Celtic Tales : Balor of Evil Eye
The game is brilliant, and quite an original turn-based strategy. You give orders to your champions and they will spend next month according to your orders. They do jobs in your provinces such as chopping trees, improving farmland but are also your troops. Each champion has his own skills and character. Whole Eire is divided into provinces, and in every province there is a village, citadel and tent. In the village you can see people's will, create items, move your champions to other provinces and so on. In the citadel you'll be able to attack other provinces, dismiss champion, go to steal cattle, etc... If a champion is currently in your province, you'll be able to talk to him or recruit him in your tent. Slowly build up your tribe. There has to be one High Ruler who will unite entire Eire and lead people in battle against mighty Balor
5
Contribution by marko river
Balor of the Evil Eye is an excellent strategy sleeper that never received sufficient publicity because KOEI abandoned the PC market at the time for console products. Which is very unfortunate, because Balor of the Evil Eye is an attractive and thoroughly original approach to turn-based fantasy gaming. The game is set in ancient Ireland, where you rule one of 18 small tribes. Your goal is to become High Ruler and lead a united people against evil Balor. You can employ military and diplomatic tactics toward your goal, seeking to gain allies while you develop the power and size of your tribe. As your renown spreads, champions will flock to your banner. They can cast spells, create magical items, improve buildings, and perform a variety of other important tasks. Fans of Koei's earlier releases (e.g. Romance of the Three Kingdoms (RtK) series, Nobunaga's Ambition) will be happy to know that Balor features a sophisticated AI that is much better and more "human-like" than KOEI's previous efforts (and in particular the disappointing RtK 4), and a strong personnel management system that has been the hallmark of KOEI's games. Neutral and enemy players act rationally and in accord with the
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ir predesigned personalities. Friendly champions may even disregard your commands in certain situations. The game's isometric landscape (previously used only in battle mode in KOEI's earlier games) is beautifully designed, and its menus are well chosen. Complex like all KOEI games, Balor repays the investment of time with plenty of configuration options and surprising random events. Unique subject matter, deep gameplay, and high replayability makes Balor a much-overlooked underdog, and arguably KOEI's last great strategy game for the PC. Thumbs up!
Review and game data © Home of the Underdogs
Rate:
(4 ratings)
(4 ratings)
Genre:
Strategy
Software house:
KOEI Co., Ltd.
Developer:
KOEI
Publisher:
KOEI
Year:
1995
System:
DOS
URL
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