As the protector of the throne, it is your duty to punish those who disrespect the King. In the ultimate show of contempt, a group of traitors steal the Scepter of Order and begin terrorizing the entire kingdom. In King's Bounty you play the role of the conqueror. You must assemble an army of Barbarians, Sorcerers, Knights, Paladins, Dragons, and a host of others as you set out to retrieve the scepter and bring the traitors to justice. There are four continents to explore, 25 different creatures to fight, and eight artifacts to discover that will make you more powerful than you ever thought you could be. Whether it's by magic or just brute force, you'll have to engage in fight after fight as you set out to defend the crown and return honor to the kingdom.

The principal of King's Bounty is that you must travel around the four continents, seeking out seventeen criminals each holding a piece of the map showing the location of the hidden Scepter. Each time you capture a criminal, another piece of the map is given to you, uncovering the hidden location. Capturing a criminal requires that you A) know the whereabouts of the criminal's castle, B) have siege weapons to breach the castle walls, C) have a contract on the criminal, and D) defeat his/her/its army once found. Getting the contract and siege weapons are simple tasks – you can get either in any town. Finding the villain is slightly more difficult, requiring some detective work (gathering information from various towns or visiting the scattered castles) or magic.

Along the way you will find chests that can increase your gold or leadership ability, grant you spells or spell power, or show you a map to the whole continent. With the help of these chests, and the King's salary, you have a sporting chance. Later in the game, you will also incorporate 14 magic spells to aid you in battle.

There are 25 different kinds of troops and although there are a few that are similar to each other, for the most part they are quite different. Each has their own strengths and weaknesses when fighting others. The most readily available troops are from your original castle, however though they are quite good, they are also very expensive. The other troops are limited in number and also change each game making the game different every time. The basic strength of each enemy is also the same each game, but their troops are different making the most felicitous choice of units for your army different as well. Money also plays a large part in the strategy as some units are far more expensive than others. The actual battles themselves require little strategy (protect the weak-archers, mages with the strong is about it) getting the most advantageous troops to that point requires quite a bit. Saving the game is a real difficulty requiring over 50 characters per password and still resetting things like all of the wandering monsters, where you've been on the maps and the creatures you can recruit.

King's Bounty is a game with a lot of depth. The non-linear quest literally allows you to roam around the world before ever fighting your first battle! There is strategy galore: for example, you could try to find the Scepter with only some of the map pieces, and hope you see enough to search in the right area. The battlefield holds limitless combinations for your strategy skills, since some races can use magic, some can fly, others are affected by certain spells, etc. There's a lot to keep you busy in this game!

King's Bounty features:

• You must retrieve the Scepter of Order
• 25 different creatures to fight
• Eight artifacts to discover
• Four continents to explore
• Password feature to save your progress

Set sail with Mirabelle and her motley crew of pirates in search of the treasure of a lifetime in this unique puzzle adventure! Play 140 mind-blowing levels, as you try to find the treasure of the notorious Captain Black Jack. Along the way, you will discover amazing power ups, challenging obstacles, and even an original song. Featuring 140 levels in adventure mode alone, 3 game modes, 86 pages of comic book storyline, and a full orchestral musical score, Bounty will surely shiver your timbers!

3 great game modes (Adventure, Eternity, Relaxed). 13 different stunning visual & aural themes. A Bonus game for even more fun. 7 exciting power ups & 3 challenging obstacles. Beautiful full screen display

Windows 98/2000/Me/XP. Processor: PIII 800 MHz. DirectX 8.0. 128 MB RAM. Free hard drive space: 45 MB. DirectX-compliant Sound Card

King's Bounty is the precursor to the Heroes of Might and Magic series, and is indeed worthy of that title. It has excellent gameplay, nice graphics, and a story coupled with backstories for villains.