"Heroes of Annihilated Empires" is a real-time strategy from the developers of the cult "Stalker". This game was released in 2006 only on personal computers. Acquainted with the strategy, you can understand what the Ukrainian studio was doing until the release of their main project. In this article, read the full review of the game.
History of creation
In those days, GSC did not expect anything special in terms of releasing good games. While the issue with the release and development of Stalker was in limbo, the studio decided to release its own strategy. Forecasts for the project were doubtful - in the European region it was planned to sell no more than 60 thousand copies of the game.
The strategy is based on the series of books “Heroes of Annihilated Empires: The Magic of Blood”, authored by Ilya Novak. He took part in writing a full-fledged script for this game. Because of this, many were skeptical about the future strategy. However, in a game, success depends not only on the story, but also on the game mechanics, gameplay, and so on. Therefore, the strategy turned out better than anyone could have imagined.
What is the game about?
Although the project turned out to be better than all expectations, the developers did not realize most of the promised innovations and opportunities in the final version. The player has to choose one of four races: elves, cryos, gnomes or undead. Each side has its own characteristics and abilities. Because of this, all races have to choose different strategies and styles of play. For example, playing as undead, it is preferable to take the enemy in quantity. Elves prefer stealth and contactless combat, gnomes are skilled at handling weapons, and the cryo gang prefers to deal with opponents with the help of fighting animals and communication with nature. In each race, there are three initial characters that form the main backbone of your squad throughout the passage.
The game "Heroes of Annihilated Empires" offers nothing new for the genre. Everything is ordinary and old in it. All divisions on races, features and so on under the pure copied from older strategies. Was it worth it for GSC to talk so loudly about innovations in the genre and the revolutionary mixture of RTS and RPG? Probably not.
Plot
The whole story revolves around the first three books of Novak. In theory, the developers planned to create a whole franchise for this universe, but because of the low popularity they were forced to abandon this venture. In addition, after the release of the strategy, the company plunged headlong into the Stalker.
The story is a banal fantasy tale. The confrontation between the good and the bad leads the world to near destruction. It is the player who has to decide the fate of the world and choose the side that is preferable to him. The whole plot is filled with stamps. However, claims should not be made against the developers of the game, but against the scriptwriters and the author of a series of books.
Unfulfilled promises
The developers of the game “Heroes of Annihilated Empires” persistently convinced the entire gaming community that their game would be one of the most innovative in the genre. What did we get as a result? Let's consider in order.
The first thing the creators promised was an interesting mixture of the RTS and RPG genres. In fact, the players received a set of borrowed ideas from other projects. All the so-called innovations were present and were successfully implemented at SpellForce.
Secondly, the developers promised full-fledged terraforming (changing the landscape of the map). In the release version, everything turned out to be pretty sad. Terraforming in the game works as follows. Each race has a special type of landscape. At the base of the base in a new place, over time, the earth begins to acquire a characteristic shape and shade. On this, all changes at one’s discretion in the game end.
Walkthrough
In the game "Heroes of Annihilated Empires" you have to go through 15 missions. Among them will come across both interesting and dynamic tasks, as well as lengthy ones. The story is served between quests and tasks in the form of pictures with inscriptions. The artists who worked on the project tried hard. The design of the game turned out to be very colorful and detailed.
In terms of gameplay and interest, the Heroes of Annihilated Empires strategy is constantly sinking. Leveling the characters does not represent anything interesting. One gets the impression that the creators tried to make the development system as simple as possible and overdid it. The development in the game turned out to be absolutely uninteresting.
Total
However, in one, the game turned out to be good. This strategy is the first domestic project in a long time in which you can spend time without tears. And a good game from a nostalgic point of view. Unfortunately, the matter did not reach the project “Heroes of Annihilated Empires 2”. Perhaps in the new part, the developers would have corrected the errors, but no one will return to this series. GSC studio broke up after the release of three parts of Stalker, and the rest of the domestic game industry is engaged in any things, but not the revival of the good and classic series of favorite projects and universes.