Genre: StrategyDeveloper: CinemawareYear: 1988
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I have a theory as to why there were so little good strategy games in the 80's. It was probably because a good strategy game demands a level of complexity. As memory, graphics and sound effects were very limited back then (at least in PC), it was hard to keep a strategy game fun and not exceedingly boring and hard to figure out.
That said, Defender of the crown is one of the oldest good PC strategy games to note, and passes the test of time thanks to a balanced mix of good graphics, decent sounds and great challenge. It's memorable in many aspects, including the fact that the original version has put Amiga on the map back in 1986.
The king of England is dead. Murdered. The very crown has disappeared. The normans prepare to take advantage of these hard times to seize control over England. You're one of the four saxon lords reminiscent of the former reign, and with the blessings of Robin of Locksley, you are now set to unite England -- under your standart -- and drive the normans back off. The three other saxon lords, however, have their own agendas and will stop at nothing to seize control for themselves. Sounds like war!
Each turn you collect taxes from each of the feuds under your colors and then you can choose one of many courses of action. The actions are simple, and this is probably what made this game possible and so highly addictive: it has a low complexity level, but you'll still need a lot of strategy to conquer your opponents. You will seize and defend lands by force. You will assemble armies to defend your castles and take those of your enemies. You will attend jousting games, so you'd better know who the weakest opponents are to pick. You might find a fair maiden who will then become your wife. But all this in very simple options. All that matters is that you learn how to use the weaknesses of your enemies in your favor, be quick and careful with your own weaknesses. All this, and there are still only a few options available for you each turn. Which turns out to be a good thing in the end.
Technically Defenders of the crown manages to be a lot better than most of the games of its time, in terms of graphics and sound, but it's still a mid-to-late-80s game. This version of the game further improves the experience with colorful EGA graphics that leave most other games of its time far behind, based on the original Amiga graphics.
As I said before, this game passed the test of time. It was ported to pretty much every system worth mentioning back in the late 80s and a few years ago was even adapted to Windows, PS2 and mobiles. It's arguably Cinemaware's most successful game ever and you should certainly give it a try.
