Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy

by Strategy First

Product Features

• Disciples II: Dark Prophecy returns gamers to the magical realm of the Sacred Lands where four races - the Empire, the Mountain Clans, the Legions of the Damned and the Undead Hordes - continue the battle for the destiny of their Gods.

Product Details

• Shipping: This item is also available for shipping to select countries outside the U.S.
• ASIN: B00005A9W6
• Product Dimensions: 9.5 x 7.8 x 1.5 inches ; 5 ounces
• Media: CD-ROM
• Release Date: January 28, 2002
• Average Customer Review: 4.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (20 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #27,362 in Video Games (See Top 100 in Video Games)
• Discontinued by manufacturer: Yes

Product Description

Amazon.com Product Description

Disciples II: Dark Prophecy returns gamers to the magical realm of the Sacred Lands. Four races--the Empire, the Mountain Clans, the Legions of the Damned, and the Undead Hordes--continue to battle for the destiny of their gods. A decade after the first great war, the final prophecy continues to unfold. Deep within the crevices of the Sacred Lands, the chosen one has emerged, fated to bring salvation to some and destruction to others. Braced with renewed faith and newfound conviction, each race must once again take up the sword for the sake of their people and the glory of their gods.

Unlimited upgrades are possible on all units and leaders. More than 200 individually animated units and 100 animated spells are present in the game. Each race has a unique saga (campaign) that tells the story from its own perspective. Multiplayer options support up to four players through hot seat, LAN, or the Internet. A campaign editor allows you to make your own custom campaigns. An import/export leader function allows you to use developed leaders in multiplayer games or standalone quests.

Product Description

Disciples II: Dark Prophecy returns gamers to the magical realm of the Sacred Lands where four races - the Empire the Mountain Clans the Legions of the Damned and the Undead Hordes - continue the battle for the destiny of their Gods.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

32 of 33 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent for some people, but not for everyone, June 24, 2002

By 

Jeremy Yoder - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy (CD-ROM)

Concerning "Disciple 2: Dark Prophesy," there's just about as sharp a division in people who like and dislike it as there was on the first Disciples. And understandably so since it's not for everyone. Why? Disciples 2 is a very unique fantasy role-playing turn-based STRATEGY game. And no, it's nothing like Warcraft or Starcraft which are real-time strategy games where you amass hordes of armies and attack in mass. (Sidenote: If that's the gaming experience you're looking for, turn to the latest and best in that genre -- Warcraft III). So what's Disciples 2 all about?

The name of the company who made this game is called "Strategy First" and by looking at this game, one can see that their company name is also their motto. This game takes thought, preparation, and there are many different options to win. Basically, you're given an objective or quest to complete -- how you do that is up to you. First, you select a monarch -- either a Warrior, Mage, or Guildmaster, each of which gives your empire certain bonuses. Next, who will you hire as your first general? For example, if you are the Human Empire (1 of 4 races) then you can choose the Knight, Ranger, Archmage, Archangel, or Thief. They cost different amounts, with each having their own strengths and weaknesses. Now you must select what other 0 - 3 individual units will serve under that leader's command from out of 4 other different units types -- again, with varying strengths and weaknesses and at different costs. (Note: An army of 1 - 6 units MUST be lead by a general.)

Now what? Well, your group's formation is key to winning battles. Once that's setup, will you upgrade your capital with various buildings to enhance your armies once they reach a certain level of experience? Or will you research spells? And once your generals themselves upgrade a level, what extra empowerment will you give them out of several different options? Etc, etc.

Then the battles. It's important who you attack, and not every unit can attack every other unit. Some can only fight adjacent units, others can fight any, and others can attack all at once. Note that the characters don't "walk around" during battle, but rather face off one in a static picture on a seperate screen. Once they choose their attack they become animated, but that's the extent of it. The graphics are excellent, as is the artwork, though I'd have to say I prefered Disciple 1's artwork.

Think of the game like this -- a chessboard. Each unit has a certain value set upon it, and each has their own abilities. The difference is YOU get to setup the chessboard with whoever you want. Buying all queens would be too expensive, while buying all pawns will give you numbers, but no backbone. As in chess, the pieces have to work together, but in this game, your units gain experience, becoming stronger and stronger through battling or potions and spells they come across.

One thing I'll also mention is the limitations on the army size. Yes, I also found it annoying at first that I had a minimum of four units (including the general) and a maximum of six after a LOT of fighting. However, I soon came to realize this was all part of the strategy element. "Finesse and tactics" play a larger role here than "might makes right." In fact, the company thought about bumping up the min and max units to 6 and 8 in the upcoming sequel, but they found that it took away to much from the strategy element. (Sidenote: If you are interested in VERY detailed battle tactics -- meaning taking control of every single movement and action of every single unit in every single battle -- then check out Age of Wonders 2, though it's not the best game in and of itself).

