In the year 1187, King Guy of Jerusalem met Sultan Saladin in battle on the Horns of Hattin. Plagued by thirst and constant skirmishes, the Crusaders stood little chance against the Arabian forces even though they outnumbered their enemies. With the defeat of King Guy’s forces, Saladin was able to retake Jerusalem meeting little resistance. This scenario was created to reenact the battle of Hattin. Play as Saladin and put a stop to the Second Crusade.
Note: The events are not completely in chronological order. I had to leave a few historical things out such as Raymond’s charge to safety since it would become a bit too overwhelming and you’d probably have to play the scenario over and over again to get the point.
Updates: Tried to make the battlefield look more... authentic. I did what I could to make the desert look more like a... desert. Also removed a few regiments of horse archers. I realized that you could simply mass horse archers in the previous version and pick off the Crusaders that way. Finally, I made the plants more "burnable", fire throwers setting aflame vegetation will now yield a more favorable result.
I really don't know how I missed this map and after seeing and reading the previous reviews I immediately downloaded & tried it. Was a bit dissapointed but as I created a "Battle of Hattin" recreation as well, I told miself I should review it. It's an old map, but that doesn't matter for me.
Playability: 4
For it's short period of gameplay, the map has a big fun-factor. However, it's too easy, and after playing it a couple of times I got bored, with the same strategy using and meeting almost no resistance from the Christians (the player is on Saladin's side).
Balance: 3
As mentioned before, the scenario is too easy. Just gather all troops and split them into 3 then send every group to other side of the Christians' hill. The fire provoked, sustained arrow-power and melee strenghts as with the arabian swordsmen stood no chance against the Christians. I won it on the first try.
Creativity: 4
A very creative scenario as for the idea but that's all. Everything else - story /design - lacks of detail and could well be improoved. However the map was recreated by the author in an unique way: Player on Saladin's side and the Christians "trapped" on a hill without any water sources.
Map Design: 3
Just some hills here & there, That's not a proper design and looks unrealistic.
Story/Instructions: 3,5
Previous reviewers mentioned that the story is on the archive. Well, there isn't one, so I have to rate the Story based on the one at description, which I hardly could call it a "Story". However a bigger story is implemented in the map itself (under the objectives). Based on that I gave this score which is above average, but still not excellent.