Defender of the Crown

Defender of the Crown

Games like Defender of the Crown
Defender of the Crown screenshots In the year 1149 the king of England returned from the holy land and he knighted six warriors who helped him in his quest. They were awarded land and a castle for their bravery. One of these lords now rides towards Sherwood forest to visit Robin of Locksley but when you do Robin tells you that the king was assasinated. Without an heir the kingdom will now face civil war with Normans and Saxons fighting against each other over total control of the land.

You start by selecting one out of four Saxon lords each with his own speciality like jousting, leadership or swordplay. For new players you can best select Wilfred of Ivanhoe because he is the best all round player. The game starts at the beginning of each month and you collect the taxes from the lands you control. Every lord has his own castle and from there you can deploy soldier to take control of nearby land. Every piece of land has a different income so it's important to view the specifications before you try and take it over. Obviously the better patches of land will require more effort to keep because the other lords will try and take it as well. Taking over lands that have no castle is a simple case of beating the army that resides in it or simply taking it if it has no army but castles are a different thing. You first need at least one catapult so siege a castle and you can use boulders to break down the walls and fire and desease to kill enemy soldiers before going into battle. Remember that breaking down the walls is very important because if your army has to attack while the wall is still partly up they will have a much more difficult time in battle. To help you out Robin has pledged his help to you three times and you can visit him in Sherwood forest before a battle to ask for his aid.

From the main screen you can also select other options like hiring soldiers, raid an enemy castle and holding tournaments. You must hire soldiers to increase your armies and you can select from footsoldiers and mounted soldiers, these are very effective againt footsoldiers but they cost eight times as much. Raiding an enemy castle is done mainly for profit and is done by facing enemy guards in single combat. If you are captured you'll have to bribe them with half of your total gold so be carefull not to do this when you're coffers are loaded with gold. Occasionally you find that an enemy lord has kidnapped an allied lady and you can rescue her, fail and you'll be captured but win and you not only win the heart of the lady but you'll also gain control of all lands her father owns. Refusing to rescue her is considered unchivalrous and will lead to a serious decrease in morale of your troops. Finally jousting tournaments are held to increase your fame and boosting troop morale or you can joust for land.

Defender of the Crown was the first game from Cinemaware but it contains all the hallmarks that the company was famous for, great graphics and a mix of gameplay contained in several mini games. Recently it was released as a remake with improved graphics and also an entirely new version called Robin hood: defender of the crown. The Atari ST and Apple versions look almost as good as the Amiga but with the changes and additions made to the game mechanics they are the recommended ones. Though not without some flaws the original game holds up very well to this day and I consider it to be a true classic. If you do not no how to play this game, find the Defender of the Crown guides here.