Description: You have retreated to a barren land where nothing is to be found except a small castle encampment. The lord of the castle is mean spirited and his people ask for help. Your spies scour the castle, looking for any weak points. They tell you it is best to attack from the front and work your way around the castle.
Your task is simple. Attack this ruthless lord, kill him, and destroy his recently built cathedral to set the people free. Try to minimize civilian casualties, however. But be quick; your arch-enemy Maldon; the friend of the deceased illegal trader, Fordian, whom you've killed in the past; is right after you, and will do nothing to stop you achieveing victory.
Playability: 4
This map is too hard for the given army. 40 macemen, 5 knights, 2 siege towers, 15 (+3 in the opposite corner) assassins, 1 fire ballista, and 1 slave. These forces are not adequate for the taking of the actual castle. A sneak around method may work, but I tried twice with a normal attack. Otherwise the map plays good, and good skills with siege towers are a must to win this. To give a better chance a person could go in and change the number of starting troops.
Balance: 2
50 armored knights and 50 monks are a pretty tough fight. I didnt get half that far. Im thinking that if you kill the enemy lord with a sneak attack and then destroy the cathedral then you dont have to face the invading force of 50 knights/50 monks. Still very tough.
Creativity: 3.5
I like the title and use of open space on a big map to give the feeling of "barren". The farms are a nice touch in the castle, good use of raised look. The map just seems a little too big.
Map Design: 3
I took off here because of the design works but its not outstanding work.
Story/Instructions: 3.5
Nice write up with good use of language. Story fits with the map and doesnt mislead. A little longer would be nice.
Additional Comments:
This is a good map with a timed goal. If you dont eliminate the enemy king and destroy the catherdal then you face a overwelming invading force. GOOD!