Long-time computer gamers might remember Defender of the Crown, from Cinemaware. It came out for the Atari ST and Amiga, back in the days before IBM claimed the phrase "personal computer" for itself. Defender of the Crown put you in the armor of a knight - through various sub-games, you'd try to build up personal wealth and power.
Sierra has decided to explore the same territory with Conqueror A.D. 1086. The game was developed by Software Sorcery, and was originally scheduled to be released by Time Warner Interactive. With a family tree like this one, it's no surprise that Conqueror is a beautiful game. You'll see one lavish screen after another as you live the life of a young knight, intent on making a name for himself.
Unfortunately, the disrupted development pipeline shows itself in some less positive ways. The manual is atrocious, the game crashes more than any finished product should, and in general gameplay is often disjointed and nonsensical. For instance, I got myself into a brawl at an inn and ended up mortally skewered on some fellow's dagger. Imagine my surprise when I then jumped up from the battle and strode out of the inn to live a long and prosperous second life!
Your goal in Conqueror is to "roll up" a knight and set out either to become the King's Champion by slaying a dragon, or to usurp the throne by leading your troops against the king. Gameplay is divided into two major modes. The first is a fief-management game that has you running your village to maximize growth and profit. By spending gold and assigning peasants, you can clear land to grow crops or build housing. The strategy game is where you build and staff your castle as well.
The problem with this section of Conqueror is a lack of information and purpose. The manual gives no information on interrelationships between the various fief embellishments. For instance, how many peasants will a house shelter? What benefit do roads give? How many peasants will a field of beans feed? None of these questions are answered. Also, having a bigger castle seems to have no effect on defense, so why bother with the expense of building one?!
The second part of the game has you wandering the countryside, conquering your neighbors (either at the king's bidding or for your own purposes) or attending tournaments to win fame and the favor of the ladies of the court. This part of the game further breaks down into several mini-games: the joust, the melee, and the battle. The joust is very like the one in the old Defender of the Crown (for those of you who remember that game). Your horse carries you along and you need only strike your opponent squarely with your lance in order to win. The melee is a rudimentary DOOM clone that has you hacking down opponents with the help of your men. Finally, the battles are small real-time wargames, with each figure representing 100 men. Control in the battle is extremely frustrating- generally, the bigger army will carry the day, since coordinating tactics is nearly impossible.
Conqueror A.D. 1086 could have been a fine game with a bit more polish and more thought put into the storyline. The pieces just don't mesh! If you're halfway across England and your home castle is attacked, you can still defend it! When two armies clash, both are sometimes eliminated from the map (I'm still not entirely sure if this is a bug or a feature). This means you can take a castle easily, by sending several small token armies in to get rid of the defenders (whether your armies win or lose), then leading a final army in to attack the now defenseless castle.
More subtly, if you choose to pursue the dragon-slaying quest, you'll have to court the various ladies at the tournaments. All well and good, but you basically have to pledge yourself to each one in turn until she falls in love with you and grants you an item you need. After that you must turn your back on her and proceed to the next lady and the next item. Not a very chivalrous way for the King's Champion to behave, is it?
When all is said and done, Conqueror A.D. 1086 fails to hold together, and that's a shame. Much work went into providing excellent atmosphere. The intro is wonderful, and had me eager to play. The sub-games were fun, though not terribly challenging. Fief management seems to have little bearing on the game, though, and castle-building is a complete waste of time. And what joy can come from breaking a fair maiden's heart? If Sierra can create an Outpost 2, maybe they'll also do us the favor of a Conqueror 2. The idea behind the game is wonderful, and I for one would be eager to see it work.
