With that said, Lionheart King’s Crusade is a fun strategy game with RPG elements. The promise of DLC packs sounds encouraging and hopefully multiplayer game play takes off because the game is fun to play when it works. I’m personally not comfortable with religious warfare, but if you don’t mind that aspect or possible desktop crashes you may find this game enjoyable.

Another thoroughly enjoyable RPG/Strategy/Tactical hybrid from the makers of King Arthur:The Roleplaying War Game.

With an emphasis far more strongly focused on tactics than RPG (unlike its predecessor, which went the opposite direction), this game sets itself apart from King Arthur from the get-go, despite the vast similarities in interface.

It consists of two distinctly different campaigns, one for the Crusaders (the easier of the two) and one for Saladin's army. Unlike King Arthur, neither campaign has a linear, rail-driven story. Lionheart feels a bit more like a Total War title, with its free-form campaigning and ability to control your conquests on the map without worrying about botching up the plot.

The combat is almost identical to King Arthur, which puts it basically on par with earlier Total War titles, but with the inclusion of strategic mission objectives.

You do have the ability to cultivate 'hero' characters and level them up as they accrue experience, but don't expect to have more than 2-3 of these characters per campaign. Unlike King Arthur (where you could have 15 split into a dozen different army stacks), you have a very finite unit limit and relatively few of your available slots will be allocated to heroes at all. That said, the process of leveling (and gearing) them up is quite rewarding and enjoyable.

All in all, this is a worthy follow-up title to King Arthur:TRPWG. I enjoyed it slightly less, because I found KA's atmospheric storyline and world to be a bit more engrossing. But there is much to be said for taking all of the finer points of that engine and transplanting them to a much more freeform game of conquest.

A solid offering that I was plesantly suprised by. The campaign is fun and engaging, and getting to pick new untis and perks really helps to add replayability. Some battles can tend to seem all alike, but there is some variety. The AI holds it's own well enough for a gamer to enjoy it and fell some tension during battle.

A realitily cheap game for what you get and it will suprose you with its replayability.