I like not having to run around managing multiple things at once, but instead I can sit back and think, "Hmmm. Now what are my options here, and what's going to be the best way to win this." It's STRATEGY FIRST as the company name implies. And if you like that sort of thing, then this will be the game for you, otherwise, if you're looking for non-stop action, go somewhere else.

Note that there are 4 empires: The Human Empire, The Mountain Clans, The Undead Hordes, and the Legions of the Damned. I only mention this in the event that some people and/or parents may have reservations about fighting with creatures like zombies or demons from the latter two empires. Otherwise, turn on your brain, toss in some imagination, and enjoy!

One Final Note: this game is almost identical to Disciples 1. Yes, the graphics are far, far superior, and there are some additional choices and units to level up as you gain experience, along with some rules which have been modified, but nothing drastic. So why did I only give it a 4? Had I not played Disciples 1, I would have given it a 5 because I love this type of game. However, after finding out it was merely Disciples 1 with better graphics, I found myself less enthusiatic and I never completed the whole thing, though I was still glad to have made the purchase.

16 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Disappearing hours, February 5, 2002

By 

Rich Hart (Reading, Pennsylvania United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy (CD-ROM)

I was hesitant to rate this a five star game, there are a few quarks in D2 that irritate me to no end. I realized though, that any game that can make time fly by like this one, deserves five stars. The play is very dark, as compared to other turn-based strategy games. The plot is excellently written and not for the simple minded. The scenarios are well designed with a definite artistic vision. So encompasing is the appearence that at times it is difficult to spot your smaller units. After you play the game for a few times, you'll might view this as a challange and real aspect of war; as one side you're not always sure where the other side is. There is the option to turn on a 'banner' locator for everything in the game, but i feel it detracts from the beauty. The resource system in this game is somewhat different. You must still defeat many foes to reach various resources(and these foes are rather tough even on easy), however, you do not then simply take over resources. You must use a very specialized unit, unique to every race, to claim the resource as your own. This dictates very strategic management of your funds, trust me. The battles are something akin to Ogrebattle, if you've ever played that classic. For those of you that haven't, as the controller, you see your unit with its characters faced at an angle against the enemy unit in similiar stance. Based on the speed of your individual characters, the characters take turns striking at one another or performing their allotted spells. The spells are interestingly designed, and their conduct of use is complex in its practice but easily understood. The units themselves are richly drawn, detailed to the very shadow and ripples of their garments and skins.
The few irritations I have with this game stem from the game play. When one unit is in a dwelling, that's it. you can only have one unit in a castle at at time and their are also no battle advantages to the defending unit of which I know, with the exception of raised defence. Also, your type of leader greatly limits the accompanying characters that suit him or her well. If you're looking for an enthralling game full of challenge and fun, and demanding the skills from that sponge in your head, D2 is for you. *In addition to my original review, I wish to add this: Once you play the game as one race, playing it again as another greatly changes your objectives, and the units are so different, its a totally different game. Also, the storyline is deep with this game, each race has a different perspective and the story itself is tweeked just a little for each race. Its really enjoyable because each race fills in little vague gaps in the storyline.

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Very Good Turn-Based Strategy Game, March 24, 2004

By 

David A. Lessnau (USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Disciples 2: Dark Prophecy (CD-ROM)

As of this writing, this game is pretty old. However, I'd just like to add my two cents: This is a very good turn-based strategy game. You can play either the stand-alone scenarios or the story-based sagas (I played the latter). You can play through the sagas as any of the four races. And, since the sagas are different for each race, you really should play each race. Also, within each race's saga, you can play with a focus as a Warrior, a Magician, or the Guild (a Thief?). Each focus will add a different twist to the way you play. Plus, no matter what focus you choose, you can create and use five different types of heroes. Only three of them (Warrior, Magician, and Explorer) are really good for transferring from scenario to scenario. But, regardless, there's a huge replay value in this game.

The problems I have with this game are minor. The biggest problem is that when you transfer a hero to the next scenario, you can only transfer the HERO and five items. The party members you've spent all that time training don't transfer. Also, the spells that you've researched don't transfer either. This means that at the start of each scenario, you spend a lot of time just getting your party members up to a usable stage. Another problem is that you have to choose your upgrade path for your party members at a global level. It would have been really nice to have each city have its own upgrade path for the characters it generates. The last quibble that I'll talk about is that the cities themselves aren't of much use. Capturing a city doesn't give you any inherent income or resource streams. If there are sources of that stuff outside the city and within its area of influence, then you get those streams. The problem is that you can do the same thing by having a hero just plant rods at the resources.

I highly recommend this game. Old as it is, it's still fun to play.