Fantasy General for PC is another installment of the 5-Star General series established in 1994 by Strategic Simulations Inc. This time the creators of Panzer General and Allied General decided to take the players to a fantasy realm that features steampunk elements.
Plot
The forces of evil led by the terrifying Shadowlord and his followers have conquered the majority of the known world. The player, playing as one of the four available protagonists, is called to change the fate of the world and defeat the evil or suffer an ultimate failure. In order to achieve the goals, the players must fight on four different continents that are in the hands of four Shadowlord’s generals. Then, they must defeat the evil ruler himself on a fire island.
Mechanics
The gameplay of Fantasy General for PC focuses primarily on battles that are getting the player closer to his goals. The player must also take care of soldier recruitment, setting research priorities and balancing the economy of their army. Four categories of units are available: immortal, magical, mechanical and monsters. Each of them represents one of 10 different classes such as light and heavy infantry, cavalry, archers etc. Immortal units are usually stronger in direct combat, but they cannot be upgraded and after some time become useless. Contrary to the previous entries in the series, the squads controlled by player no longer represent whole battalions. The squads consist of up to 15 soldiers, and some of them (like heroes or mechanical units) include only a single unit. The key to victory lies in building a varied army that will prove to be effective in various circumstances.
Technical aspects
Fantasy General for PC was developed by using a modified version of Panzer General’s engine. The engine was designed for DOS system. Similarly to its predecessors, the game offers singleplayer campaign and multiplayer “hotseat” and “play-by-e-mail” modes. The music for the game was composed by Rick Rhodes and Danny Pelfrey. In addition to original tracks, the game also features some classical music.
