They say that revenge is a dish best served cold and nothing screams revenge more than years of wrongful incarceration. Having succumbed to madness following years of incarceration at the hands of her husband, disgraced noblewoman Cassia now has only one goal: to take revenge on him and seize his throne, no matter the cost. Teaming up with the infamous Blackguards and a loyal but ruthless army of sellswords, she heads out to wage an unrelenting war against the entirety of southern Aventuria. But for Cassia, time itself is a mighty foe, with each passing day taking a greater toll on her sanity...

Blackguards 2 is a turn-based tactical RPG delivering challenging hexfield battles and a gritty story of revenge. Choose your play style by specializing in melee and ranged combat, or by wielding devastating magical spells. Develop cunning strategies to overcome merciless foes. Every action has far reaching consequences, as every decision you make is a march against your own descent into madness.

Here you can recruit mercenaries, find upgrades and build an indomitable army. The game offers an open, dynamic world map which changes according to your strategic decisions. A story with many twists and turns, fateful decisions and more than 20 hours of challenging gameplay awaits you. You must choose your spells, talents and skills wisely to shape your strategy on the battlefield. And finally will you play as a tyrant or saint: On your path of vengeance, choose to be a feared conqueror or merciful liberator.

I was slightly concerned by the "more than 20 hours of challenging gameplay awaits you." I usually find if a game's developers proudly proclaim you'll have X amount of hours of entertainment then this is normally the maximum length of the campaign mode. To be fair, if you savour the game and take your time it should stretch a little.

If you're a lover of turn-based RPGs then you may find Blackguards 2 offers something for you, personally I thought it was a little over priced and brought nothing new to the table.

5

Nick Smithson