Both the RPG and RTS elements are of equal importance to the gameplay. It's a much easier system to deal with than the Runes of the first game but similar enough that players won't be confused. Rune warriors have been replaced by the Shaikan who share their blood with dragons basically making them powerful and near immortal.

There are some nice touches with the background of the universe that are consistent with the first game including the broken, island bound, world that make it a tad different. The story is pretty typical fare for an RPG with orcs, elves, dark elves, a powerful force that needs to be destroyed, magic, and more. It's a better game than its predecessor, simplifying bits where they needed to be, but it still suffers from some hybrid inadequacies. SpellForce 2 actually does a very admirable job of it as well. The challenge isn't just making a good game, it's making two good games and integrating them seamlessly. The problem is (as I've been told by several developers in the past) creating a pure mix of genres as different as RTS and RPG can be incredibly difficult. It offers a pretty complete combination of two different genres. SpellForce 2 is, in general, an entertaining game that I found a worthwhile experience. It's a flawed but fun blend that fans of both genres could sink into. Well they're getting another chance with SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars and they've done another solid job here that provides hours and hours of gameplay from both an RPG and RTS perspective including both isometric and third-person camera options. Phenomic has been one of the few developers to really give the challenge a run for its money with SpellForce, an underappreciated title from a couple of years ago. It's seldom been attempted to combine the two genres almost 50/50 and when it is attempted, it's not always successful.

Real-time strategy and role-playing games have been mixing elements between each other for quite some time now, but usually it's only elements that are added to one genre from the other. More and more genres are being blended together to create new types of gaming experiences.

Spellforce 2 gold edition review