SpellForce Reviews

A trio of reviews for Phenomic and JoWood's SpellForce: The Order of Dawn hit the web over the past couple of days. The first can be found at GameSpot with an overall score of 7.9/10:
Fortunately, although the game's impressive visuals are best appreciated on a proportionately high-end computer, most any fan of high fantasy should be able to appreciate SpellForce's effective combination of role-playing and strategy elements. Oddly, SpellForce doesn't have any single-player skirmish maps, and its dozen multiplayer maps aren't seeing much competition online (as of this writing). However, the game does have a sizeable single-player campaign, and its unusual character development system will likely make you want to restart a few games just to try out the different character abilities to see how an advanced character with different skills works in practice. SpellForce has a lot going for it, and it definitely sets itself apart from other, more conventional real-time strategy games.

The second is over at High School Gamers with an overall score of 7.5/10:
While I have never been a fan of Fantasy games, and even had trouble sitting through (The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers) without making fun of it MST3K style, this game has made me fall in love with the genre and opened my eyes to a whole other world that I had been missing. Terrible voice acting aside, the gameplay is one of the most enjoyable systems I have ever encountered, and the graphics manage to hold their own especially in comparison to other RTS games. Whether or not you are a fan of the genre or merely like the idea of a role playing game coming together with a real-time strategy simulation, (SpellForce: The Order Of Dawn) is a much needed addition to any gamer's library.

And the third is at Final-Level with an overall score of 4/5:
It has to be said that neither of these welded on genres are totally successful in SpellForce. Rise of Nations and Age of Empires deliver a more dedicated and in depth RTS and there are several RPG's that are way better in scope and detail for hardcore adventurers. But as a smooth and seamless package SpellForce is not only a brave and somewhat innovative game, it is also decent fun and has a certain charm and difference that may well warm you to it. And at the end of the day, flitting from a distant viewpoint to personally walking about your own village, examining at close hand your own creation and inspecting your troops eye to eye is completely cool.