Welcome to World Zero - Reviews for the hardcore gamer

This brilliance is executed with an exceptional visual flair. Everything is pre-rendered, from the characters to the landscapes, and placed into a stunning 2D environment. It looks fantastic and, more importantly, functions well with the exception of the overhead map’s clutter. The mass of creatures, items, buildings and landscape placement can sometimes get very chaotic, which can be a bit daunting at first. But once you get used to it or find the banner placement button (which marks all creatures, treasure, and buildings with appropriate banners), the chaos becomes welcomed and even enjoyable, if not only from an artistic standpoint.

As mentioned before, you choose the role of one of four races and progress a collective plot from the perspective of your chosen race. Once you assume the role of your chosen warlord (each race gets a unique warrior, wizard, and thief type leader) you plunge deep into this grim tale of four constantly warring races. Taking place in the aftermath of the First Great War, the plot centers around a battered Empire and a failing King. The Mountain Clans are on the verge of collapse, and in this weakened state, the forces of evil recognize that their chance to unleash their dark desires is at hand. Each race must return to battle once again as you witness the Second Great War unfold through the eyes of four distinctively different sides first hand.

In terms of genre and aside from its artistry, Disciples 2 doesn’t necessarily do anything new or revolutionary, it just does everything right. The game is well balanced and ridiculously deep. You begin by choosing a hero and leading a small collection of characters into the varied landscapes, leveling up, searching for treasure, looting ruins, and pillaging antagonistic structures. Once you actually get into combat, you'll find its turn-based style is more akin to Japanese console combat along the lines of a Final Fantasy type of game as opposed to the more traditional PC turn-based strategy battles. Massing large armies won’t usually win at this game, as a single Warlord’s party with enough experience can wipe out waves of oncoming denizens.

At the start of each day, you may choose to build a new structure in whatever bastion your race chooses as a stronghold. These new structures determine how your non-hero characters will evolve when they level up and change class. Each character type can branch off into a sizeable variety of different and imaginative classes, greatly affecting the tactics your party adheres to. Provided you have built the Wizard Tower structure in your stronghold, you may also research new spells once per day. Spells range from traditional, destructive attacks, to stat modifiers, to even powerful summoned creatures. Expanding your stronghold or spell knowledge is achieved by expending collected resources. Gold, which is used for adding structures to your stronghold, purchasing items from shops, or negotiating with allied leaders, can be gathered from mines, found on neutral mobs, or by raiding creature-infested ruins. Mana resources are gathered the same way as excavating gold from a mine, except there are four different types; each necessary for specific spells, while higher level spells require multiple types of mana.

While fighting for control over the battlefield is a primary concern, resource management, upgrading, acquisition, allying, and even backstabbing all play a key role in deciding the outcome of every battle. All of the decisions you make outside of combat will directly affect combat in one way or another.

Screenshot taken from the Disciples 2 expansion, Guardians of the Light.

In terms of audio, Disciples 2 excels on a level few games have ever reached. The game is filled with a very sinister sounding score complete dark, melancholy themes that mesh flawlessly with the overall dismal tone of the game’s visuals and plot. However, it’s not the soundtrack that makes the audio so immersive; it’s the ambient sounds that really make you feel like you’re right there on the battlefield. When stationed in your capital, there is a brilliant ambiance that captures the personality of each race effortlessly. The Empire sounds like a bustling medieval hovel, full of activity. You can hear individual inhabitants speaking, feet in motion, and workers scurrying about, building your empire. Venture near an Undead habitat and you can overhear the faint murmur of lost souls if you listen closely. The Legion of the Damned’s own strongholds come surprisingly close to sounding like what one would expect to hear with a portal to hell nearby. Overall, it’s just damned creepy and great stuff all around.

Overall, Disciples 2 does everything right in a turn-based strategy/RPG hybrid, but what makes it such a remarkable experience is that it sucks you in on every artistic level imaginable. No other game in Disciples 2’s time can match the simultaneous level of creativity and immersion. Simply put, Disciples 2 is a masterpiece.

Rating	The rating scale in detail
9.8	++ A style all its own. Characters look great and the backgrounds are utterly stunning.
10	++ Amazing soundtrack, absolutely flawless ambiance.
9.6	+ Everything here has been done before, but not this well. Combat is refined, strategy is essential, and resource management is crucial but not overwhelming.
10	++ No game on the market at the time of D2's release can come near its presentation in terms of art direction and imagination. Once you become engrossed in this brilliant fantasy world, you will be continually drawn in deeper by its creativity. The characters are innovative and original; the plot is simultaneously dismal and epic; and the environment is immersive.
9.5	+ Four completely unique campaigns and tons of individual quests. + Hotseat and online multiplayer capabilities. + Strong scenario editor, sizeable custom map community.
9.8	++ The epitome of blurring the line between interactive entertainment and art.