Favorite Genre(s):Adventure, Strategy, Time Management, Mahjong
Fun Factor
5/ 5
Visual/Sound Quality
4/ 5
Level of Challenge
5/ 5
Storyline
5/ 5
I absolutely love this game. I have had it for a long time now & find every few months I play it from scratch again. The reason I keep returning to it is it's unique, addictive and a genuine strategy game rather than straight TM. There is no other game in my vast repertoire that I keep returning to.
What is unique & what I love is that it's not about filling holes in roads & chopping trees like lots of others. Instead you are truly building a city from scratch; fortifying outskirts, establishing supplies, attracting citizens, fighting invaders. Because of this it is so much more creative than mending holes in roads. You will find where you place certain buildings impacts on how successful your village is or even whether it is successful at all.
You really do have to experiment with different buildings and tasks to see which works better. I love that. eg. inheriting certain buildings can be great on one level and a burden on another.
I found it hilarious that I couldn't get expert level on one early level, even when I reached the end with expert on every level after. This was brilliant fun returning again and again to that level to try and nut out the best strategy. I got there ... eventually!
I'd have loved some reward for gaining expert on all levels like unlocking extras or replaying in extra hard mode, building a better castle or something, but that is really just being greedy. It was exceptionally long gameplay as it was. I simply just didn't want it to end.
Unlike Dash et al, Be a King II is vastly different to Be a King (first one). The creators took the basic concept, added, tweaked and turned it into something different & fantastic for the 2nd.
This really is a very creative game and an absolute must have. It is the best of all three in the series (sadly, the third is good, but not as good as this).