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Defender of the Crown puts you in the role of one of four Saxon knights in
medieval England, in a time where the land is in turmoil as the King is dead and his
crown was stolen. The Saxons and the Normans blame each other and fight for control
of England. After a short introduction by Robin of Locksley himself, you start the
game with a single castle and 10 soldiers at your command. From there, you have to
build your army, take control of additional territories and fight the three Norman
lords - and sometimes your Saxon friends as well. The game has several different
styles: You may either engage in a jousting contest where you have to knock your
opponent off his horse using a lance, you can go raid a castle for loot or you can
attack another territory/castle. The game was originally created on the Amiga
platform in 1986 by Cinemaware with wonderful graphics by James D. Sachs and great
music by Jim Cuomo, then ported to the PC whilst keeping its original appeal and
quality. It's unquestionably Cinemaware's best game, and one of the best Amiga
games ever released (although the PC version offers no less gameplay, it pales in
comparison to the vibrant graphics and amazing soundtrack of the Amiga version).
What makes this game a classic is the masterful blend of action, adventure, and
strategy game elements. The basic object is to take over all of medieval Britain by
capturing the home castle of each leader. You do this with a campaign army made up
of soldiers, knights, and catapults. Besides fighting other armies and taking over
their castles, you can also conduct raids and participate in jousts, which can be
played either for fame or for land. In a raid, you can raid a rivals castle for gold,
or if the chance arrives, rescue a saxon maiden who will become your wife. Jousting
experienced opponents can be a chore, as can the side-scrolling sword fights that
take place during the raid or maiden rescue. But it still is one of the most
atmospheric and truly cinematic games you'll likely find. As with all other
Cinemaware games, beautifully drawn intermissions and cutscenes are included. A rarer
EGA version of the game was released by Mirrorsoft which puts it on par with the
Commodore 64 version, with vibrant graphics and the same gameplay that we all know
and love. In 1989, a CD-Rom Version was released by Mirrorsoft in Europe with CD-quality music and voice dubbing. In 2002, a Digitally Remastered Collector's Edition was released which featured enhanced graphics and sounds effects that take advantage of modern technology. It also had never-before-seen screens and material that was cut from
the original titles. |