Porcozaur spotted that Spellforce 2 got some nice updates in an Anniversary Edition:

Introducing SpellForce 2 - Anniversary Edition

Hello everyone,

This month SpellForce 2 celebrate its 11 Anniversary and for this we wanted to offer you some fixes and improvements - introducing SpellForce 2 - Anniversary Edition.

Anniversary Edition Features

• Re-implemented multiplayer and NAT traversal for a smooth online experience
• Many technical Bugfixes
• Additions and Fixes for the Free Game Mode
• Widescreen Support
• Full compatibility with modern operating systems

Major Engine & Technical Re-Design/Re-Work

• Grass rendering improved
• View distance improvements
• Improved trees (trunk/branch)
• Improved leaf rendering (add leaf subsurface scattering)
• Improved lighting (per pixel, basic Bidirectional reflectance distribution function specular, rim light, view dependent ambient, etc)
• Improved shadows (soft shadows, percentage-closer filtering)
• Shader Model 3.0 usage only

Enjoy!

A gallery of Spellforce 2: Faith in Destiny screens is up at GameSpot.

JoWood has announced Spellforce 2: Faith in Destiny.  Of course, Phenomic was bought by EA some time back, so this is a different development team.  Here's the PR:

Vienna, Austria, May 26th; 2009; JoWooD Productions and DreamCatcher Games announce that a sequel to the successful SpellForce saga will soon be released. SpellForce 2 – Faith in Destiny combines real time strategy with exciting role-play elements. Be part of the story, when all the loose ends tie up in a grandiose showdown between good and evil. Only you can conquer the shadows of the past and reveal the demonic conspiracy.

“Developing another game in the SpellForce saga is an exciting opportunity for us. Faith of Destiny is developed incorporating feedback from the community and feedback from those who have assisted in the development of previous Spellforce games,” says Clemens Schneidhofer, PR Coordinator at JoWooD Productions. “I’d like to add that we bow before the loyal fans of the brand and want to thank all of them for their amazing support.”

“SpellForce 2 – Faith in Destiny will continue the successful Spellforce brand” adds David Skreiner, Associate Producer at JoWooD. “With its brand new multiplayer features and the countless detail improvements, SpellForce will, once more, set new revolutionary impulses to the genre."


Release: Winter 2009
Platform: PC

Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars and its expansion pack Dragon Storm were released yesterday on Valve's digital distribution platform, Steam.

The game and expansion are $19.99 each or $29.99 when you buy them together.

Spellforce Universe is a collection of Spellforce: The Order of Dawn, Spellforce 2: Shadow Wars and Dragon Storm.  Strategy Informer has kicked up a review of the bundle and the score is 8/10:

SpellForce’s RPG side is no Diablo II, and the RTS side is no WarCraft III, but together, they do quite well. It has a clever way of handling each game’s concepts; for example, the research for the RTS side of the game is handled through finding specific bits of loot in the RPG side. It’s not all rosy, though, as SpellForce’s effectiveness in both the RPG and RTS sides is hampered by a clunky interface, which often makes it difficult to determine which characters on-screen are yours. The maps are also very linear, with each area featuring only one pre-determined, and often long-winded path. Neither of the add-on packs fix these shortcomings, simply offering more of the same enjoyable, yet slightly flawed gameplay.

Spellforce 2 has been reviewed at ComputerGames.ro, where the score is 85%:

At the first contact with the game you will notice its RPG features. Just like in the first Spellforce, before you can start the single-player campaign you’ll have to create a character (avatar) that will see your adventures through to the end of the game. There aren’t many customization options at first, having the possibility to chose the sex, one of some predefined faces and the name of your avatar. One thing to note is that the avatar belongs to the Shaikan, a race that shares their blood with that of a dragon, which makes them very powerful and almost immortal. When a Shaikan dies, he or she can be resurrected by another Shaikan hero with the help of a special ritual, but that can be done in a limited amount of time after his or her death. When one of your heroes dies, he can also be resurrected at an “altar of life” which will cost you some lenya.

