Gamewatcher reviewed Fantasy General II: Evolution, the latest DLC for the game.

It is easy to understand what you’re looking at on the field, and easy to believe the AI understands it to. The AI will use credible tactics to whittle you down while pulling its own injured from the front lines, covering retreats with ranged units and charging your back line to take down wounded soldiers. All in all, this situational awareness makes fights about more than just blobbing.

Speaking of the injured segues nicely to talking about the wound system. Each time a unit is damaged they take wounds that reduce combat efficiency but can be healed by resting the unit. There is also a chance for models in the unit to be permanently killed but for the most part your units can heal and rejoin the fight, leading to some tense retreats and chases.

Now onto the expansion at hand. Evolution isn’t the first DLC for this game and while previous ones have added their own campaigns with unique gameplay styles, you don’t need these to enjoy Evolution, which comes with its entirely new campaign centred on the Lizardfolk.

These Lizardfolk are a predatory race who grow through eating their prey, with the most powerful foes earning you evolution points. When available, these are shown on the campaign map letting you know how many evolution points you will get for completing the scenario there. Note that you must kill the primary target yourself and not let another faction do it to get the points.

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Thanks Farflame!

Explorminate checked out the DLC Fantasy General II: Evolution:

Fantasy General II: Evolution

Fantasy General II has a distinct lack of dull moments. Whether you’re playing as the Norse-inspired barbarians or the necromancy-fueled Empire, the sheer amount of content leaves you unable to disengage. Though I was initially unsure of how interested I was, thanks in part to its uninspired title, I was quickly converted into a fan once I held my breath and dove in.
Battles can get intense. You’ll likely have to manage a dozen or more units spread across multiple fronts if you want to acquire the many rewards of each map.

What is Fantasy General II?

To fully grasp what the Evolution DLC brings to the table, you have to understand what Fantasy General II itself is. If you’ve already dabbled yourself, you’re forgiven for skipping ahead to the next section.

Fantasy General II is a turn-based tactical game that is built upon a foundation of persistent units that are carried over from on scenario to the next. Think Panzer Corps but with dragons, wizards, and walking corpses instead of tanks and bombers.

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The Bottom Line

Evolution is yet another story DLC that’s been released for the already exceptional Fantasy General II. New factions and campaigns are always welcome in the genre and both of these are of a solid quality that’s unlikely to disappoint those returning for another go with the title. I highly recommend the expansion to the converted, but I’d also warn that it doesn’t reinvent the game, and if you found yourself uninterested in it prior to the DLC, this release is unlikely to drastically change your opinion.

Score: 7/10

Thanks Henriquejr!

The Onslaught DLC for Fantasy General II will be released on March 12:

Fantasy General II: Onslaught

Armoured Giant Eagles roar in the sky and nosedive into enemy lines, while flying Night Mares spell doom for their targets down below. A Firebird screams high in the clouds, and a Pegasus-riding Transmuter flings his magical potions at the enemy.

In the war for Keldonia, the sky has become a battlefield.

Death comes from above in the new expansion for Fantasy General II, Onslaught!

13 new aerial units are introduced, greatly expanding the original roster and allowing for daring new tactics and manoeuvres. Eagle Bombers, Firebirds, Pegasus Flamers, Monster Hunters, and more: you’ll have no shortage of options.

Deploy these units in the brand-new ONSLAUGHT campaign, where a strange dream leads you to hunt for the mysterious Book of Krell. The campaign has over 30 procedurally generated maps, from the abandoned castle of King Dragga to the Lizard infested shores of Eastern Keldonia, until you must finally face The Unspeakable.
Choose your General from one of several heroes, each with different skills, armies and advantages, pick your rewards for winning maps and evolve your strategies: the campaign provides endless replayability. Combined with the new Iron Maiden mode, Onslaught offers the ultimate Fantasy General II challenge.

A bonus map has also been added to the Invasion campaign, introducing the new aerial units and a Barbarian Clan of Eagle Riders that you must help in order to gain the Giant Eagle’s support.

Features:

• 13 new aerial units including Giant Eagles, Nightmares, Flamethrowers, Hunters and Firebirds
• A campaign of over 30 procedurally generated maps to choose from providing massive replayability, where you select your preferred hero and go on the hunt for the Book of Krell and face The Unspeakable.
• A new map for the Invasion campaign introducing the aerial units and a Barbarian Clan of Eagle Riders. 

Thanks Ikbenrichard!

The TurnBasedLovers have reviewed Fantasy General II:

Fantasy General II: Invasion – Review

My forces on the battlefield are divided in half… They have been since we arrived at this cursed swamp. Some of the troops are grumbling about my past decisions as their general. Just by my mere presence, their performance is negatively affected. You can’t please everybody, I guess… 

One army group is to the east, mucking through the sludge trying to chase off lizardmen. The other group, my group, is more north-northwest and were trying to skirt around a spider-infested part of the area only to come face to face with a mob of undead Legion troops. So, there’s that… 

I’ve got a single group of recon infantry hidden in a line of trees heading for a site of ancient ruins, with the hope of finding sweet loot for our coffers. That loot will be needed to replenish my troll boulder throwers so they can make a last-ditch, long distant effort in knocking down the morale of a pack of lizardmen skirmishers which, in theory, will chase them off the backs of my surrounded thane and his younglings. All of this, of course, depends on exactly what the recon troops find in the ruins. If it’s anything other than gold… Well, we’ll cross that bridge when we get there…

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With a solid, fun combat system under the hood, a decision-making matrix at the reins, and a gorgeous dynamic world to adventure through, there is room for growth in FG2. Now that the Falirson’s story has been told, what adventures and conquests can we see from other clans of the north? Perhaps even a new land can introduce the Empire’s side of the story! The possibilities are many.

