Bruce Von Stiers

There is a game called Hundred Swords that Sega came out with. Originally, it was on the Dreamcast console platform. But with Dreamcast going the way of the dinosaur, Sega decided to port it to PC. Now Activision, in their Value division, has released the PC version of Hundred Swords. Is it as good as the Dreamcast version? I don’t know, not having played that version of the game. Is it any good at all? I thought so, but my resident expert (my 14 year old son) didn’t think it was worth playing after the first half hour.

The plot of the game involves a young warrior prince named Larf. The people of Nalavale want him as their king. An arranged marriage is supposed to happen between Larf and the beautiful Fals of Gran. The two countries will have an ironclad alliance due to the marriage of their two leaders. But wait! There is a land between the two countries known as Mascar. The leader of the people of Mascar, Rentze, must stop the union at all costs. Thus the subterfuge and battles begin.

This is an RTS game that might have been in the same class as Starcraft or Warcraft but kind of gets bogged down by not letting more flexibility in troop and individual warrior movements. The battle units get cranked out faster that in some other RTS games though.

The AI in the game isn’t too bad, although the enemies could have been a little tougher to defeat than they were.

The graphics didn’t quite seem to make the transition from console to PC platform too well. The colors seem somewhat flat. The characters seem to move fairly fluidly, although some are slow and blocky looking. The characters are drawn basically as 2D.

The game does have a multiplayer option. This is good for those gamers looking for an online RTS game and are tired of playing Starcraft. Up to four players can get in on a multiplayer game.

If you are looking for a cheap RTS game to keep you busy for a little while, then Hundred Swords would be a good buy. It has a lot of good elements, even though my son told me he got bored with it fairly quickly. But he thinks he’s the consummate gamer and I’m “just old”

Run by and check out the game at your local retailer. It should be listed at under $30. You can also order it online from Activision at www.activisionvalue.com.