KnightShift is the brainchild of Reality Pump Studios, the same folks that brought you the Earth series of future-set real-time strategy PC games, but this game is far removed from anything that this group has ever done before. KnightShift is a real-time strategy game with a heavy emphasis on role-playing, humor and fun gameplay. Early indications are that it's going to deliver just what Zuxxez promises - multiple genres in one tidy little package. It's a game that is meant for serious hardcore gamers that doesn't take itself too seriously.

Besides melding multiple genres together, the game also offers an outlet to experience the role-playing system separately. RPG mode comes complete with playable characters, skills, magic, hundreds of items (weapons, armor, amulets, belts, potions, bombs, traps, etc), NPCs, bizarre and dangerous enemies (humans, animal and monsters) and a light series of stories and quests to follow. KnightShift is far from being an epic role-playing experience in terms of its backstory but it sure is a lot of fun. While I played this game, I didn't pay much attention to the quest details - the action tells the tale for you; for example, a woman's husband wanders off and has been captured by a handful of human baddies so you head over wipe out said baddies, lead him back home to his wife, and get a prize. The story wasn't conveyed by five minutes worth of dialogue but rather by five minutes of action, followed by leading the wayward spouse back to his robust looking wife. Because the game provides map markers for you to follow during events, it's fairly straight forward - no reading is really required.

The RPG gameplay is similar to the Diablo, Nox, or Dark Stone in that it's all simplified and easy to manage. Much like Diablo or Dark Stone, when you reach higher levels and restart your character in a level, the game adjusts the amount and types of creatures in the world to give you a challenge. Dark Stone players will recall that when you died in that game you dropped all the items you were currently wearing (not all your inventory. That is precisely how death is handled in this game - though players return to their last quest giver spot (which is usually close to where they died)

While the role-playing game mode is far from complete at this time, playing it was a lot of fun and saying that it left me wanting more isn't mere hyperbole. In the earlier press preview version of the game (.03) all the quests were tied to one giant map. The latest press version I'm playing offers the game's RPG mode with an overarching story that plays out over three chapters. The story and dialogue portions of the game need a bit of tidying up - in some of the dialogue, bits of German still exist while in some quests there's barely any dialogue at all. The main storyline is good to go, but a few of the side-quests need work. I suspect that a lot of this will be polished up and refined - but even if it isn't the game can stand on its own and still be decent. If you're looking for an epic story in KnightShift, then you'll probably be disappointed, but if you're looking for an open-ended and fun RPG experience, then this is a game to watch out for later this year. My only hope is that more random adventures can be had in this particular game mode like in the earlier press preview of the game (called "way to eternity") - at least in addition to the main storyline. It should also be noted that the RPG mode is playable via LAN and online.

Moving onto the single-player RTS campaign in KnightShift it is apparent that role-playing is a very important aspect of the game, while resource management has been stripped down to its barest essentials (all you need is cows to paraphrase a famous Beetles song). On the RPG end of the spectrum, the campaigns let units gain experience, pick up and drop select items, and heal by resting or using special healing spots on the map. Research also lets players upgrade unit attacks, armaments, and spells adding another important layer to the game. Because there were only two small chapters for the campaign, it's hard to know how in-depth or decent they'll be, but the first two chapters provide both a single-player adventure as Prince John and another adventure where the Prince and his forces must save a town. While the story isn't really refined yet, the action is pretty decent. KnightShift's strong-point isn't its storytelling; it's the action that will suck you in. In the first chapter Prince John must gather his lost weapon and armor, taking on a few minor quests along the way and fighting some moderately small groups of enemies. The first chapter is more RPG than RTS because you don't have control of any troops and there are a number of light but entertaining quests to complete. Things heat up in the second chapter as a northern city, under siege from an army and a group of bandits, gets a message to your forces that they need help. In that mission players get to take control of some basic fighting forces, handle a minor amount of city building & research and take on what seems like an unbeatable force of enemies. The game really picks up at this point and players quickly learn why KnightShift is a decent strategy game - if your forces can survive they can grow stronger, gain bonuses from random items, and live happily ever after.

KnightShift works best if you use a layered approach to troop formations (archers and magic folks in the back, spearmen & warriors in the front. Also using towers, resting and stealth makes the game less difficult. A tank rush in campaign mode doesn't work very well because (at least in chapter two) you have a limited number of units to work with. Luckily if you get wiped out and your prince can survive then you can return to your city and make more units. Even though I've only seen a mere sliver of what the campaign mode offers, I like it a lot. I can't wait to see more.

The Skirmish mode in the preview version provided a lot more action than in the campaigns and this is where I saw a lot of the research that players will be able to do in the final version of the game. Research can be used to upgraded magical attacks, receive new spells (all of which are available in the RPG mode) get upgraded armor and weapons (including magical types) and lots of other interesting goodies that will help you grow. I didn't notice any building upgrades, but this is probably because research is applied directly to the units unlike traditional RTS games. Researching doesn't give you new units, only the base buildings in the game can do that, and most of them can be used as soon as you have built prerequisite buildings and have enough milk to purchase stuff.

I'm not sure if Reality Pump plans to add any more units or buildings to the game, but at present there are small of both. In the build I am playing Knights, Archers, Spearmen, Witches, Wizards, Priests, Priestess, Warriors, Wood Butchers (the work force of the game), Mother-in-laws (who make them work faster and can capture and occupy enemy buildings), cowherds (who manage your cows and can tame wild animals) and cows -- the key to resources in the game. Cows provide milk which is the key resource in building structures buying research and units. The more cows and shepherds you have (who motivate the cows) the better.

The main structures in the game include Cowsheds (for cows) Huts (for creating basic units like wood butchers and archers), Barracks (for Spearmen and Warriors), Temples (Priest and Priestesses), Wizard Towers (Wizards and Witches) and Knight Towers (used for housing Knights). Certain units, as I already mentioned, offer command and healing rate bonuses to other units) like the Knight and the Priest. In Skirmish mode the enemy is simply the same units dressed in another color.

In just about all the modes units can find items, healing spots and underground passages that lead to remote parts of the world. In the RPG game mode players can also use teleport gates that lead to other unique spots on the map as well. The game does offers paper-dolling, so if you put most items on it'll show up on your character - an important touch because it distinguishes that "have" units from the "have nots".