28th November 2010, 2:56 AM
Human campaign, though both are similar really. No cheat codes used.
Back when I got the game in 1996 I managed to get to level 13, but found it really hard and was stuck there for a very long time. When I finally managed to beat that level, I promptly got stuck on level 14, and gave up. I decided to play the game some today though, because I was listening to the soundtrack and it made me think of what an exceptional game it was (and of how it'd been quite a while since I'd played it), so I decided to try to finish the thing.
Well, it took me a good five tries, but I finally did it, and won the level. It's a pretty tough level to survive in, money and wood are quite limited, you have little time to set up a base after beating the enemies inhabiting the first base (if you beat them), and then you start getting attacked by dragons, a plague which does not let up until you're mostly done with the mission. It's got water parts, only a few oil patches and the nearby ones start with enemy oil tankers on them by the time you get there, dragons, more dragons, death knights attacking your towers with that corruption spell (because building arrow towers is probably the best way to kill the dragons)... and all with having to worry about money all the time, because there are few mines and all of them are guarded by enemy forces, and not much wood either.
When I finally managed to get a good base set up I cruised to victory without too much trouble, but that first part, the setup and early defense, was quite hard, and that's where I failed the first four or five times. I think later on the main danger would just be running out of money before you have the strength to beat the enemies... it's possible, I guess, if you waste it. There is enough -- in the end I had dozens of units, including a good 14 or so Gryphon Riders -- but also I'd mined out every mine on the map (all four I could get to that is) and only had 3000 gold left, so yeah, kind of tight. I wasn't exactly incredibly efficient with my money and units, but it was good enough to win.
It was a fun challenge overall, though, and really meant something because of how this is a game I failed to beat when I was younger. Now I wonder if I should attempt Beyond the Dark Portal too, I remember at the time finding it one of the hardest games I'd ever played, and something I never even got halfway in in either campaign. Considering that I managed to finally beat this, I wonder how I'd do. :)
Back when I got the game in 1996 I managed to get to level 13, but found it really hard and was stuck there for a very long time. When I finally managed to beat that level, I promptly got stuck on level 14, and gave up. I decided to play the game some today though, because I was listening to the soundtrack and it made me think of what an exceptional game it was (and of how it'd been quite a while since I'd played it), so I decided to try to finish the thing.
Well, it took me a good five tries, but I finally did it, and won the level. It's a pretty tough level to survive in, money and wood are quite limited, you have little time to set up a base after beating the enemies inhabiting the first base (if you beat them), and then you start getting attacked by dragons, a plague which does not let up until you're mostly done with the mission. It's got water parts, only a few oil patches and the nearby ones start with enemy oil tankers on them by the time you get there, dragons, more dragons, death knights attacking your towers with that corruption spell (because building arrow towers is probably the best way to kill the dragons)... and all with having to worry about money all the time, because there are few mines and all of them are guarded by enemy forces, and not much wood either.
When I finally managed to get a good base set up I cruised to victory without too much trouble, but that first part, the setup and early defense, was quite hard, and that's where I failed the first four or five times. I think later on the main danger would just be running out of money before you have the strength to beat the enemies... it's possible, I guess, if you waste it. There is enough -- in the end I had dozens of units, including a good 14 or so Gryphon Riders -- but also I'd mined out every mine on the map (all four I could get to that is) and only had 3000 gold left, so yeah, kind of tight. I wasn't exactly incredibly efficient with my money and units, but it was good enough to win.
It was a fun challenge overall, though, and really meant something because of how this is a game I failed to beat when I was younger. Now I wonder if I should attempt Beyond the Dark Portal too, I remember at the time finding it one of the hardest games I'd ever played, and something I never even got halfway in in either campaign. Considering that I managed to finally beat this, I wonder how I'd do. :)