What Fantasy General II is
Fantasy General II: Invasion is a turn-based tactics wargame played on a hex grid. You command armies in a story campaign set three hundred years after the Shadow Wars, in the world of Aer. You play as the son and designated heir of Falir One-Eye, leader of a barbarian clan in the Highlands of Fareach, and you need to prove yourself to your father and the Clan Council. The campaign runs across 33 scenarios, and the fights take you through very different regions: the cold highlands, the Borderlands with their woods and river valleys, the swampy Sunken Land, and the temperate Empire to the south. Each region changes what tactics and army composition work, so you adjust your forces as you go.
How the battles work
Everything happens on your turn, then the enemy moves. There are over 75 unique unit types, heroes included, and each unit has its own abilities, arms and armour. Before you commit, you weigh terrain, weapons and armour, magical effects, morale and the balance of forces, then make a plan and execute it. Units gain experience as they fight, and green recruits can be turned into champions over time. That progression is a real risk: when battle-hardened units die, their experience and progression go with them, so a costly victory can be worse than a defeat. Surviving units can be equipped with magic artefacts found in battle and upgraded with gold and resources plundered from the enemy.
Factions and the world you fight over
You lead the Clans, a confederation of independent hill tribes that value their freedom. Their roster includes axemen, berserkers, spearmaidens, trolls and shamans, plus summoned ancestor spirits and elementals, stag riders, werebears, and mercenaries ranging from longbowmen to centaurs. On the other side stands the Empire, the most powerful realm on Aer, fielding imperial Legions, dragon cannons, golems and undead hordes, with harpies, lizardfolk and dragons also in the way. The story starts when Borderland clans, tired of highland raids, called the Empire for help; the Western Imperial Legion killed High King Brendan at Wyrm's Pass and a treaty forbade clans from crossing into the Borderlands. With no High King left, the clans fell to quarrelling and raiding, and that is the situation you inherit.
Before you start
Expect a long singleplayer campaign with resource management between battles, where army preservation matters as much as winning the fight. Online PvP is available if you want to test your tactics against other commanders instead of the campaign. The Hero Edition adds a Tale of Falir prequel campaign, a 20-track soundtrack from both Fantasy General games, a 104-page digital artbook and a printable world map of Aer. The General Edition includes all of that plus the first two future expansions.