PC_Powerplay-Iss_275_2019

W GAMES PREVIEW

LEAGUE OF LEGENDS MEET A FEW OF YOUR WARLORD RIVALS

ZHANG YAN

CLASS:Champion

LIKES:Movingthrough

woodsquickly

DISLIKES:Hispoorstartingposition

ZHENG JIANG

CLASS:Champion

LIKES:Banditry

andextortion

DISLIKES:ThattheHandynasty

isn’t on fire yet

KONG RONG

CLASS:Strategist

LIKES:Destroyingyouin

a battle of wits

DISLIKES:Beingdestroyed

inabattleofswords

YUAN SHAO

CLASS:Commander

LIKES:De-escalatingconflict

withhisgaze

DISLIKES:ThepowerofDongZhou

strategist is mobbed and killed. The
heroes talk to one another throughout,
so I can tell the cocksure Lü Bu
didn’t especially like my strategist.
It may have seemed to him that the
strategist wasn’t working hard, but
with help from my commander hero,
he held the line in the face of greater
numbers while Lü Bu was charging
around breaking the enemy. Before
battles even start, as the game loads,
characters chat about their chances
in the fight ahead. I’m sure the lines
will eventually become rote, but it
demonstrates how much CA want
heroes to be more than a series of
stats pages.
With the battle done, I’m free to
face off against Cao Cao. I’ve played
three hours of two campaigns, one
with Dong Zhou, and another with
the oathsworn brothers Liu Bei, Guan
Yu, and Zhang Fei. I found that your
warlords affect your approach to the
entire campaign, not just battles.
Dong Zhou has the emperor, which

means he has a legitimate claim to a

lot of territory. He also has his own

resource: Intimidation. When you raze

settlements and execute heroes you earn

intimidation points, which you can cash

in during contact with other warlords

to essentially bully them into saying

yes. Writer and narrative designer Pete

Stewart refers to this as the moment you

slam your sword on the table and ask

them to rethink their life choices.

FAMILY MATTERS

The brothers start in a very different

position. They have no territory, and

must scrape back some holdings from

the yellow turban rebellion — a vast

peasant uprising that was brutally

crushed at the time. Though they

lack land, their coalition is the most

powerful starting army in the game,

thanks to the three heroes that lead

it. Still, it’s tough to cling on to a