It was with a sense of withered trepidation that I approached Liquid Entertainment’s Battle Realms. The premise wasn’t an inspirational one: a fantasy-world game, with an oriental flavour. I feared that I was about to fall victim to a most shameful clone, devoid of originality, flair, and generally anything else, like so many recent titles seem to suffer from. Fortunately, I was pleasantly surprised by a game that appears to have been blessed with loving and thoughtful developers, who have created something that stands out from the usual dross.

Upon launching the game, the first element of merit was the plot, that served as far more than a mere premise, instead pervading the single-player experience, and adding richly to the atmosphere and sense of reality. A good start. Not entirely an original one however, but at least Liquid have thrown themselves into it entirely, creating a world far more cohesive and realistic than most thanks to the degree to which the setting has been embraced. If only many other developers would realise that a whole plot is better than half-a-plot, even if it isn’t the most original ever written.

This loving attention to detail has been maintained in the environments and setting of the game, which is what first struck me upon launching into my first battle. The world is simply stunning, easily the most rich, diverse and realistic RTS environment I’ve witnessed, thanks to a minute attention to detail. The world is just so vivid; alive with trees, lakes, hills, mountains and creatures (including tiny Dragonflies). All of which added to the oriental ambience, creating a truly immersive and intriguing realm in which to wage battle. If you’ll pardon my play on words. This is perhaps the game’s strongest element, as it helps add to the sense of importance in battles, because of the strength of the plot tied in with the world and it’s inhabitants.