It's released 

I was going to buy Majesty II. As I understand there is no squirmish/sandbox play, and it is putting me off the order for now. I play single player only and I cannot believe that a game like this doesnt have more single player focus than a short campaign.

Can you play local multiplayer with one license, like you can for Demigod?

I cancelled my pre-order after hearing there's no skirmish play, but if the multiplayer makes a fun family game, I might reconsider. The kids liked Majesty, but I wouldn't buy several licenses of the new game for the few times they'd play.

You're kidding me?  I was considering buying it up until I read that.

What were the devs thinking?

Look here for example:

http://forum.paradoxplaza.com/forum/showthread.php?t=431901

I've only played the first 2 missions but so far Clerics are new, I can set different types of flags including defence flags.  I can buy more skills for my heroes.  There seems to be more effort to distinguish the Heroes, such as rangers best vs beasts and Clerics best vs Undead.  The blacksmith is handled differently.  There is now a point to an Inn and Trade Posts make more sense as a game mechanic.

There's a hell of a lot of things the same including the unit speach which is great but 2 missions in it does feel like a sequal.

Despite Stardock confirming I'd cancelled it, I received it anyway. Bother.

Some folks might love it but I'm wishing my cancellation had been honoured. It's pretty and has the same voice acting as the original. Another (big) positive is the Impulse DRM; I can play LAN multiplayer with one license, like with Demigod.

The list of negatives is longer. There are no random maps, no co-op, no 'freeplay' / 'carry on after mission ends'. The hero AI has many problems, such as heroes ignoring the fact that the building they are in is being attacked.

It's one of those games where they wrote the graphics and sound part first, then programmed the game logic with whatever spare time they had left.

In general it needs much more micromanagement than the original game; you need to place _lots_ of flags, especially defence flags, to achieve anything close to the intelligence of the original game.

I'd recommend that fans of the original should reinstall that, and also look at the Tropico demo. People new to the series could buy this version if they have money and time to burn, as it is pretty and quite fun for a time, and they'd find the gameplay to be original.

I'm disappointed with the game too. Feels like a reskin of the original with less options (No sandbox???)

Also, I found the original to be funnier and that gave it more charm.

Ok I've played over half the game now so will show my findings:

Pros:

The humour is good and made me chuckle a couple of times during the advisors mission briefings.  Some of the monster descriptions when you hover over them are great too.

The voices are good for the heroes, many exactly the same as the original which is great.

The new flags are very good.  It's a great idea to be able to tell your heroes not to go near something or to be able to get them to defend.

Some new options of upgrading buildings to be able to buy heroes new abilities is a nice addition.

Cons:

Heroes aren't as vulnerable at first like in Majesty 1 so to make up for it they seem to pump a constant supply of monsters at the City.  This has huge negative effects to the gameplay though.  For one thing your heroes are constantly defending and rarely ever explore.  It can be stupidly frustrating to build in certain locations because there are sewers spewing out ratmen and rats constantly.

Heroes don't feel like they are simulated adventurers like in the original, they feel super dumb and basic.  You have to set flags even to get them to explore.  If you set an attack flag somewhere heroes will go in to a mode of "Attacking target" and run to the target, but this is so stupid because if any monsters hit them on their way they ignore them and carry on running.

Another wierd thing about the hero AI is they will never interact with a monster den/dungeon unless you put an attack flag on it.  Rogues don't ever loot dungeons and it's very rare for heroes to bother looking for treasure around the lands unless they happen to be there because of an attack flag.  Related to this If I put 100g on an attack flag it will only be rogues and elves that respond, with no variation, as I up the value more class types respond, there's no feeling of individual heroes, just a blanket personality based on hard rules.

Getting a statue is necessary to get the heroes to defend buildings.  In Majesty 1 you could make guilds be the outer most buildings and heroes would come out when attacked, in this game they just stay in doors...

Levels typically are exactly the same every time.  Start with Marketplace and at least a couple of guilds, research health pots etc etc.  The only thing I vary is if I get clerics first when undead are attacking or another guild instead.  Basically you end up being tight on money for most of the game until you have most things out and then all of a sudden you have way more money than you ever need.  By the time you are established enough to be able to defend Trade Posts you don't need the extra money anyway.

They really needed more time refining this game.  Looking at what made Majesty 1 so great and making sure they didn't lose that.  The dumbed down hero AI and the fact that they don't really do anything other than defend the city unless you tell them to has really spoiled the experience so far for me.  I'll probably finish the game eventually but I'm really hoping for a patch or mod that changes the balance of the game to feel more like the superior prequel.  I'm yet to try the multiplayer.

I have to generally agree with Haree's review of the game.  I still do enjoy the game but it has lost something.  I believe the designers licensed an RTS game engine from another company and the limitations of that engine are pretty glaring.

I havent played the first one, so i cant judge the whole sequel thing.

But i think its one of the best games released this year. Its just simple fun.

I'm glad you and others are enjoying the game OsirisDawn.

I tried the demo and have been reading the forums at Paradox. M2 does have some improvements and I expect that some good patches will happen. But what about replayability? The game got released with no possibility for random maps. It comes to my mind Hinterland, which is a simpler game that came out last year. I continue to occasionally play it because each new game has a new territory to explore and conquer. M1 had this 10 years ago, and I still play it for the same reasons. But now comes a sequel based on a very limited and outdated 3D engine...

To me, it's not appealing at all to get the full price of a game that will last me some days and then it's forgotten. I have too many of those already. I'll wait and see for the upcoming patches and will possibly get M2 when the price drops. The game does seem good while the campaign lasts, though the AI and character personality is lacking ATM.

This is sad in more ways than one. The big games get regionally restricted while the rushed ones get worldwide releases. The digital gaming world is upside down...

That would be nice indeed!

Awesome suggestions there. I too hope to see this implemented. Did you happen to post that in the M2 forum at Paradox?

To be honest i have a very short attention span. I play most games once (exceptions exist: GalCiv2, Civ4, EU3 etc.), then they linger on my drive and get deleted eventually.

But also i am a slow player and take my time with games. That said i havent finished the campaign yet and didnt started the scenarios at all.

I look at it this way: If a game is good for 2 weeks of entertainment, it was money well spent. So far Majesty 2 proves to be.