the enemy who do double to triple the amount of damage compared to yourself. There's no even stakes at all in this game. In the beginning chapters you just have to get through it with hoping that the enemy doesn't hit your main character otherwise it's game over. At least Warcraft had Altars in the beginning levels!
This game gets annoying at how low your characters HP, damage, etc. are. You can go in with a full-blown army and just be wiped out by 6 enemy units.

If you're in for a challenge, this is the game to play but I warn you this game doesn't come anywhere close to Warcraft!
But if your looking for another type of RTS that doesn't involve Humans, Orcs, etc. try Company of Heroes it's WW1 scenario with all the fun of building bases and sending your men out to war.

started great...

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: July 25, 2007
Author: Amazon User

This game is an RTS type, it has 3 races with a campaign for each. The first campaign ( human ) was a lot of fun, the others are ok, but not as much fun. The video on the intro was really good, as were several of the interludes throughout the campaigns.

Get Warcraft Instead

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: April 26, 2008
Author: Amazon User

If you don't have Warcraft III, get it instead of this game. If you do have Warcraft III, well, you don't need to get this game anyway.

Alot was poured into the graphics, and you can tell just by looking at the game. Textures are nicely details and environments are well done. Units are good too. No complaints here.

Gameplay is where this game falls short. Really short. It plays more like a game from 1998 than 2004. It is your basic Warcraft Clone, that was dumbed down in terms of gameplay. Another complaint is the artificial intelligence. It multi-tasks so efficiently, that it is almost impossible to match its micromanagement. This makes the game extremely hard even on the "easy" setting.

Story is actually good, there is the empire, which are your strong and sophisticated humans. Another faction is the Beast, which are orcs, goblins and ogres. Finnally there is the Shadow, which play exactly like the undead in Warcraft. These three factions come together in a war for some reason (you are never told why) and they basically fight for survival.

Sound doesn't really make an impression.

Multiplayer is very glitched and unclean.

Graphics 9/10
Gameplay 5/10
Sound 5/10
Story 9/10
Length 8/10
Multiplay 5/10
Stability: Minor Problems, Major Problems in Multiplayer

Score 6/10 - Mediocre

Review Page: 1 

Actions