Score: 9/10

PC Invasion has reviewed Fantasy General II:

Fantasy General 2 Review – A never-ending story

A blast from the past!
Truth be told, I have never played the original Fantasy General game which came out back in 1996. It just flew under the radar at a time when I had been focusing more on real-time strategy games and first-person shooters. Having said that, turn-based tactical offerings developed or published by Slitherine always remained a fixture in my library. That brings me to Fantasy General 2 — from developers Owned by Gravity but still published by Slitherine. Is this sequel worth the wait? Or is the 23-year hiatus a bit too much? Let’s find out in our official review.
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The Empire strikes wack
As mentioned, Fantasy General 2 will have you playing as the barbarians led by Falirson for the single-player “Invasion” campaign. That’s basically it. All 30+ missions are from the perspective of the same faction from start to finish. Sooner, rather than later, you might find the experience tiresome. There’s also a short prequel campaign which has you playing as the barbarians… again.

The other playable faction is the Empire, but these lords and ladies are only available for skirmish and multiplayer. Variety for the single-player campaign is sorely lacking, especially once you’ve spent hours going through the motions.

Fantasy General 2 is not a bad game, per se. But, it is sorely lacking in what can be considered as a full-fledged fantasy RPG or fantasy strategy experience. It tries to be both, but without succeeding in either goal. With fantasy themes, it feels like a never-ending story as it is also a never-ending slog to reach the finale.

Score: 7/10

The Strategy-RPG-mix Fantasy General II has been released:

Fantasy General II

Three hundred years have passed since the Shadow Wars have ravaged Keldonia and the world of Aer, and the struggles of the past have long since faded into legends.
In the Highlands of Fareach, Clans of Barbarian warriors have eked out a living in the harsh northern climate, constantly feuding with each other and raiding the wealthier Borderland towns. Fed up with these constant attacks, the Borderland Clans called on the Empire for help – a powerful realm controlling the land from the Scarlett Mountains to Cynehelm Valley and the Hoarwood. The Western Imperial Legion was sent to face the highland raiders, and with the help of the Borderland clans Iseal and Machnar, killed High King Brendan in the battle of Wyrm’s Pass.
A treaty was signed that forbade any clan from crossing into the Borderlands in return for peace. Since then, there has been no High King to unite the Clans, and they fell into quarrelling and raiding amongst themselves.
In these dark times your clan has been led by Falir One-Eye, a warrior of great renown. You are his son and designated heir, and you are eager to prove your mettle to the Clan Council and your father…

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The Legacy
Fantasy General II: Invasion is the reimagination of the strategy game classic from the 90s! Armies once again draw battle-lines on the war-torn land of Keldonia, and a new generation of commanders will test their bravery and tactics against each other. Fantasy wargaming is back!

The Battles
True to the tradition of the original game, Fantasy General II is all about turn-based battles. Lead over 75 different unique unit types, including powerful heroes. Take into consideration terrain, weapons and armour, magical effects, morale, and the balance of forces, make a plan, execute it, and vanquish your enemy, forging your reputation as a savage war-leader.

The Campaign
Battle after battle, you will need to make decisions and develop your army. The young clan members will need to be trained, and as they gain enough experience, even the greenest recruits can be turned into champions. But beware: costly victories can be worse than a defeat… when battle-hardened units perish, so does their progression and experience.Each unit comes with their specific abilities, arms and armour, and they can be equipped with magic artefacts you find during battle and upgraded with gold and resources that you need to plunder from your enemy.

The Clans
A confederation of autonomous hill-land tribes, who value their independence and will fight fiercely for it. Field axemen, berserkers, spearmaidens, trolls and shamans, summon ancestor spirits and mighty elementals or train nimble stag riders and deadly werebears or recruit mercenaries from longbowmen to centaurs.

The Empire
The most powerful realm on the face of Aer.Face the mighty Legions of the Empire and their magical creations from dragon cannons to golems as well as the Undead hordes they bring to battle, or fight harpies, lizard people and great dragons on your way.

The World
The world of Aer is filled with beauty and wonders. From the cold, magic-rich highlands of Fareach, home to the player’s Barbarian Clans, to the Borderlands with their fertile river valleys and deep woods where witches and monsters still roam free; from the Sunken Land, submerged through a great Cataclysm and filled with treacherous swamp and Lizardfolk, to the refined and temperate Empire to the South, home to wondrous cities and built upon undead labour. Your campaign will see you fight across very different battlefields, requiring variable tactics and army composition.