Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood

Robin Hood: The Legend of Sherwood is a stealth-based real-time tactics game from 2002, created by Spellbound Entertainment. Its design shares similarities with titles like Desperados: Wanted Dead or Alive and the Commandos series. Players control up to five characters in a world inspired by the Robin Hood legends, including Robin himself and his Merry Men: Little John, Friar Tuck, Will Scarlet, Will Stutely, and Maid Marian. The crew must evade the cruel Sheriff of Nottingham and his henchmen while stopping the schemes of the usurper Prince John. A key rule is that Robin should avoid killing enemies whenever possible; doing so limits his ability to recruit new Merry Men. The plot begins as Robin arrives in Lincoln from the Crusades and discovers the Sheriff of Nottingham has stolen his inheritance. After the first two missions, he meets Maid Marian in Nottingham Cathedral and learns that King Richard has been kidnapped by Leopold of Austria for a ransom. Prince John, acting as regent, is unlawfully seizing the throne. The player must gather the £100,000 ransom to save the king. Missions often involve ambushing convoys or infiltrating towns to gather information or free outlaws. The final mission requires Robin to fight the Sheriff, defeating Prince John. In gameplay, Merry Men can kill or wound enemies, but resources are limited—main characters have more than minor ones. In towns, players can give money to beggars, who provide hints in return. Common folk rarely offer help, but two specific characters—a woman in a red apron and a man in a red-and-blue shirt—flee and alert nearby soldiers. Enemy soldiers have limited greed: money purses do not affect sergeants, but ale does. Money can sometimes be found on knights, cavalry, sergeants, and rarely on normal soldiers. The PC version received "favorable" reviews according to Metacritic. The Linux version, available in German and English, also earned favorable mentions. The game won awards for Best Game Design and Best Animation at the 2003 Animago Awards.