Spellforce: The Order of Dawn was predominantly an RTS game with RPG elements. Spellforce 2 however, leans a lot more towards the RPG theme which we were very happy to see. The thing about playing an RPG game that blends genres is that at times, you feel the pace of the game changes a little too much to enjoy it. In the single player game, we found that playing your character through the RPG storyline and dialogue worked really well and synched with the RTS elements perfectly. But the pace of the game alters as soon as you stop to engage in the RTS aspect of the game. We thought this seriously detracted from the engaging storyline.

There is a new retail patch for SpellForce 2 - Shadow Wars to update the Polish edition of this fantasy 3D role-playing strategy sequel by Phenomic Development to version 1.02a. This release addresses an issue with the 1024x768 graphics resolution.

:SpellForce 2 is a fifty-fifty mix of action-RPG and RTS. You explore 20 large islands with your party, battle enemies, solve quests and collect loot. Sooner or later you'll run into a situation requiring more firepower and then you'll ramp up a base and build an army with your party and a faction-dependent titan -- the most powerful units. The ultimate goal of every map is to access the gate to the next map. Spread all over the maps are teleporters; the avatar can travel between them, even across islands, which is quite helpful when doing sub-quests.

I would readily recommend Shadow Wars to anyone out there. This hybrid of two different genres was engaging and a twist that sets SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars apart from the majority of RTS or role-playing games out there. The vastness of the world is both welcoming and overwhelming at times, but it adds much to the playability and length of SpellForce 2.

Jowood has released the first patch for Phenomic's RTS/RPG hybrid. This update brings your retail game to v1.02 and addresses various bugs, crashes and other enhancements, but most importantly adds the editor, which allows you to create your own thrilling PvP and free-game maps, this is the perfect tool for dedicated multiplayer fans.

There is a lot of content in SpellForce 2. Not only do you get a lengthy campaign, but there's also a free mode which serves as a second mini-campaign, even though there's no storyline (which isn't necessarily a bad thing). You get around 30 maps and several new quests. Better still, you can play these maps via co-op mode with up to two buddies, which is an absolute blast and by far the best way to play in free mode. There's still more meat on the bone, though. Also included in the package is skirmish mode for both single player and multiplayer. Multiplayer matchmaking is a bit problematic (for North Americans, anyway) because the vast majority of people in the lobby don't speak English. Apparently, SpellForce 2 is much more popular in Germany.

To blend both RTS & RPG games together in one title is a very ambitious task that Spellforce 2 actually pulled off pretty well. Playing the single player campaign, you create an Avatar that serves as the central character through the game, and pick up heroes, whom you can mold and shape. Pick up weapons, level up, and add skills in a robust skill tree (tons of them!) just like your favorite RPG game, such as Dungeon Siege. Experience points are picked up from killing boss monsters, or finishing secondary or primary quests. From there, you can control armies and bases just like an RTS title such as WarCraft III, building up particular structures, creating units, and conquering the map against the enemy. The missions are lengthy and the first player campaign will keep gamers entertained for 40 hours minimum.

Sadly, SpellForce 2 will probably suffer the fate of other misunderstood greats: gamers who played the cruder (but promising) Spellforce may be understandably wary, and anyone tired of Diablo-cum-Dungeon Siege will probably view it as "sequel shovelware." But try it and see for yourself. For just forty bucks, you're getting the gaming equivalent of a giganto-Whatchamacallit bar.

The story is boring, it doesn't appeal to me and I sometimes couldn't follow it, mainly because of the references to the first Spellforce. In this campaign the loading times are also too long, luckily this isn't the case in the other game modes. The quests do make playing fun because of their variation.

We want RPG players to like this game because it is a fully-fledged RPG where you own whole countries and command whole armies. You all know these RPGs where you end up having godlike powers, but somehow all you own is what you can carry? Where you hear of whole armies roaming the land, but somehow it is always just you and your buddies fighting a handful of monsters? Well, in SpellForce 2, you can go to battle with a real army and you even get your own realm to protect and develop.

SpellForce 2 is, in general, an entertaining game that I found a worthwhile experience. It offers a pretty complete combination of two different genres. The problem is (as I've been told by several developers in the past) creating a pure mix of genres as different as RTS and RPG can be incredibly difficult. The challenge isn't just making a good game, it's making two good games and integrating them seamlessly. SpellForce 2 actually does a very admirable job of it as well. It's a better game than its predecessor, simplifying bits where they needed to be, but it still suffers from some hybrid inadequacies.