Mindcraft's first tactical fantasy game Siege and the expansion pack Dogs of War is decent tactical combat game featuring tons of scenarios, units, and even a decent plot. In this cross between SSG's Warlords and EA's classic Rampart, your task is to either attack or defend a castle with fantasy units. Good VGA graphics and music unfortunately can't hide the fact that the AI of the game is simply horrible-- arguably even worst than Mindcraft's dreadful Tegel's Mercenaries. It is far too easy to outflank the computer and confuse its units by feigning attacks, and the only time you will feel anything resembling a real challenge is when the computer commands many more units than you do, to even out the odds. Gameplay mechanics is decent, although the cumbersome interface (like in most Mindcraft strategy games) really gets in the way. Although the game is real-time, you can pause it at any time to give commands. All in all, Siege is a fairly superficial tactical game that promises more than it delivers. Although there are many units you can buy, their difference simply boil down to whether or not they can conduct ranged attack or not. The lack of campaign mode is disappointing, but made up somewhat by a versatile scenario / map editor. Limited goals, gameplay, and bad AI makes this a good game only for beginners or anyone who likes easy strategy games. The rest of us would be more content playing SSG's Warlords or QQP's Conquered Kingdoms for the umpteenth time. If you want to give Mindcraft's engine a second try, play the much-improved Ambush at Sorinor instead. Reviewed by: Underdogs |