You can place four different kinds of bounty flags around the kingdom to make members of your army attack, defend, explore, and fear different objects, locations, and creatures on the map. Once you place a flag, you can drop gold into it in increments of 100 or 500 to sweeten the pot and get the attention of enough nearby warriors to get the job done successfully. The more gold you place on the flag, the greater the likelihood your soldiers will do what you want them to do and in larger numbers. This system can be a bit tough when you need a specific task urgently tackled and don't have the funds available to motivate your forces, yet it offers an enjoyable shift in pace from more traditional RTS fare.

Depending on the types of guilds you have access to constructing in each mission, you'll be able to populate your entourage with warriors, clerics, thieves, rangers, wizards, dwarves, and elves. Temples built later in the game let you upgrade these units to more powerful variations, and spending money to research special abilities and spells also gives you an advantage of being able to heal or harm with added gusto. Units that survive continue to gain experience, and at the end of each level can select a lord from amongst your warriors. These stronger units can be hired in later levels and continue to grow in power and ability. Majesty 2 also lets you form parties of warriors, which is extremely useful in exerting a slightly greater degree of control over your armies.

The 16 different maps in the main campaign range from moderately easy to gruelingly punishing. They get substantially tougher as you progress. In one, you'll have to explore and uncover a way to slay a red dragon, while contending with the beast's regular fire-spewing raids that can destroy buildings and small groups of warriors within seconds. Others task you with stopping a marauding ogre from pillaging your village, delivering punishment to upstart barons, staking vampire lords, and tackling other challenges. If you tire of those exploits, there's always the new multiplayer component that's worth delving into.

Majesty 2 brings some fresh updates and spruces up the overall gameplay to make up for almost an entire decade of technological advances in between the games. It isn't cutting edge by any means, but the modern touch will no doubt bring many new players into the fold. They won't be disappointed.

By Nathan Meunier
CCC Staff Contributor