Blackguards was a largely literal, accurate translation of the rules and principles of the tabletop system The Dark Eye into the language of a computer RPG. A squad of heroes of different races and classes traveled across the map and took part in turn-based battles, during the breaks being distracted by walking around the shops in search of new equipment. Everything focused specifically on complex tactical battles, offering a fairly linear plot and rare side quests. In the sequel there are even more battles, they are more difficult, and additional tasks in the usual sense have disappeared completely. Nevertheless, it became better to play, it became more fun to play..
Divorce the Aventurian way
First of all, this is due to the fact that the plot here is more interesting and darker – it more than justifies the name of the game and the “dark” reputation of The Dark Eye setting itself. We again oppose the treacherous Marwan, who survived the events of the first part, but now we are led into battle by his half-mad wife, devoted to him. And she literally has spiders in her head and a scary mask on her face.
Under the leadership of Cassia, we are reconquering her native lands, seized by her evil husband. In addition to three old acquaintances from the first part – Nurim, Zurbaran and Takate – she is helped in this by mercenaries from the Silent Legion, ready to plunder cities and make bloody sacrifices. And Cassia herself does not stand on ceremony when choosing methods to achieve her goals, although she herself periodically does not really understand what they are. In general, there is more intrigue and reasons to follow the plot, and the dialogues and characters are written better.
There are options..
Nonlinearity has also increased. Firstly, the structure of the gameplay itself now encourages variability, which is already more reminiscent of a strategy on a global map than a classic RPG. On this very map we choose which of Marwan’s possessions to capture next: it could be a city, a fortress, the palace of his minion, and so on. We captured three points – we are preparing to repel a counterattack on one of the points. And so – the whole game. We are not given any side quests in the cities – here you will no longer meet suffering local residents.
However, this did not make it any more boring – quite the contrary. Instead of helping inconsolable mothers who have lost their children in the forest, and lazy traders who urgently need to convey something to someone, we are engaged in much more interesting, strategic (and truly non-linear) planning. All points on the map are connected by roads, and they branch and lead in different directions. Accordingly, you are free to follow different routes, focusing on what bonuses each captured city gives – these could be advantages to the characteristics of your mercenaries, new goods in the store, and even a chance to get a new recruit into the ranks of the Silent Legion, for example a mage or an assassin.
Secondly, new facets of jokerbetcasino.co.uk nonlinearity open up the opportunity to interrogate captured enemies. A separate dialogue quest begins here. Try to negotiate, threaten, make a deal, or offer to influence the prisoner to one of the three other main characters. If you choose the right option, it will split and share important information – which, for example, will make it easier to capture the next city. Otherwise, the prisoner will refuse to talk, and you will only have to execute him. Well, or leave it to rot in a cage. In general, situations of moral choice in Blackguards 2 also more – at some point, say, you will have to decide whether to allow mercenaries to plunder cities or not.
More accessible, but not easier
And yet the main dish Blackguards 2 What remains are tactical battles and everything connected with them – “leveling up” and selecting equipment. There is different news on this matter.
The range of weapons and armor is quite scarce and does not change for almost half the game. The role-playing system has become simpler, departing somewhat from the canons of The Dark Eye: there are fewer character characteristics, and they almost do not participate in “leveling up”. Some skills are frankly useless, but other spells, on the contrary, are many times more effective than others.
And yet, you can still spend hours on the screen for distributing points between different skills – competent “pumping” is very important here. The same is with mercenaries: you cannot independently improve their “skills” and select equipment for them – and yet the player directly influences the process of development of “soldiers of fortune”.
While defending your cities, you can set different traps. And in general, defending here is easier than attacking, although the authors promised the opposite.
Mercenaries are mainly involved in the defense of your possessions; in addition, they can support the main characters in some battles – and you decide for yourself which class fighters to take with you (spaces are limited). So, the more often you choose, for example, an archer or swordsman, the more powerful all representatives of this class become.
Fight with a condition
But the battles themselves have definitely become better and more difficult. The maps are more spacious, they have more interactive objects, traps and, accordingly, interesting opportunities – when, for example, we overwhelm enemies with boxes, release aggressive animals from cages, drop some boards using a winch, or lure the enemy into a kind of minefield.
In addition, in the second part we are much more often asked not just to kill all opponents, but to fulfill some special conditions – collapse a bridge, break five crystals, or free prisoners and escape. Sometimes you even have to solve puzzles involving levers and sharp bars that you can lure enemies onto. True, sometimes the authors go too far and force us to replay battles over and over again: try breaking the same five crystals and leaving alive in conditions where you are attacked by crowds of huge immortal lizards with the support of powerful magicians!
Finally, special monsters appeared, the creations of Marwan’s minions. These creatures are not just very big – they can jump and fly across half the map, knocking down everyone who gets in their way. And if at first we only have to hit them in the face, then later we will be allowed to use special melodies to control the monsters.
Each point on the map has its own level of difficulty, so it’s better not to go into some places for the time being.
Claims to Blackguards 2 differ little from those we presented in the first part. Sometimes the game still slips into repetition of the same thing, there are technical flaws and problems with balance: some battles are overcomplicated, others, on the contrary, are too simple (although there are many fewer of them). The font is still catastrophically small and poses a real threat to the eyes. And in fights there is still no way to increase the speed of movement of the fighters, which is why the fights seem drawn out. But overall, the second part is a step forward in almost all respects. So we’re looking forward to seeing what the next experiment will be Daedalic Entertainment in the role-playing field.
Pros: darker plot; complex and interesting battles; the gameplay has become less linear; strategic elements have appeared.
Cons: there are technical flaws; balance problems; sometimes it feels monotonous.