Software:King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame

From HandWiki
King Arthur II:
The Role-Playing Wargame
Developer(s)NeocoreGames
Publisher(s)Paradox Interactive
SeriesKing Arthur
Platform(s)Windows
ReleaseJanuary 27, 2012[1]
Genre(s)Real-time tactics, turn-based strategy, role-playing
Mode(s)Single-player

King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame is a real-time tactics and role-playing video game and a sequel to Software:King Arthur: The Role-Playing Wargame, released online in Europe on September 20, 2011, and then worldwide in 2012. It was developed by NeocoreGames and published by Paradox Interactive. It blends elements of the real-time tactics, role-playing, and grand strategy genres into one.

Gameplay

Battle gameplay screenshot

Gameplay in King Arthur II is a mix of real-time strategy, role-playing, and grand strategy elements. The grand strategy portion of the game is played on a large campaign map of Britannia. Unlike its predecessor, King Arthur II does not feature multiplayer.

Plot

There are two campaigns in the game, a prologue with only one chapter, and the main story, spanning several chapters. In the prologue, the player takes the role of Septimus Sulla, heir to one of the Roman families that ruled in Britannia south of Hadrian's Wall. The prologue details Septimus' rise to power and eventual descent into madness.

In the main campaign, the player takes over the role of William Pendragon, son of the once and future King Arthur. Arthur lies mortally stricken by a magical curse and several of the figures of Arthurian legend are missing when William steps up to unite the provinces that once made up Arthur's kingdom, fight back the Fomorians unleashed by the Witch Queen Morgawse from the Orkney Islands and find a way to heal his father.

As in the previous game, other heroes join the army of William and, eventually, a second army led by the sorceress Morgana Le Fay becomes available as William allows her to search in the name of King Arthur for her mentor Merlin, who was kidnapped by the enchantress Lady Nimue. Over the course of the game, Septimus Sulla attacks from the North.

King Arthur II: Dead Legions

An expansion pack King Arthur II: Dead Legions was released alongside the launch of the base game on January 27, 2012, and was released later in Japan on September 7, 2012.

Reception

Reception
Aggregate score
AggregatorScore
Metacritic66/100[2]
Review scores
PublicationScore
Destructoid7/10[3]
Eurogamer5/10[4]
Game Informer10/10[5]
GameSpot5.5/10[6]
GameSpyStarStar[7]
GamesRadar+StarStarStarHalf star[8]
IGN6/10[9]
PC Gamer (UK)77%[10]
PC PowerPlay6/10[11]
The Digital Fix7/10[12]
The EscapistStarStarStar[13]

The game received "average" reviews according to the review aggregation website Metacritic.[2] From release, the game was plagued with various bugs. A string of patches were deployed to address these issues within days of release.

