PC computer game MAJESTY FANTASY KINGDOM SIM, Microprose

Overview

Majesty, the self-described "fantasy kingdom sim", offers players a chance to test their creative and organizational skills in a fantasy role-playing environment. Players assumes the role of king in a fantasy realm called Ardania which features city sewers infested with giant rats, landscapes dotted with ancient evil castles, and soldiers helpless against anything bigger than a goblin. As Sovereign, the player must rely on hiring bands of wandering heroes in order to get anything done.

The game has nineteen single player scenarios but no overarching plotline. The Northern Expansion adds new unit abilities, buildings, monsters, and 12 new single player scenarios. Freestyle (sandbox) play and multiplayer are also available.

Gameplay

The henchmen are free non-hero characters that are nonetheless essential to maintaining the realm. Peasants construct and repair buildings. Tax collectors collect gold from guilds and houses to finance the realm. Guards provide defense against monsters. Caravans travel from trading posts to the marketplace, where they deliver gold based on the distance they traveled.

Each scenario (or quest) has a unique map. Even if the player chooses the same quest twice, it will have a map that, while retaining the general terrain of the region, is totally different. The map is initially shrouded in blackness, but all activity in explored areas can be viewed no matter how far away from a building or character it is, with no fog of war.

In certain quest scenarios, the player also has the ability to interact with other kingdoms. This mainly includes the use of a kingdoms services by the heroes of a foreign faction, although in certain cases, the player may choose to attack the foreign faction. In other, rarer instances, heroes may even switch sides between kingdoms in the event that their guild has been destroyed and their native kingdom can no longer offer them hospitality.