And pressing the Esc button will immediately exit the game without any prompting. The lack of a save feature makes things even worse. Expect plenty of crashes during the game. While Strategy 3 is almost a flawless masterpiece (in freeware standards of course), the game is very buggy.
There is a lack of music which I think could improve the game's atmosphere especially for an RTS like this. You can also see the progress of the buildings being worked on. The details in this game are also commendable. I found the graphics to be good, clean and easy on the eyes, but some will comment that they are a little too dull and shabby.
The author has actually bothered to make this game 3D! It all depends on personal taste. While Strategy 3 won't score points for originality, the 'Warcrafish' gameplay already makes up for it. Even the loading screen looks like the one in Warcraft2. Especially where Warcraft 3 is concerned, most of its concepts have been used here. Fans of these games will find the controls of Strategy 3 to be very familiar. Gameplay is very similar to Warcraft 3 and AoE. But what the heck, ain't Warcraft 3 and Age of Empires the best of their kind? Expect Strategy 3 to be a masterpiece, a champion in the freeware scene.
OS: Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows XP, Windows Me Memory: 128 MB DirectX: 8.Strategy 3: The Dark Legions is a real-time strategy game that plays just like Warcraft3 and Age of Empires, maybe a little too similar. All in all, if you are an obsessive compulsive purchaser of every RTS title going, then you might spend a few hours experimenting with this latest offering, but really I think even the most die hard fan of the genre will find little to inspire them here. Graphics is out of date and rather primitive, so you can hardly sit back and admire the landscape while the blocky sprites scuttle about cutting down trees and mining ore etc. The Dark Legions is a captivating game that features solid graphics, diverse sound effects and appropriate music. It seems that a great part of the game centers on maritime warfare. The random game I played had my community situated on an island, so the only way to travel and to attack belligerent neighbors before they attacked me was to build ships. Things do get slightly more interesting once you've developed the capability to build a dock and therefore ships. For example, if you want cavalry, you have to research horse riding. Technologies can be researched in the buildings, and units created. You develop industrial technologies to improve the performance of your workers within the keep also.
You can build protective walls, defensive towers and also upgrade your keep to have better defense and be more efficient. You have to keep building houses to accommodate the expanding community. You have your inhabitants, which can create the buildings you want or gather resources. You begin in the usual manner for RTS: gather resources to erect the buildings such as blacksmith, barracks, monastery, etc, which you need to create an army. Take part in massive epic battles and build your own empire as you play through various challenging missions of Campaign Mode. The Dark Legions invites players to experience thrill and danger of the dark medieval ages.