This title seems the perfect mix of Age of Empires 2 and Rome Total War.

Unfortunately, the developer of KoH is in Eastern Europe, and I think that’s why there hasn’t been much publicity about the title. Most english gaming mags are in the States, with some also England, but it seems Bulgaria is too far to fly even for them. And so everything I’ve leared of this title comes from: just one old PC Gamer preview, the game’s forum, and a weekly newsletter run by the KoH website. It could be that I’m ausceptible to the game’s product marketing, but what I’ve read over the last 6 months makes me excited.. and I think we may have a sleeper hit strategy game on our hands…

… though the Medieval setting doesn’t break any strategy game molds. You’re placed in control of Kingdom of cities and towns. Your focus is split amongst civic projects, static defenses, espionage and diplomacy. Recruit and train armies, march them out to stop invaders, or push them beyond your boarders in attempt to conquer all of Europe.

The diplomatic features seems more involved than the usual. Most RTSs have simple-logic diplomatic options. For instance, Civilization and Rise of Nations have opponents that badger you into alliances or attempt to extort money from you… “or else.” Over time these systems seem flat — you’re either at war with someone or you’re not.

Knights of honor has diplomatic missions that should tie in well with the action and carnage that occurs in battle. Spend some time sucking-up to your ally then request his aid in taking an enemy town once he’s all googaly-eyed for you. If you appear weak and soft your neighbors might band together to invade… but you could stave this off with diplomacy flair and buy time until you can pose more of a military obstacle. It seems you can even pit enemy against enemy with tactical subterfuge. Let them knock each other down a notch, join with the winning side, and soak up more land for your empire. Good times.

The game is large in scope, too. The real-time map covers the entirety of Europe. From Turkey on up to England. You can zoom out to see your kingdom at a glance, or zoom in to watch inhabitants live in their individual towns and cities.

It’s these things things that lead me to believe that Knights of Honor is a sequel-in-spirit to Medieval Total War, and that’s a very good thing. As I look over the feature breakdown there’ a sense that this game has the same sort of building tension - you’re not always in conflict but you’re always preparing and maneuvering for the next one. And with gorgeous graphics like this, I can’t help but get anxious to play.

There are so many games coming out in the near future that it’s impossible to get them all at release. I’m going to wait to see if GoGamer h as a madness mail. Once I get my hands on it I’ll post my thoughts.

The game has hit Gold and will be in European stores this month.

Quick Links:
Knights of Honor Website

~~ Click screenshots to enlarge ~~