Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns, was such a game. Kohan: Ahriman's Gift is not. That's not to say Ahriman's Gift is a bad game, in fact, it's far from it; this prequel is everything the first game was and a little more. Unfortunately, it's just not that much more.

Ahriman's Gift picks up several hundred years before the first installment, and the main difference is you get to play the bad guys this time around. As the commander of legions of undead, you answer to the high order of the Ceyah, a race of ne'er-do-wells that follow the nasty (and bald) Ahriman. Taking the role of Roxanna Jovidan, a slumbering Kohan awakened by a mysterious robed priestess, you have the fine opportunity to slay hundreds of the local populace in order to bring Ahriman back to power. The remaining warriors opposing the Ceyah will offer resistance: the Nationalists, Royalists, and the Council. Although you are able to play as each of the four factions during the game, the majority of the time you'll be kicking butt with the Ceyah.

If that little synopsis of the story doesn't intrigue you, you'll be in for a long ride. There are more names and sub-plots brandied about the cut scenes than in most Charles Dickens novels. Names, motives, and characters are introduced at an alarmingly annoying rate, and this definitely keeps the story from becoming a strong point. On top of all that, the voice acting is a level below community theatre standards, and the verbal unit acknowledgements get real old, real quick. All things considered, the story is really not very enjoyable, and it's a shame, because it's very long and carefully constructed. Somewhere, some copywriter is choking on his pen.

Once you get past the introduction, you'll find a nifty little real-time strategy engine that actually stands out as innovative. Those of you with Carpel-tunnel syndrome will be happy to know that Kohan forgoes the usual click-fests and micromanagement systems, and instead gives the player control of regiments rather than individual units. Each of these regiments is commanded by a Captain, which can be a generic soldier or a Kohan (more on that later).

Players can only give orders to the Captain, who will then lead your troops into battle and decide what spells and attacks to use. You tell the regiment where to go, and that's it; you become a general, detached from your autonomous troops. This level of non-interactivity is weird at first, but eventually you'll settle into it and realize that there's a heck of a lot more strategy involved. You can give the order to fight to the death or retreat, but most of the time you'll just have to rely on formations and balanced unit placement to get the job done.

There are a ton of units at your disposal, with infantry, mages, cavalry, and all sorts of beasties. There are a few new units this time around, but nothing too drastic. Things get a bit hectic during battle as you have to commission each regiment separately, but thankfully you can set up a couple of pre-set regiment designs to make things quicker. Most of the soldiers do the same job with different clothing, but the Kohans really add some variety. In a nutshell: Kohans are slumbering immortals, created to be perfect warriors and magicians by a Saadya (angel). Kohans will give health and power bonuses to your units, and the discovery and preservation of these Kohans will be a priority.

Unfortunately, not all of the Kohan's are very powerful; some of them can deal massive amounts of hurt to your opponents, others will simply annoy them. Most companies with Kohans will be able to take on an opposing non-Kohan regiment with ease, but there is still no replacement for good old-fashioned numbers. Somehow, three regiments of engineers can take out even Roxanna's troop in most cases. A good strategy is to balance your Kohan placement in large regiments, and spread them out so their benefits can affect more troops. So much for the power of the immortals.

Eyestrain will be a problem you will learn to deal with when playing Kohan. The graphics are pretty much the same as the first one; that is to say, they are tiny. Really, really tiny, and most of your units look the same. Can't tell the difference between that Channeller and the Warmage? Don't worry, no one else can either. The sound is a bit better than the graphics; every battle has the necessary clang of swords and gurgle of the dying. The music is good, but non-descript. I never really hated it, but never really loved it. It just got the job done and let the action carry the day.

Multiplayer is a different beast altogether. Ahriman's Gift has one of the most customizable multiplayer modes ever seen, and you really have to focus on what the map goals are in order to have a chance. Game play modes include capture the flag, total annihilation death match, and the ever-popular turtle, which will last for several hours. Each of these modes change the pace and strategy of the game significantly, and each match will test your knowledge of the game's minor nuances. A word of advice: Play the tutorials, all of them, as this is a deep game. New strategies and solutions will pop into your head as your village is being pillaged, and you'll be itching for the next match as the victory screen flashes. Ironically, Kohan's servers feature some of the nicest people to ever raze a castle, and everyone was quite civil and helpful, even as they routed my troops.

The only real drawback to Ahriman's Gift is that it does everything that the original did, only with new maps and a few new units. Yet, it's a stand-alone game and not an expansion pack. That means you'll be shelling out almost $100 for basically the same game twice, with just a few minor upgrades. There's a level editor and random map generator in the game, so there's really no need to own both. Ahriman's Gift is definitely worth a look if you've never played Immortal Sovereigns, but unless you're the type that knows the lineage of Khaldun and the middle name of your Kohan's, this game is just more of the same and probably won't be worth the price of admission.

· · · Red Terrier