There have been many bloody battles and wars fought throughout mankind’s history. Wars based around anything from territorial disputes to freedom have been waged and many men have lost their lives. The most powerful reason behind fighting (and the main point that spawns them off) of course is centered around beliefs and values, and one of the most noted and historic battles that comes to mind of course were the Crusades which were launched back around 1088 – 1099 and pitted the Christians against the Saracens. Well, Activision has now taken the crusades and scaled them down into RTS form for us to enjoy on our PC.

Crusades: Quest for Power takes place during the crusades, and allows players to choose which side that they want to use. The Western Crusaders march against Constantinople in their campaigns, looking to destroy the infidels and reclaim the sacred holy artifacts that have been stolen from them, while the Eastern horde of Saracens fights against the attack and looks to defend and keep their lands safe from the advancing Westerners. Each campaign set up contains 8 missions each, and will have players doing things like destroying all enemies to capturing and claiming a city. If you’re not in the mood to play through a campaign, you also have the option to use “Instant Action”, which puts you into the middle of a brawl between the two sides and has you trying to defend yourself while churning out troops to defeat your enemies.

The gameplay to Crusades is a simple RTS formula, and focuses primarily on action rather than “Godsim” gameplay or resource gathering. There are four basic troop types to control, which are foot soldiers, archers, priests and warriors, each with their own unique strengths and weaknesses. Foot soldiers for example are weak in defense, but can take archers out easily while priests have no actual combat ability but can heal troops in or after battles. Along the way, you will find gold (or pick it up off the enemies you kill) which is used to build tents and recruit more soldiers, so it becomes wise to look at your primary enemy type and try to plan accordingly since resources can get limited fast.

There is also an RPG kind of element to the game for each troop type as well, which makes it a little more interesting. As soldiers fight in battles and are victorious, they will begin leveling up which helps them to be more skilled in battle and/or access new abilities. Archers for example will begin their quests by of course launching volleys of normal wooden arrows at enemies. As they grow and become more skilled, they can begin using things like flaming arrows and even create defensive firewalls later on to help destroy advancements or repel attacks. It’s also pretty neat to watch one of your crusaders kneel down as angel wings surround him and he becomes even stronger than he was before.

While Crusades is a fun action title that even bears the History Channel logo to it, the biggest downside is that players looking for a more in depth and time consuming RTS title may be a little disappointed. Tents that are built spring up from the sands almost instantaneously, and the whole game is focused around obtaining gold, building troops, and slaughtering your opponent. While this isn’t a bad thing, and it definitely helps to keep things interesting and exciting, players who enjoy more of a Warcraft or Age of Mythology approach may find it a little too simple and scaled down for their tastes. In addition, since the History Channel endorses the game … I personally would have liked to see some tidbits and facts about the Crusades spring up in between missions and during loading screens to make it a little educational as well (That’s just a personal note from me).

Graphically, Crusades looks pretty neat. The troop detail was decent, and the overall character and environmental coloring looked good. You can also zoom the camera in or out with your mouse, which allows for a better or more up close viewpoint if you want to get right into the middle of a skirmish to see what’s going on. There is no way to actually rotate the camera though, which I thought could have been a good addition for certain areas like progressing through a ravine with high rock walls or being able to get a better viewpoint in a city. Not having this option didn’t hinder the gameplay any; it just would have made it a little better in my opinion.

Overall, Crusades: Quest for Power could be an entertaining title for the action based RTS fan looking for something to fill their time for a few days. The missions and overall gameplay element is pure action and focuses on keeping things interesting, but it also causes the overall feeling to be that it is a little too stripped down or less in depth than some other titles out there which could be a disappointment to some looking for something a little more deep in an RTS title. With a $20.00 price tag, it’s not a bad possibility to add to your PC library, but I would recommend checking out a demo first or keeping the receipt if you tend to lean more towards Godsim games or resource based RTS games. 

Gameplay: 7.4
Crusades provides a good action based RTS title, and you can play as either the Crusaders from the West or the Infidels from the East through 8 missions apiece, or just jump in some “instant action” if you just want to churn out troops and battle. There is a neat level up system that is incorporated for each fighter, and since there is lots of action you can watch them grow stronger as you progress. Due to the fact that the building and recruiting of troops is very simplistic, and there really is no building of cities or resource management, the game tends to feel a bit watered down in the overall depth though and RTS veterans may find themselves going through it rather quickly.

Graphics: 7.8
The graphics to Crusades were good, and there was some good colors and environmental detail done overall, and some neat additions like angelic wings on your Crusaders or volleys of fire from higher level archers. The camera can be zoomed in and out as needed to help with viewpoints or to get right in on the action, but there is no way to rotate the perspective which would have been a nice feature when in areas that contained possible LOS blockers.

Sound: 7.1
The music to Crusades is OK, but forgettable. The troops will talk and confirm orders as you select them, and at times I almost felt like the accents or crusaders talking (since they have the helmets on) reminded me of Monty Python. Battles ring out with the clashing of steel and yelling of combatants as they engage to the death.

Difficulty: Medium
Since this is an action based title with limited access to creating your own gold resources, decisions that you make can either have successful or catastrophic results. Some missions will be “learning lessons”. The overall game itself is very simple to play though, and since it doesn’t seem to be as in depth as other RTS titles, new players to the genre should have an easy time figuring out what to do.

Concept: 7.2
While it’s a fun action title based around the crusades, I personally would have liked to see some historic info based around that time period. In addition, a game like this would have really benefited from a little more troop recruitment, or a deeper mission makeup and storyline.

Overall: 7.3

As stated, Crusades is a fun RTS based title for an action buff looking for a budget title to fill some time. RTS veterans may not find it too difficult and overall a bit too simplistic due to the scaled down gameplay element, so I would recommend hanging onto the receipt or trying a demo out prior to making the final commitment to purchase if that is the case. If you are a fan of the crusades or a first time RTS buyer though, the low price tag may also be a good way for you to get your feet wet and the simple gameplay style overall could be a good stepping stone into the more detailed titles out on the shelves.