War of the Roses is a third person multiplayer action title developed by at Fatshark and released by Paradox Interactive. The game is amply set during the medieval war between the House of Lancaster and the House of York. Players take control of an individual solider on multiple battlefields as the two sides clash.
However, will the game be a victory fit for a king or will it have the bitter taste of defeat? Let’s see what’s HOT and what’s NOT in our review of War of the Roses.
HOTs
Presentation
In War of the Roses’ genre, the game that comes closest to it is the aging Mount and Blade series. In comparison, War of the Roses is a massive jump in terms of graphics, which is only to be expected: however, even on it’s own the game is eye catching. Nice textures combined with an impressive lighting system, which results in an enjoyable visual experience. Where some games have nice graphics, but similar overall look, War of the Roses has unique locals, that makes the game feel far less repetitive than others.
The beta had an impressive and fitting soundtrack, which carries over into the full game, though some sounds were fixed and upgraded in the full version. The in game sounds of the battle surrounding the player and the clashes of swords hitting shields, armour or flesh all add up to make the player feel like they are in the midst of a real medieval battle.
Available Gamemodes
There are two main gamemodes available, which are available when you start the game. The first is your classic, first to a hundred team death match; where teams have the simple objective to kill the enemy as quickly as they can. Respawning only takes five seconds, so players are quickly back in the fight: this results in even small or under populated servers having a respectable amount of action. This being said, the battles really pick up on the 32 man servers where there are pockets of troops fighting it out across the map.
The second and personally my favourite is Conquest. Just like team death match, the game feels more like a true battle on the larger servers, especially with the groups of troops clashing around the different capture points, though it’s still possible to have an enjoyable experience on the smaller 16 man servers. As with many multiplayer titles, when plays have some sort of objective, gameplay becomes much more tactical rather than the standard run in and hope method, thus working as a group can be truly beneficial.
Teamwork
War of the Roses is still a game where one good player can swing the battle for a team, but teamwork or at least working in a small group, is the best way to overcome an enemy. Often the team with the numbers on the point will manage to subdue the enemy and eventually take the point. The team selection system does fortunately result in balanced teams: at least numbers wise. Players are only able to join a team if it has less players or the same amount as the other team. This keeps the game fair as if enough people swarm an area either tactically or not the numbers normally prevail.