Kohan II: Kings of War

Logan Booker over-extends himself as a violent monarch.

Kohan's strongest card by far is its deep history and plot. The single player campaign follows the paths of a variety of characters from the games six sides - Humans, Drauga, Haroun, Shadow, Undead and Gauri - and slowly unravels the story of the immortal Kohan and the ongoing battle between light and shadow. Each race has its own set of units, ranging from engineers and footmen to giant bone golems and elemental djinn. In addition, each side has a number of 'factions' to choose from, giving bonuses to specific aspects such as attack damage.

Kohan II is by no means a fast game. Players used to the almost reflex-like nature of the early game concrete build order are in for a nasty surprise. TimeGate Studios has done a great job of discouraging rushes by implementing a townbased militia, which will soundly beat most starting armies.

Perhaps the most unfamiliar aspect of Kohan II is the resource model. While there are five resources in the game - gold, stone, wood, iron and mana, gold is the only resource that stockpiles and is the most important. In fact, the resource model is so unfamiliar players will be trounced time and time again as they adjust to it.

Kohan II relies on the player over-extending himself and taking risks in order to prevail, naturally making a 'sit and defend' tactic unfeasible. Kohan II: Kings of War is definitely an innovative title in the current RTS environment. The steep learning curve may detract from the game somewhat, but it still ranks as one of the more enjoyable titles on the market.