Dev teams need to realize, complexity doesn't automatically mean fun, and Kohan II, is the definitive of that term.
User Rating: 7.9 | Kohan II: Kings of War PC
In an age of hassle and dissillusionment, gamers don't want to sit down to a strategy game that will take them upwards of two or three hours to get used to, they want quick and simple fun. Kohan II: Kings of War developed by TimeGate Studios (who is currently making another real time strategy game, Axis & Allies) is the absolute definition of simple. In fact, I'll go on to say it's one of the most streamlined strategy games ever made, while that's not always a good thing, it is in this case. This sequel to the excellent 2001 RTS, Kohan: Immortal Kings, is more intuitive and innovative than its predecessor. The building scheme is swift, there's no need to worry about where you're going to place your next structure, because once you click the "build [insert building name here]", the AI controlled peasants do that without error. But the twist to construction is, that as opposed to teching up your town center with whatever resources you have, you must be in control of however many buildings that tier calls for. The first tier town center needs three structures for example. This allows for quick and easy management, allowing you to concentrate more on battles. Which brings us to the single-player portion of the game, and as many people will disagree with me, I feel as if this aspect was more of an afterthought compared to the multi-player. It's very easy, and it relies on the standard rock, paper, scissor rules of most real time strategy games, but it's kind of unnerving that in absolutely every case, size matters. For instance, if your enemy has a group of units that counter your units, but you still have about 10 or 12 more than he does, there's not a chance that he has a sufficient battle tactic to overcome your numbers. Depending on which mode of play you plan to beat the campaign on (even though both are very easy), the single-player should take you about 10-15 hours to complete. The multi-player aspect of the game, for lack of a better term, is "where it's at". Using the Gamespy network, it's pretty easy to pick a game to start you battles. The network code runs a decent clip, and rarely gets laggy, which is to be expected. But in terms of gameplay, the simple base building management makes for enormously fun possibilities, and while it doesn't give you a lot of leeway to construct, it still makes the battles all the more interesting knowing that your opponent is up against the same management. More developers need to make a streamlined system like that in Kohan II, but it needs to offer more, but as it is, it sets up the groundwork for many good multi-player RTS's to come. 
