''SpellForce'' is a

real-time strategy Real-time strategy (RTS) is a Video game genre, subgenre of strategy video games that do not progress incrementally in turn-based game, turns, but allow all players to play simultaneously, in "real time". By contrast, in Turn-based strategy, turn ...

and

role-playing Role-playing or roleplaying is the changing of one's behaviour to assume a role, either unconsciously to fill a social role, or consciously to act out an adopted role. While the ''Oxford English Dictionary'' offers a definition of role-playing a ...

series created by

Phenomic EA Phenomic was a real-time strategy video game developer, headquartered in Ingelheim, Germany, and founded as Phenomic Game Development in 1997 by Volker Wertich, who had previous worked in Blue Byte and developed ''The Settlers'' and ''The Settl ...

and currently owned by

THQ Nordic THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...

. The first release was published by

JoWooD Productions JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games ...

and

Encore Software Encore Software, LLC ("Encore") is a Delaware limited liability company focused on software sales, distribution and software development. In November 2008, Encore announced an expanded license with Riverdeep. Under the terms of the agreement Encor ...

in 2003, and by THQ Nordic in 2017.

Setting and plot

The games take place on a planet called Eo, a

high fantasy High fantasy, or epic fantasy, is a subgenre of fantasy defined by the epic nature of its setting or by the epic stature of its characters, themes, or plot.Brian Stableford, ''The A to Z of Fantasy Literature'', (p. 198), Scarecrow Press, Pl ...

world ruled by near-immortal mages (collectively known as The Circle) and inhabited by various sapient races, such as humans, dwarves, (dark) elves, orcs and trolls. The mages used servants called rune warriors, summoned from magical monuments, to keep peace. Several years before the start of the first game in the series, the mages discovered an ancient text describing the Convocation: a dangerous, but supposedly power-granting ritual. They started fighting amongst themselves, rune warriors being their main weapons of war. When the planets and stars aligned, enabling the start of the ritual, each of the 13 of the most powerful mages performed the ritual; however, unable to control the power, the world was shattered. Where once stood great continents of Fiara, Urgath and Xu, now only small pieces of land remain, centered around magical towers created by Aonir, the Star God. The first game in the series begins with a reappearance of one of the Circle mages: Rohen. He summons a Rune warrior (the protagonist) to save the world.

Gameplay

The

role-playing game A role-playing game (sometimes spelled roleplaying game, RPG) is a game in which players assume the roles of player character, characters in a fictional Setting (narrative), setting. Players take responsibility for acting out these roles within ...

aspects of ''SpellForce'' games parallel games such as '' Diablo'', ''

Diablo II ''Diablo II'' is an Action role-playing game, action role-playing hack and slash, hack-and-slash video game developed by Blizzard North and published by Blizzard Entertainment in 2000 for Microsoft Windows, Classic Mac OS, and macOS. The game, ...

'', and ''

Sacred Sacred describes something that is dedicated or set apart for the service or worship of a deity; is considered worthy of spiritual respect or devotion; or inspires awe or reverence among believers. The property is often ascribed to objects (a ...

'' in character development, skill trees, equipment customization, and top-down isometric viewing. However, the capacity to control multiple heroes often makes the gameplay comparable to that in the ''

Baldur's Gate ''Baldur's Gate'' is a series of role-playing video games set in the Forgotten Realms ''Dungeons & Dragons'' campaign setting. The game has spawned two series, known as the ''Bhaalspawn Saga'' and the ''Dark Alliance'', both taking place mostly ...

'' or ''

Neverwinter Nights ''Neverwinter Nights'' is a series of video games developed by BioWare and Obsidian Entertainment, based on the ''Forgotten Realms'' campaign setting of the ''Dungeons & Dragons'' role-playing game. Aside from also being set in the Dungeons & Dra ...

'' video games. The real time strategy aspects of ''SpellForce'' games mirror the ''

Warcraft ''Warcraft'' is a franchise of video games, novels, and other media created by Blizzard Entertainment. The series is made up of five core games: '' Warcraft: Orcs & Humans'', '' Warcraft II: Tides of Darkness'', '' Warcraft III: Reign of Chaos ...

'' fantasy real time strategy games. These include the ability to control several separate factions such as "The Realm" (humans, elves and dwarves), "The Pact" (dark elves, gargoyles and shadows), and "The Clans" (orcs, trolls and barbarians). Each faction has its own individual troop and building types. ''SpellForce'' games have several game modes, including campaign mode (expositional), skirmish mode (real time strategy based), and free play (similar to campaign mode but without an overarching plot). ''SpellForce'' can also be played cooperatively or competitively in multiplayer mode.