References

  1. ↑ "King Arthur II - The Role-playing Wargame Demo Released!". January 26, 2012. http://www.paradoxplaza.com/press/2012/1/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame-demo-released. 
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 "King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame for PC Reviews". https://www.metacritic.com/game/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame/critic-reviews/?platform=pc. 
  3. ↑ Tan, Maurice (February 5, 2012). "King Arthur II - The Role-playing Wargame". https://www.destructoid.com/review-king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame-221049.phtml. 
  4. ↑ Dean, Paul (February 9, 2012). "King Arthur 2 [sic Review"]. http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2012-02-09-king-arthur-2-review. 
  5. ↑ Biessener, Adam (February 2, 2012). "King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame: Lack Of Depth Limits This Fantastic Idea". Game Informer. https://www.gameinformer.com/games/king_arthur_ii_the_role-playing_wargame/b/pc/archive/2012/02/02/review.aspx. Retrieved December 5, 2016. 
  6. ↑ Wilson, Jason (February 16, 2012). "King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame Review". http://www.gamespot.com/reviews/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame-review/1900-6350334/. 
  7. ↑ Zacny, Rob (February 10, 2012). "GameSpy: King Arthur 2: The Role-Playing Wargame Review". GameSpy. http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame/1218515p1.html. 
  8. ↑ Groen, Andrew (February 7, 2012). "King Arthur 2: The Roleplaying Wargame [sic review"]. GamesRadar. http://www.gamesradar.com/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame-review/. 
  9. ↑ Neigher, Eric (February 14, 2012). "King Arthur II [The Role-Playing Wargame Review"]. http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/02/14/king-arthur-ii-review. 
  10. ↑ Geere, Duncan (May 2012). "King Arthur 2: The Role-Playing Wargame review". PC Gamer UK: 76. http://www.pcgamer.com/king-arthur-2-the-role-playing-wargame-review/. Retrieved December 6, 2016. 
  11. ↑ Cocks, Nathan (April 2012). "Review: King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame". PC PowerPlay (202): 64. http://www.pcpowerplay.com.au/review/king-arthur-ii-the-roleplaying-wargame,389858. Retrieved December 6, 2016. 
  12. ↑ Howard, Luciano (February 9, 2012). "King Arthur II: The Role-Playing Wargame". The Digital Fix. http://gaming.thedigitalfix.com/content/id/658/king-arthur-ii-the-role-playing-wargame.html. 
  13. ↑ Clouse, Justin (February 12, 2012). "King Arthur II Review". The Escapist. http://www.escapistmagazine.com/articles/view/video-games/editorials/reviews/9407-King-Arthur-II-Review. Retrieved December 6, 2016. 
  • Official website
  • MobyGames is a commercial database website that catalogs information on video games and the people and companies behind them via crowdsourcing. This includes over 300,000 games for hundreds of platforms.[1] Founded in 1999, ownership of the site has changed hands several times. It has been owned by Atari SA since 2022.

Features

Edits and submissions to the site (including screenshots, box art, developer information, game summaries, and more) go through a verification process of fact-checking by volunteer "approvers".[2] This approval process after submission can range from minutes to days or months.[3] The most commonly used sources are the video game's website, packaging, and credit screens. There is a published standard for game information and copy-editing.[4] A ranking system allows users to earn points for contributing accurate information.[5]

Registered users can rate and review games. Users can create private or public "have" and "want" lists, which can generate a list of games available for trade with other registered users. The site contains an integrated forum. Each listed game can have its own sub-forum.

History

Logo used until March 2014

MobyGames was founded on March 1, 1999, by Jim Leonard and Brian Hirt, and joined by David Berk 18 months later, the three of which had been friends since high school.[6][7] Leonard had the idea of sharing information about computer games with a larger audience. The database began with information about games for IBM PC compatibles, relying on the founders' personal collections. Eventually, the site was opened up to allow general users to contribute information.[5] In a 2003 interview, Berk emphasized MobyGames' dedication to taking video games more seriously than broader society and to preserving games for their important cultural influence.[5]

In mid-2010, MobyGames was purchased by GameFly for an undisclosed amount.[8] This was announced to the community post factum , and the site's interface was given an unpopular redesign.[7] A few major contributors left, refusing to do volunteer work for a commercial website.{{Citation needed|date=June 2025} On December 18, 2013, MobyGames was acquired by Jeremiah Freyholtz, owner of Blue Flame Labs (a San Francisco-based game and web development company) and VGBoxArt (a site for fan-made video game box art).[9] Blue Flame Labs reverted MobyGames' interface to its pre-overhaul look and feel,[10] and for the next eight years, the site was run by Freyholtz and Independent Games Festival organizer Simon Carless.[7]

On November 24, 2021, Atari SA announced a potential deal with Blue Flame Labs to purchase MobyGames for $1.5 million.[11] The purchase was completed on 8 March 2022, with Freyholtz remaining as general manager.[12][13][14] Over the next year, the financial boost given by Atari led to a rework of the site being built from scratch with a new backend codebase, as well as updates improving the mobile and desktop user interface.[1] This was accomplished by investing in full-time development of the site instead of its previously part-time development.[15]

