TimeGate Studios' original Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns caused a bit of a stir back in 2001 by defying a few of the realtime strategy genre's long established conventions. It was a title that put free-flowing action and the big picture ahead of micro-management and attention to detail and was fresh enough to attract a strong core of dedicated fans. A very steep learning curve, average 2D graphics and the odd interface problem prevented it from achieving wider popular acclaim, but Immortal Sovereigns and its Ahriman's Gift expansion had shown that strategy titles could still be innovative. Kohan II: Kings of War offers the same general approach as the original, but the developer has broadened the game's appeal with excellent tutorials, improved 3D graphics, and a terrific mix of interface tweaks. The result is a much more accessible title that still offers enough depth to satisfy the more discerning strategy gamer.

Kings of War brings a solid story to frame the action. The alliance that emerged from the Great War of the earlier titles is unravelling, each of the mortal races is withdrawing into itself, and the Shadow is returning to the world. Five races (including the excellent Undead) are available across the 25 mission campaign; custom games can be easily created using the intuitive menu system; and a fully featured editor is included. The game kicks off with a well designed and presented series of tutorials, and players should be very impressed with the straightforward nature of the menu system and general interface. Multiplay is a major strength this time around, supporting LAN and internet in a format that makes the most of TimeGate's focus on higher level strategy, and giving Kings of War its best chance of tackling some of the well established RTS titles. It's a solid enough package that's well placed for expansions if things take off.

Unit control is where the Kohan series has traditionally shined, and Kings of War improves markedly on what was already a terrific system. Commanding intelligent companies rather than individual sprites gives players the chance to focus on the bigger picture after giving broad direction, and veterans will welcome the new Customise Company feature that offers choices for front, flank and support units and the chance to assign any of the expanded list of available heroes to take charge. Issuing orders is simple enough, and the excellent AI system ensures that troops will act intelligently when they meet the enemy. The most obvious example of this is how companies will engage defenders before attacking the main target, but the AI is clever: it shows up in the way citizens fight autonomously to protect their settlements, and in the way the enemy seems to do a lot more than just mass troops and charge headlong into the fray.

Kings of War brings some other good ideas that work very well, including a simple but effective supply system that replenishes hit points automatically, and the ability to regenerate companies if someone is left alive. It doesn't sound like much, but the regeneration feature means that tactical retreats play an important role, going a long way towards minimising the use of 'rush' tactics in both single and multiplay games. The economic model is also well implemented, with smart citizens handling most of the detail while players concentrate on gaining gold and creating or capturing the new settlements needed for expansion. Kohan II: Kings of War still faces some challenges cracking the already saturated RTS popular market - its improved graphics still look dated, and it's still a tougher than average game - but TimeGate has listened to its fans and incorporated most of the genres recent improvements. This one deserves to do well.