Games

SpellForce: The Order of Dawn

''SpellForce: The Order of Dawn'' is the first game of the franchise, developed by

. It was first published by

JoWooD JoWooD Entertainment AG (formerly JoWooD Productions Software AG, commonly referred to as JoWooD) was an Austrian video game publisher that was founded in 1995. JoWooD went into administration in 2011 and all assets were purchased by Nordic Games ...

in Europe on and by

in North America on .

SpellForce: The Breath of Winter

On ,

announced the first SpellForce expansion pack named ''SpellForce: The Breath of Winter''. The expansion pack features over 40 hours of new single player campaign gameplay.

SpellForce: Shadow of the Phoenix

''Shadow of the Phoenix'' was released on . The expansion pack continues the storyline from ''The Breath of Winter'' and enables the player to continue playing with a previous game character by raising the character's level limit to 50. The pack also includes upgrades for the game's ''Titan'' units.

SpellForce 2: Shadow Wars

Released in 2006

SpellForce 2: Dragon Storm

Released in 2007

Anniversary and Platinum Editions

"SpellForce 2 - Anniversary Edition" was released 29 October 2009. It included the first two parts: Shadow Wars and Dragon Storm. It does not include Faith in Destiny or Demons of the Past. "SpellForce - Platinum Edition" was released 3 November 2009. It contains all three of the parts: Order of Dawn, Breath of Winter and Shadow of Phoenix.

SpellForce 2: Faith in Destiny

The "Digital Extras" were released 19 June 2012 along with the core game. Three scenario DLCs were released: *17 October 2012: Flink's Secret Diary *18 January 2013: The Golden Fool *15 February 2013: The Last Stand The "Faith in Destiny Scenario Bundle" was sold 17 December 2012 in advance of the second and third, gaining access to their impending release.

=SpellForce Complete Collection

= In October 2012 (following the June 2012 release of Faith in Destiny, part 3 of SpellForce 2) Nordic released a so-called "complete collection". The name was quickly invalidated by the scenario DLCs which it was missing, years before the release of the more obvious contradiction Demons of the Past.

SpellForce 2: Demons of the Past

=SpellForce Complete

= This was released 4 December 2015 and unlike the above, did include the Demons of the Past expansion. The name still became outdated in 2017 since it does not include the SpellForce 3 series. Despite this, it's still sold under the misleading name by some companies. It includes the contents of "SpellForce - Platinum Edition" combined with "SpellForce 2 - Anniversary Edition" as well as the two SpellForce 2 games missing from the Anniversary edition - Faith in Destiny (including the digital extras and 3 scenarios) and Demons of the Past.

''SpellForce 3''

''SpellForce 3'', the latest entry in the series, was released in December 2017. The game was developed by

Grimlore Games THQ Nordic GmbH (formerly Nordic Games GmbH) is an Austrian video game publisher based in Vienna. Formed in 2011, it is a publishing subsidiary of Embracer Group. Originally named Nordic Games, as was the parent company, both companies were re ...

and published by

. The story of ''SpellForce 3'' takes place before the events of '' The Order of Dawn'' in the fantasy world of Eo. The first glimpses of the game were seen during

Gamescom 2014 Gamescom (stylized as gamescom) is a trade fair for video games held annually at the Koelnmesse in Cologne, North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. Since 2018, it has been organised by ''game – Verband der deutschen Games-Branche'' (English: Associa ...

in Germany, where

Nordic Games The Nordic Games were the first international multi-sport event that focused primarily on winter sports, and were held at varying intervals between 1901 and 1926. It was organized by Sweden's Swedish Central Association for the Promotion of ...

first released gameplay of the game, as reported by German online magazine ''PCGames.de''.

SpellForce 3: Soul Harvest

Standalone expansion released in 2019.

SpellForce 3: Fallen God

Standalone expansion released in 2020.

SpellForce 3: Versus Edition

This was a free-to-play version released at the same time Fallen God was. Much like Blizzard's free version of Starcraft 2, it allowed online multiplayer while lacking the single-player campaign missions that can be enjoyed offline.

SpellForce 3: Reforced

An upgraded version of the original.

SpellForce: Conquest of Eo

This is slated for a 2023 release.

References

External links

* {{THQ Nordic Video game franchises Video game franchises introduced in 2003 Fantasy video games Embracer Group franchises