Developer: Ronimo Games
Publisher: Ronimo Games
Platforms: PC, PS4, Nintendo Switch
Tested on: PC
Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon – Review
Initially, Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon was a Wii U exclusive game. After three years have passed, Ronimo Games has decided that it deserved a release on more platforms so they planned to release it in November this year on PS4 and PC. In Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon you can control the mighty Vikings, the sly Persians or the brutal Demon army to go up against your opponent’s army and destroy their base while defending your own in 1v1 multiplayer action.
Story
Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon features a single-player campaign that’s good for about 10 hours of gameplay. In this campaign, you’ll get the control of Redbeard and his Vikings. You’ll join them in a journey through the forest of Vikingland, the scorching sands of Persia and the nether regions of Hell, to retrieve the sheep that has been stolen from their favorite shawarma shack. The story progresses with each completed level. Before each level and when inside a level, conversations will be shown that explain the story.
Graphics
All the artwork in Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon is drawn in a cartoonish style that really suits the gameplay. When your soldiers are in combat, a lot of words like “bam”, “bash”, and “splat” fill the screen, just like they do in comics. Although they used a cartoonish style of graphics, the soldiers and creatures in the game are very detailed and just look great.
Sound
The music in this game has a medieval feel to it. A lot of voice acting has been implemented in this game. In the campaign, before you start a new level on the map, Brokenbeard will talk to you about the happenings in the next level. In-game, the creatures of hell and the other factions have their own language in which they communicate.
Gameplay
Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon is a side-scrolling RTS. In this strategy game, you’ll need to destroy your opponent’s base at the other side of the playing field in different game modes. At the moment, you can choose between three game modes, the Campaign, Online and Custom Game. In each level, you will start at the uttermost left side of the playing field. Your army will start to walk towards your enemy when you’ve created a unit.
The Campaign gives you the control of Redbeard and his army of Vikings in the search of the stolen sheep. This campaign also functions a bit like a tutorial, letting you get acquainted with the many different units available in the game. Along the way you’ll encounter various characters of each army and you’ll also gain control of soldiers belonging to the other armies available in the game. Each normal level will provide you with a unique combination of units that you’ll need to use in the best way possible to defeat your opponent. In each level, you’ll have a primary objective and two secondary objectives that will provide you with medals if you complete them.
When you progress in the story, you’ll find opponents walking on the map. These characters and a few levels will challenge you with an open battle. These levels will let you assemble your army out of all the units and spells you have unlocked so far. This allows you to add some creativity to your army and make the best possible combinations to obliterate your enemies at the other side of these levels.
In the creation of units and using spells, gold is used for generating units and mana is used to cast spells upon your enemies. Gold is gathered by miners that will gather gold at a mine nearby your own base. You can create up to 6 workers that can gather gold for you. These workers can also pick up dropped crates of gold and mana on the playing field. They will walk towards these crates and pick them to return them to your base. Mana is gathered over time and an extra source of mana can be acquired by building mana towers, these will create some extra mana over time.
As mentioned earlier, there are three different types of armies available in this game: the Vikings, Persians and demons. These armies differ in many ways from each other. The Vikings generally have more bulky characters that wield axes as their weapons and you’ll have some magic spells available like Thor’s Lightning that will deal damage to one enemy unit or Freyja’s Blessing that will heal one of your own units. The Persian army offers more light units that have the ability to heal themselves when not in combat and you’ll have spells like Polymorph that’ll turn one of your enemy units in a defenseless sheep (Shawarma). The demon army uses brutal weapons like poisonous spears and Barrelriders that technically function like suicide bombers. They’ll run into your enemy units and explode, leaving nothing more than ashes. You’ll have spells that can sacrifice your own units to gain mana and leave a fighting skeleton on the field that will have a limited lifespan.
Aside from the campaign mode, you can also play against other players online in 1v1 PvP. The objective here is to destroy your opponents’ base before they destroy yours. You can also play matches against friends in local PvP or fight against an AI-controlled enemy. In all these modes you can choose one of the three armies or customize your own army with the units you’ve unlocked in the campaign mode. There’s a lot of fun to be enjoyed in the campaign mode and against others in local or online PvP.
Conclusion
Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon is a really fun RTS game that requires you to use your wit to overpower your opponents with the best strategy you can come up with. Create your army to obliterate your opponent’s army and destroy their base at the other side of the playing field. There are a lot of different units and spells available in each army to defeat your enemies in many unique ways. You can also customize your own army with a selection of all the units available across the three different armies. This allows you to come up with your own strategies and combinations of units and spells. The campaign is really fun to play and offers around 10 hours of gameplay by itself. Completing all the objectives in each level can prove to be a challenge and can extend your playing time even more. If you like RTS games and using different strategies to pulverize your enemies, then this game can definitely be worth a try.
Swords & Soldiers II Shawarmageddon - Review,
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