Besieger is an interesting blend of fantasy real-time strategy ala Warcraft III along with its own unique blend of siege warfare all brought together using Primal Software game engine (use for its other game I of the Dragon). The end result is a pretty solid game that should offer something for both single-player and multiplayer fans of the genre.

Besieger lets players don the roles of leaders of the Vikings and the Cimmerians in a storyline that sees the once peaceful coexistence of both races dissolve into a war. When the brother of the Cimmerian leader siezes control of the throne, the mighty nation decides to declare war on the Vikings, sending both nations into a bloody series of battles for survival. Part of the single player campaign will be played as a leader of the Vikings -- and later on as the leader of the Cimmerians as both unravel just what force is behind the chaos that has overtaken the land. Along the way players will battle a menagerie of humanoid and fantast creatures underground, across sprawling and colorful landscapes and in and around mighty citadels and strongholds in pitched hilltop battles. Some of these creatures are mighty heroes and will lend their strength and skills to the player, while many others can be grown in your base camps and strongholds. Both the Cimmerians and the Vikings will be able to create specialty units and fantastic mechanical units whose purposes range from breaching walls to raining a volley of projectiles on unsuspecting armies.

The game offers the usual resource gathering aspect, with players gathering wood, stone and ore and city building using a variety of buildings which can be tweaked and upgraded as you progress to create even more units or specialty units. Besieger does a nice job of balancing upgrades with city buildings. For instance, one house will create 5 workers, but with several upgrades this self-same structure will pump out 15 units. Other buildings can provide upgrades to weapon and armor strength, better firing capabilities for defensive structures and good old production upgrades for buildings that take in resources. What's nice about the infantry type units and siege mechanics is that it's a "filter in, filter out system". Instead of just getting a berserker, for example, you need to give it a unit first to create one (you can also put them back through the structure to change them back to workers). Siege weapons work the same - most require operators to make the unit operational. This aspect of gameplay helps balance the gameplay out a bit. Sure you can still create a massive amount of workers to do your bidding by creating housing, but you'll have to process them through certain structures to get the units you'll need.

Since the game uses the I of the Dragon engine, it is capable of rendering large amounts of open terrain in a way that doesn't bog the game down. The camera is also capable of being used as the player sees fit and can be unlocked to suite what ever view is important to you at any given time. The engine also allows the player to destroy the terrain which can be an advantage or a disadvantage depending on the situation - and can add a whole new level of tactics to a major battle.

For multiplayer action Besieger offers a skirmish mode where players can battle AI opponents for fame and glory using one of four match types including good old fashioned Deathmatch (all out battles complete with units, buildings, etc); Artifact (a variation on capture the flag where players defend an artifact while trying to steal thier opponent's); Battle (players get a specific amount of units that they must use wisely to defeat the enemy) and Siege (one player defends a walled city while the other tries to overtake it). The game speed, difficuly, and certain conditions for victory (destroy all buildings, destroy all house, etc) can be set. The multiplayer aspect is pretty much the same as Skirmish, providing slot for up to 16 players depending on which map you choose to use. Multiplayer supports online play via the internet and LAN.

Besieger offers the usual conventions you expect in a fantasy flavored real-time strategy game: city building, resource gathering, heroes, large scale battles, specialty units, research, etc. Where the game shines is in its siege warfare tactics and deformable terrain. These elements add enough flavor to the gameplay that fans will find the game an enjoyable romp both online and offline. The graphics are decent, the lead characters are compelling and the storyline in the single-player campaign is compelling enough to keep fans of games like Warrior Kings and Warcraft III satisfied. If you can't get enough of these kinds of games then you should give Beseiger a serious look. You can start by checking out the game's official site - a playable demo is available now as well and offers 2 single player campaigns (playing as either a Viking or a Cimmerian), and 4 multiplayer modes including Siege, Death Match, Artifact and Battle.