The game is a lot like Blizzard’s Warcraft III and also has the RPG style of a game like Quest. The true beauty of Fantasy Wars lives in the fact that, especially for a clone, it has amazing replay value!

There are three campaigns in which you take the roles of the humans, the cute little elves and the tough orcs. The orcs are the usual fantasy stereotype. In “Wars,” they are known for desiring gold, being a strong race and a constant need to pillage.

The game is no pushover. It’s very difficult in the beginning and gets harder in later phases. It’s important to use your units to their maximum potential and be able to plan for what your opponent might attack you with. The game is a turn-based strategy, which means that you will direct units to attack, hold their positions, defend, gather, etc. Then it’s the other guy’s turn.

Unlike other TBS games, your units and supplies will carry over to the next mission, instead of just starting fresh. Each individual campaign has it’s own ups and downs. The key to being successful at Fantasy Wars is to stay focused, protect your units and deploy them at the right time.

The graphics are well-done. The environments are clear and well animated. It’s all just a little “cartoony” sometimes though. The battle animations will even have you laughing at times.

On the other hand, the sound is enough to drive you insane. The battle cries start off okay enough, but when you hear them every four seconds in a heated battle, you might turn your volume all the way down.

Multiplayer is also available via networking.

The game delivers. It’s an affordable strategy title. Fantasy Wars is highly addictive and a great way to kill an afternoon.

Quick hits:

Publisher: Atari
Developer: Ino-Co
Platform: PC CD-ROM
Genre: Turn-based strategy
Players: 1-2
Launch Date: November 13, 2007

Playability: 4 out of 5 stars
Learning Curve: 4 out of 5 stars
Sound: 3.5 out of 5 stars
Graphics: 4 out of 5 stars
Overall: 4 out of 5 stars

Gothic 3 needs a lot of machine to run as intended. The game has some absolutely amazing visual elements to throw at the player, but bit by bit, many gamers have to tweak and switch off these features until the game runs smoothly.

There are also some major technical glitches that can hinder gameplay, the most serious of which is your player becoming stuck under an object with a low ceiling, or on top of something you accidentally climbed. Thankfully, there is almost always a way to wiggle yourself out.

Finally, amidst rumors of memory errors and crashes on Dells, I tested and was sad to see that the game would not run on either of the older Dells we have lying around. On an old Dimension 3100 and a Latitude D610, a memory error prevented Gothic 3 from starting at all.

Seriously though, keep reading.

Notwithstanding shortcomings and bugs, Gothic 3 is actually one of the best open ended adventure games I’ve ever played. It’s a bloody shame that even the most dedicated gamer might get turned off before even swinging a sword, because there is a good nonlinear game under the hood with a barge full of replay value.

The game begins with a staple adventure game cut scene; the king is under siege and the mages scramble to channel their power on the defensive. The mighty orcs have conquered and enslaved most of the human race in the land of Myrtana. You, the unnamed hero, are one of the few free humans left, and with that freedom comes choice. Do you rebel against the orcish oppressors or stand with them against your countrymen? Or do you say “the hell with it,” and go off and live by your own rules?

The action begins immediately as your comrades arrive in the occupied village of Ardea, and the orc garrison immediately attacks you. The true nature of this game becomes apparent very quickly. When you engage the orcs, the human slave population rises up with you. If you’re good, and you pummel the Orcs quickly, most of the human slaves will survive and praise you as their liberator. If you get knocked down a few times and fight a long, bloody battle, almost all the slaves can be killed and you’ll be left with a barren wasteland of a town with a few people here and there. Fortunately, the population will replenish eventually.