In the past, there have been a fair amount of games that combined the RPG and RTS genres. Many of these involve just adding RPG elements to a fully-developed RTS engine, but developer Phenomic went a different path with SpellForce, instead opting to start with a more RPG-centric form of gameplay, and adding RTS elements into the mix, creating the impression that a single hero was now commanding an army, as opposed to having the hero thrown into an already-developed fighting force.

Apparently, the game has sold well enough in the past to warrant development of a sequel. SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars takes the existing form of gameplay established by the first game and seeks to add more to the story and gameplay. Like peanut butter and chocolate (or jelly, if that's your thing,) one would think that the two genres would go very well together. Well, they do, on paper. The game strives to put the two together for a good experience, and is met with mixed results.

You'll take control of a member of the Shaikan. They're a group of descendants of a man who shared his blood with a dragon, and because of that you've got the ability to circumvent death for others, as well as a maddening voice in your head that wants you to cause chaos. The campaign story involves the typical fantasy cliches: a great evil army is sweeping over the land, destroying everything in its path, and it's up to you and a merry group of allies to fight against it. The storyline, while routine, is done fairly well, and while the average script won't get you pulled into the characters, the epic scope of the storyline will. Just watch out for the voice acting: some of it can be alright, but there are dialogues here and there that just reek of mediocrity.

The RPG elements dominate most of the game, whether you're gaining experience, equipping yourself with new weapons, or shopping at a local merchant. In typical RPG fashion, there are quests to gain and complete throughout the game. Some are required to progress the story, but there are many others that can be found scattered about, optional quests that you can take if you've got some spare time, for the usual reward of experience and new equipment. Gain enough experience, and you level up, gaining a skill point to use to advance your ability. Thankfully, you're able to return to any area you've visited in the past at any time, so you can leave a quest for later if you so desire, returning when you feel like it.

The skill trees are broken into two categories: magic and combat, and allow near-unrestricted access to both. This means you can become a sword-wielding healer if you so desire, or a duel-dagger-wielding practitioner of the black arts. This flexibility is enjoyable, since there's a wide array of abilities to choose from, whether it's the heavy armor and equipment, the ranged-type weapons, or the wide variety of spellcraft in which to obliterate foes. The problems arise in a condition called 'points spent.' This means that, though you may want to raise your level of Heavy Combat, you'll have to spend a few more ability points before you can do so. What this means is that the game forces you to generalize your abilities, preventing you from specializing exclusively in any particular branch of a skill tree. Despite this, however you still can specialize in one of the two 'main' trees. While you might have to spend points in ranged combat in order to get more levels in heavy combat, if you don't like magic, you don't have to go anywhere near it.

The items in the game are perhaps the most lacking element in SpellForce 2. While you might feel that you're getting that much more powerful when your sword does twenty times more damage per hit, when enemies' hit points range in the thousands (easily), the feeling of improved ability diminishes. Likewise, you'll be picking up a lot of equippable items through the game that, while they seem different, really aren't. Most of the differences between them are superficial, and half the time to get anything worthwhile, you'll be waiting for you hero to level up to the required level, only to find that it's really not really worth equipping the item.

The RTS element has been simplified somewhat from the first game, reducing the number of resources to collect to three. As it stands on its own, however, the system feels meager, like there's not quite enough there to warrant a full-fledged RTS experience. There's nothing that will surprise anyone in this area of the game, whether it's building craftsmen to harvest supplies or producing units from specific buildings. There's also the noticeable lack of a technology tree, which means that your units, as weak as they are, are going to stay like that.

Now, while there's nothing new, that doesn't mean that this area of the game hasn't been done well. The interface itself is extremely quick and easy to use whether it's the ability to select units in a group, or assign them to a hotkey with the click of a mouse button, everything is polished and user-friendly. You can even designate craftsmen to automatically start harvesting supplies as they come out of the headquarters, or, if there's nothing to do, they might just go over to the nearest burning building and start repairing it. The exception is with the AI, which is spotty at best. The pathfinding is often very good, but from time to time you'll give your units a command, only to have them willfully run by the enemy they're supposed to attack, or stop to let loose a volley of arrows while they're being pummeled by catapults. It's not terrible, but it's meant the death of more than one unit.

If the game was just composed of an individual genre, there easily wouldn't be enough to warrant a purchase. Luckily, however, the strengths of SpellForce 2 come out when the two parts are combined.

For one, the whole tale of overcoming the army of shadows makes a lot more sense when one actually has an army backing them up. Your heroes are tough, but they can't take out armies of creatures, and that's when you send in the units. They may not be as tough as the hero, but the ability to mass-produce them makes them more than useful. Then there's the control scheme. Since you'll be getting more than one hero throughout the game, had the entire view always been behind the main hero, it would've been cumbersome to control the rest of your allies. However, since you can freely switch between the over-the-shoulder view and the isometric view for a greater look at the battlefield, controlling your heroes and your units is easy to do.

While you play with your heroes in the battlefield, it's easy to see the many ways that your units and your heroes can benefit each other. There are skills and spells your heroes have to help units around them, whether it's healing them, raising their defense, or sending them into a battle-frenzy to inflict more damage. This makes it feel like your heroes aren't just individual units that are more powerful, but actual parts of the army that can benefit other troops, which helps because there will be times that you will need the aid of your heroes, especially when you come up against some of the bigger baddies of the enemy's side. And because of the streamlined interface, it's easy to select a unit and have all the pertinent abilities of your heroes displayed under their picture, so that it's easy to use them in the midst of a wild battle.

In the addition to the single player mode, there's the free and skirmish modes as well, depending on what your interest is. In the free mode, you have the ability to travel between any of the scattered lands as you make your hero stronger, following a more RPG-centric form of gameplay and storyline. Since you're not bounded by a linear story, where you want to go and when you want to go there is up to you, though you may want to make sure you're strong enough to take the enemies that lay in wait.

The skirmish mode is for those who wish to have a more RTS-centered game. You'll be given a high-level hero, decked out in some flashy armor and accessories, and then given an army to control. Due to the somewhat-limited RTS elements, however, this isn't exactly the greatest fun in the world. If this is more your thing, you'd be better off picking up an actual RTS game to play. Otherwise, the game just feels lackluster when you don't have a story or the ability to make your avatar stronger.

The multiplayer element is essentially taking the two modes (free and skirmish) and making them available for multiple people at once. The free mode is a co-operative jaunt through the world, while the skirmish is your typical multiplayer RTS game. There's not a lot different here, except you'll be able to chat with some friends as you chop down your foes.

The graphics of the game are really quite impressive for the scope of the levels, and even in the closest detail your heroes will show facial emotion and general gestures as they discuss with various characters throughout the game. The wilderness is also nicely detailed, as trees and grass sway in the wind, time passes and shadows of everything in the level stretch across the land. The music feels quite appropriate, whether it's the haunting vocals in the intro menu screen or the pounding music for the battles, it is well-made and fits very agreeably into the game at all times.

In short, while it might not appeal to the hardcore fans of either genre, SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars can be a good experience for those that enjoy both.