14 DAY TRIAL // Is there a way for the French knights to avoid their historical fate at Agincourt? Can you defeat the fragmented Italian states and their mercenary armies? What’s the best way to use a couple of field cannons to shatter an enemy line? And what’s the best answer to a Tatar attack?
Storm of Arrows is the third downloadable content pack for Field of Glory II: Medieval. Byzantine Games and Slitherine are still in charge of development and publishing. The DLC delivers army lists and content centered on the period from 1270 to 1450.
The scenarios featured in Storm of Arrows read like a greatest hits list of well-known Medieval engagements, featuring Crecy, Agincourt, Grunwald, and more. The Field of Glory II campaigns list adds: French and English takes on the Hundred Years War, John Hawkwood, who led mercenaries in Italy, Henry II of Castille, fighting in Spain, and Wladyslaw II Jagiello, the man who created the Polish-Lithuanian union.
New army lists also lead to a significant increase in the number of quick battles that happen within historical boundaries. Custom battles and sandbox campaigns also offer more options than ever before.
Combat continues to be a mix of careful planning and dice-rolls. It’s important to weaken enemies with archers or good artillery before close-quarters engagements. Cavalry can harass or shock, infantry needs to be well-supported to perform well. And often the fate of a battle turns on one or two units that refuse to break or on that one group that runs even if you counted on it holding the line for one more turn.
Field of Glory II: Medieval - Storm of Arrows is still a good-looking strategy game but don’t expect any significant tweaks when compared to the core package. The 45 new units look good, and it is easy to absorb info and make battlefield decisions. I still like the soundtrack and rarely replace it with my own tracks.
Conclusion
Newcomers should stick to the base game until they feel like they really want to see what the later Middle Ages offer on the warfare front. And I am fervently hoping that the developers are thinking about ways to expand the campaigns in Field of Glory II and will make them the focus of a future piece of downloadable content.
Review code provided by the publisher.
