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Over 20 years have passed since the first installment, and Paul has been plagued with unexplainable visions ever since. Seeking solitude and information in a library, our protagonist learns that he must seek out three ancient artifacts scattered throughout the land. The game isn’t winning any prizes for its dull plotline, this is obvious; but to be fair, there are a few surprising twists and turns over the course of the campaign, even though there is very little in the way of replayability.
When describing the gameplay in Knights of the Temple 2 it’s hard to pin down a genre, as it feels like a mixture between an RPG, a hack-and-slasher, and an adventure game. There are parts where players will be forced to accomplish quests for certain NPCs, which are generally tedious ‘fetch’ mission, and of course, the combat sections. In addition, during combat players can gain experience points, which can later be invested in combos and magic spells such as healing.
New to Knights of the Temple 2 is the multiplayer mode, which offers players the opportunity to play online and LAN games. Although the lobby is always empty, the multiplayer aspect feels a lot like a classical Unreal Tournament with swords and crossbows.
Visually, the game isn’t so bad. It’s nothing spectacular, but it does get the job done neatly. The environments are well varied, ranging from dungeons to forests and even swamps. Most are rather dark and gloomy, but they all look unique. The models are fairly generic and repetitive, but Paul looks alright. On the whole, the characters are well animated and flow well. There is also a bunch of cutscenes in the game that look a little dated, but they properly convey what they need to.
The audio department of Knights of the Temple 2 is also a disappointment, but that would be on par with the rest of the game. The sound effects are rather dreary and uninteresting, making combat not as interesting and involving as it could have been, due also in part to the irritating camera angles. The voice acting feels a little pedantic and forced in some areas, but it could have been a lot worse—it borderlines on ‘OK.’ The musical score isn’t outstanding or notable, although it does fit in nicely with the atmosphere.
Overall, Knights of the Temple 2 is rather disappointing. As a follow-up to an already average game, KOTT2 adds a little non-linearity and multiplayer into the equation, but still falls short in most aspects including dated gameplay mechanics, vacant online lobbies, average graphics, a poor aural experience and an annoying control scheme. Although, it’s not all bad news with this game, gamers finding themselves bored during a rainy or snowy weekend might find a couple of hours of amusement to be had if they have nothing else to play.
