GamesRelay

Name: Legio

Chess, an age old game of kings, queens, knights, and bishops, it's a classical masterpiece of strategic gaming on both a physical and digital level. Since its conception and the rise of computer games Chess has seen many interpretations, some bad, some good, and Legio relates to chess in a number of ways, but never actually becomes another rip-off of the classic game. It has its own unique twist on the turn-based strategy genre and pits players against one another in a fantasy kingdom known as Bella Lagucia, where Lorenzo and Florentia, the twin children of the once mighty ruler over the entire kingdom are battling for the crown.

At the beginning of each battle both players must choose a map to act as their fall back point, a castle to defend and to stop your army from being defeated, then you'll have to make some tough choices on what type of units you want your army to consist of. The pre-battle unit selection is just as important as the actual gameplay itself since each of the units have their own strengths and weaknesses and learning these so that you can combat them will ultimately lead to victory. To make things just a little more difficult when choosing your army is the points system which adds some fairness to it all. You'll be given a set amount of points to choose your units from and each unit costs differently depending on a number of factors, strengths, weaknesses, range, style of combat, and more, once your points are spent then the units are deployed.

Once the battle starts you'll soon realise whether you made a fantastic tactical choice in units, or a shockingly bad decision, much like any strategy game then. Choosing an army full of soldiers for instance would be a grave mistake, while you'll have the benefit of numbers and a pretty good fighting chance when your units are toe-to-toe with the enemy, archers will be your inevitable downfall, their weakness is melee but they excel at ranged combat and will easily pick you off before you even get near them.

In its most simplistic form Legio is a battle of wits and tactical decisions, each player takes their turn to move and attack with their units, whether they be melee, ranged, or magical ones, to creatures of considerable power. You never know what type of army your opponent will be fielding, whether it be human or AI, so you need to have some versatility in your army to combat the varying situations you may encounter. Each of your units also has their own Initiative score which determines when that particular unit can be used, which adds another thought provoking layer of strategy for you to consider.

It doesn't stop there however since you'll also have access to certain passive abilities through your units; these can come in various forms from defensive bonuses, to offensive ones, such as a higher damage output. Using these abilities to affect the course of battle can make a pretty big difference, and positioning your units is all the more important since certain units abilities only work within a set radius around it. As such, you'll need to consider the line of sight your opponent has, moving your soldiers away from your magician for instance could leave said unit open to a ranged attack, something which can spell the end to any decisive victory you thought you were about to perform.

This type of game cries out for an online multiplayer component, and thankfully it has been included, but playing the single-player can be just as rewarding from an experience gaining perspective as the multiplayer can. You see, the games AI is brutally punishing, even on easy, and while human opponents can come up with some very elusive manoeuvres and the occasional trick to try and fool you into a false sense of security, they can also make mistakes, mistakes you can take advantage of and benefit from, whereas the AI usually does not. Often during your early battles as a new player it can get frustrating at either your own lack of knowledge, or the AI's victory after victory over your army, this, as with any game, are lessons that are to be learned and then used to your own advantage the next time round.

It's difficult to have a perfect game where you'll utterly conquer your enemy into submission, each battle has its ups and downs, but, thinking about your choices before making them instead of using your gut feeling will usually lead you to a victory, unless you're the most unluckiest person to walk the earth.

The varying maps you'll fight across each offer a simplistic yet tactical territorial perspective from which to fight over, the battle is set across three maps, the middle battlefield where both players start, and the fall back castles which the player has chosen before starting. The differing obstacles across each of the maps offers something unique to each battle and can shape the way the game goes to some degree, whether the obstacles become an obstruction or an advantage worth using is your decision to make and becomes another property you'll need to take into consideration as you plan your rise to the crown.

It may sound confusing with such a deep and strategic gameplay style, but the game is fairly simple to pick up, it's however, much harder to master, and something you'll need to dedicate time with to really gain the knowledge needed to be an effective player. While each battle is different, the game doesn't include any campaign against the computer, a story driven plot, or anything other than the standard battles, and while these can certainly be enjoyable once you become a confident player, ultimately the game can only last so long before your interest sways.