In 2024, MobyGames began offering a paid "Pro" membership option for the site to generate additional revenue.[16] Previously, the site had generated income exclusively through banner ads and (from March 2014 onward) a small number of patrons via the Patreon website.[17]

On February 13, 2025, Freyholtz stepped down as the site lead to move onto new projects, leaving operations to Tracy Poff, a veteran coder on the site, and Atari staff.[18]

See also

  • IGDB – game database used by Twitch for its search and discovery functions

References

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 Sheehan, Gavin (2023-02-22). "Atari Relaunches The Fully Rebuilt & Optimized MobyGames Website". https://bleedingcool.com/games/atari-relaunches-the-fully-rebuilt-optimized-mobygames-website/. 
  2. ↑ Litchfield, Ted (2021-11-26). "Zombie company Atari to devour MobyGames". https://www.pcgamer.com/zombie-company-atari-to-devour-mobygames/. 
  3. ↑ "MobyGames FAQ: Emails Answered § When will my submission be approved?". Blue Flame Labs. 30 March 2014. http://www.mobygames.com/info/faq7#g1. 
  4. ↑ "The MobyGames Standards and Practices". Blue Flame Labs. 6 January 2016. http://www.mobygames.com/info/standards. 
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Miller, Stanley A. (2003-04-22). "People's choice awards honor favorite Web sites". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. 
  6. ↑ "20 Years of MobyGames" (in en). 2019-02-28. https://trixter.oldskool.org/2019/02/28/20-years-of-mobygames/. 
  7. ↑ 7.0 7.1 7.2 Plunkett, Luke (2022-03-10). "Atari Buys MobyGames For $1.5 Million". https://kotaku.com/mobygames-retro-credits-database-imdb-atari-freyholtz-b-1848638521. 
  8. ↑ "Report: MobyGames Acquired By GameFly Media". Gamasutra. 2011-02-07. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/game-platforms/report-mobygames-acquired-by-gamefly-media. 
  9. ↑ Corriea, Alexa Ray (December 31, 2013). "MobyGames purchased from GameFly, improvements planned". http://www.polygon.com/2013/12/31/5261414/mobygames-purchased-from-gamefly-improvements-planned. 
  10. ↑ Wawro, Alex (31 December 2013). "Game dev database MobyGames getting some TLC under new owner". Gamasutra. https://www.gamedeveloper.com/business/game-dev-database-mobygames-getting-some-tlc-under-new-owner. 
  11. ↑ "Atari invests in Anstream, may buy MobyGames". November 24, 2021. https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2021-11-24-atari-invests-in-anstream-may-buy-mobygames. 
  12. ↑ Rousseau, Jeffrey (2022-03-09). "Atari purchases Moby Games". https://www.gamesindustry.biz/atari-purchases-moby-games. 
  13. ↑ "Atari Completes MobyGames Acquisition, Details Plans for the Site's Continued Support". March 8, 2022. https://www.atari.com/atari-completes-mobygames-acquisition-details-plans-for-the-sites-continued-support/. 
  14. ↑ "Atari has acquired game database MobyGames for $1.5 million" (in en-GB). 2022-03-09. https://www.videogameschronicle.com/news/atari-has-acquired-game-database-mobygames-for-1-5-million/. 
  15. ↑ Stanton, Rich (2022-03-10). "Atari buys videogame database MobyGames for $1.5 million". https://www.pcgamer.com/atari-buys-videogame-database-mobygames-for-dollar15-million/. 
  16. ↑ Harris, John (2024-03-09). "MobyGames Offering “Pro” Membership". https://setsideb.com/mobygames-offering-pro-membership/. 
  17. ↑ "MobyGames on Patreon". http://www.patreon.com/mobygames. 
  18. ↑ "An update on MobyGames leadership". 2025-02-13. https://www.mobygames.com/forum/3/thread/269628/an-update-on-mobygames-leadership/#post-269628. 
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