If you're a fan of RTS games this one is a doozy. It is a nice break from the regular population limit and generating resources model and instead you create companies and use cities to generate + or - levels of a resource. Companies and outposts cost resource levels and if you go negative you lose gold over time. With the addition of heroes and leveling and varied units it's certainly worth your time.

KAG is my favorite RTS. I've been playing it since it came out in 2001 and only recently downloaded the Steam version to connect with friends who had lost their CDs (I have one signed by the devs... I know, I'm a KAG geek).

It has some of the most dynamic AI and gameplay of its day, and games never feel old to me no matter how many times I play them. I really enjoy the company dynamics, the presence of techs, and the way you can create your own units, maps, and AIs to customize the game to your taste (look up KMod if you're interested). In fact, my partner and I have created 7 epic campaigns that we play all the time, each featuring different Kohan and types of challenges. Tinkering with AIs is also great fun (look for The Awakening fan site to download tons).

Anyway, I recommend KAG if you like retro games and want to try something different. Have fun!

What is it about this game that makes it so good? The random maps? The squad-based controls? The RPG elements? The city-building component? Micromanagement that's fun and not overwhelming? Good co-op play?

I'm not sure. But I can't get enough of it.

Making this post to proclaim:

For those who complain the game is too laggy, and then disable comments on your review.

You are missing out, as there is a community patch which fixes the lag that does exist in the base game running on newer version of Windows.

I repeat, if you reach out to the community, you can get a community patch which will fix the lag, and provide a balance to the multiplayer, which, yes, after 18 years is still going strong.

Best game ever made - worth going through this small effort to attain the community patch which makes the game perfectly playable on newer iterations of Windows.

The gameplay is unique even for how dated the title is. Instead of massing units and micromanaging them with high APM (Actions Per Minute), you can easily move, watch your units fight, and drink a cup of coffee without worrying about getting arthritis. Instead of making the same units till you hit cap, you get to make a company of units. There will be a certain requirements to make units. This could be making a barracks and a temple to make a Paladin or for Elite Guards it would be Barracks, Blacksmith, Temple, and a Library. This works in similar fashion with archers, magic users, and anything else. Instead of unit caps you’ll hit a company cap. So at the start of the game you’ll be at 1 company until you upgrade your city. You can Name your company personally or allow the game to do so for you. You can mix and match your company. For example, you could have Front Line with Footmen with two supports of a Paladin, or Ranger, or Cleric. You can have an entire company of all Footmen. The support classes will need to be accompanied by a Front line unit, but Front line units can play both roles. They can be accompanied by a captain or a hero that you’ll have during campaign or skirmish.

You’ll have formations that can make a company of troop move faster but is less effective during combat or shines during combat, but is moves at a slower pace. You have to remind yourself to change this back prior of combat because if you’re in the march formation you might find yourself in trouble. Also, you’ll have waypoints so the company can move about the map without you always clicking all over the place.

The economy works in an interesting aspect as well. Instead of mining, chopping wood, or gathering resources in general, it’s produced via your city. Each resource also has an option where you can get more resources, an added effect for your units or civilization in general, or take away some of those resources to convert into gold. You can upgrade your cities after your city as hit the maximum slot – also depends on the faction you play too. For example if you build a lumberyard and a blacksmith, you then can upgrade your city into the next tier. This also increases your Company population by one as well. The more cities you have the higher your company population and the more resources you get. The units will also deplete your resources. If you start to go negative with iron or lumber it will start dipping into your gold as a way of upkeep. You need gold to make companies so keep that mind as well.

On the map you’ll see nodes of Iron, gold, crystals and other variations. This will help increase your gold output, lumber, etc. You’ll also see Independent factions or creatures throughout the map too. You can attack and kill their villages and ruins to obtain gold too. This makes exploring fun and rewarding, especially if you’re low on funds.

The UI is clunky and dated at times but a lot of it is good even for how old it is. For example, you can click the heroes tab and attached or detach from a company without even clicking on the company and/or hero itself. You also have a diplomacy tab to wage war, make peace or make alliances. You have a company tab to help you find all your companies on the map. You have a message log tab to see who died, what was built, who attacked who, etc. You also have a tab for all your forts and cities and you can filter between them too. You have a Quest and Technology tabs. These tell you about what you discovered while playing along and during the campaign the Quest tab is your objectives.

You have zones which help you repopulate your companies if they get hurt, the supplies zones help you when you build a structure on a resource node so you can obtain the extra resources. You’ll also see control zones which allow building from maximum distance from your other villages. You cannot have multiple cities within the same zones. You can build forts wherever you feel like which is also upgradable.

You get four factions all with their own style, heroes, units, buildings, and upgrades. They all have their pros and cons against other factions and you’ll learn this throughout playing the game. The other neat feature is when you defeat a city that belongs to another faction; you get to make companies out of their own units against them and/or other opponents. The campaign is voiced and talks about the lore of Kohan with the heroes you interact with, the world you explore, and the villains you get to kill. The campaign was enjoyable and you had a sense of progression throughout the missions and quests.

Kohan: Ahriman’s Gift is the next installment of Kohan: Immortal Sovereigns (known as an expansion pack).

The additional content from Ahriman’s Gift is additional units, different heroes, different maps, and another campaign featuring a different race that is playable during one out of three campaigns.

I recommend the game if you’re into older RTS titles without the APM atmosphere.

Hello. I drive a tractor trailer in the US and Canada and need a game that does not require internet access. This game fits the bill and runs great on a non-gaming laptop. If you have a creative side you can make your own maps. Have fun and take care.

Gotta install the fix if you are on newer machines. But its still such a great game.

This is my favorite RTS, and hands down one of my favorite video games. I've played a lot of Blizzard RTSs, and follow the competitive Starcraft/SC2 scene. I love those games to death, but Kohan is still my favorite. Why? It strikes all the balances perfectly. The balance of micro vs macro is perfect. It has heroes that sway the game and add a lot of flavor and strategy, but don't come anywhere close to dominating the game like in WC3. It has neutral creeps that may or may not be a part of maps, that, again, are a part of the strategy but their existence doesn't dominate game play. More than any other RTS, it feels like a battle -- lines of armies clash; you have some control as the overseer, but not total control and sometimes your army breaks into a chaotic mass.

Companies of 5-7 units instead of individual units adds a new dimension of gameplay. Buildings are built as components to upgradable cities, so the map isn't littered with buildings (unless you build a lot of outposts) -- more space for epic battles to happen! Economy works on a +/- system, instead of hard numbers. Only your gold is a hard number, and if your other resources are in the negatives, you lose gold.

There's a handful of people that still play this game multiplayer regularly, despite its age. Overall, this RTS has so many unique systems and it's a one-of a kind game (aside from the others in the series, of course). It has given my endless hours of fun. The strategy is deep. I love it, and my only complaint is that there aren't more people to play with.

The Kohan community is alive, though small, and we want it to grow. Come join the fun!

One of the best RTS games of all times, sadly forgotten by most. I would gladly welcome a newer version for this game (Kohan II with it's 3D graphics doesn't count, they killed the charm with that art style).

If you can get it, get it, get the community patch and experience this gem of a game, you won't regret it.

Best RTS of all time.