Wrath Unleashed is a hex-based strategy game for the PlayStation 2 and the Xbox made in 2004. It's a game that combines turn-based strategy with one-on-one combat, and the story follows the demigods of the four elements; Earth, Fire, Water, and Wind; as they fight against each other for dominance.
A Spiritual Successor to Archon.
Wrath Unleashed displays the following tropes:
- Action Girl: The Giantesses, in the Light armies.
- Animated Armor: Spirit Armor in both Dark armies, Iron Golem in the Dark Order army, and Genies/Djinni in every army.
- Barrier Warrior: The primary ability of Sentinel-rank monsters like Unicorns and Centaurs is that they can only be attacked by enemies that are already adjacent to them on the board. This trait manifests as a wall of energy that prevents unfriendly creatures from entering their space.
- Classical Mythology: Centaur and a Cyclops make appearances. The former as a common Redshirt for every faction, and the latter as an Elite Mook for Dark Chaos.
- Color-Coded Armies: Light Order is Blue, Light Chaos is Red, Dark Order is Green, and Dark Chaos is Purple.
- Color-Coded Elements: Follows the usual conventions, for the most part. Water-themed Light Order is blue, fire-themed Light Chaos is red, and earth-themed Dark Order is green. Only wind-themed Dark Chaos breaks the pattern, opting for sinister purple rather than yellow or green.
- Cyclops: A monstrous cyclops with a spiked turtle-shell (though it may just be a form of crude armor) is part of the Dark Chaos roster.
- Dark Is Evil: Durlock and Helamis are the evil gods of the pantheon, their minions are coated in Spikes of Villainy, and their factions are Dark Order and Dark Chaos respectively.
- Elite Mooks: An army can field up to three Champion-rank monsters, of three broad types. The first type is a Unique Enemy Mighty Glacier (Ogre Mage, Fire Giant, Iron Golem and Cyclops), the second is a Lightning Bruiser that can fly and bypass terrain (Frost/Fire Dragons and Arch/Chaos Demons), while the third is a mounted Squishy Wizard capable of casting spells (Juggernaut Adepts and Nightmare Adepts).
- Evil Counterpart: Most of the Light-aligned creatures have evil versions in the Dark armies, including Centaur/Centabra, Unicorn/Dark Unicorn, and Genie/Djinn.
- Four Is Death: The four Demigods were apparently born when their world was shattered in a cataclysm.
- Helamis is the fourth Demigod introduced in the opening cinematic, representing Dark Chaos, and is the protagonist of the fourth campaign.
- Geo Effects: Creatures become stronger when they stand on a hex related to their own element (i.e. a Water-aligned creature standing in a Sea). Some hexes give weaker benefits to two elements at once (Deserts, for example, support Fire and Wind creatures), while Ethereal hexes are Non-Elemental.
- Golden Snitch: Killing a Demi/God is the quickest way to win. As such, being particularly skilled with a non-deity unit that you can use as an assassin provides an immense advantage over the opposing team.
- Golem: Dark Order's Iron Golem, a shambling hulk of scrap metal, shields and machinery animated by an arcane totem inside its chest.
- Hero Unit: The Demigods and Gods (officially referred to as "Overlord" units). Among the most powerful units in their respective factions, capable of casting tons of magic and kicking ass when threatened. However, there can only ever be one Demigod or one God in the army, and if they die their controlling player instantly loses.
- Hot-Blooded: Epothos, naturally.
- I Am a Humanitarian: Dark Chaos' Cyclops carries captive humans in nets on its belt, and its victory animation for a battle is to grab one and lower him, still alive and screaming, towards its maw for a snack. The results screen serves as a Gory Discretion Shot.
- Keystone Army: If a Demigod is slain at any time, that player instantly loses.
- Life Meter: Every unit has one, and it persists between battles.
- Love Dodecahedron: Aenna loves Epothos, Epothos loves Aenna, Helamis loves Epothos, Durlock loves Aenna...
- Magma Man: The Fire Giant is made of molten magma. Epothos also has magma powers in his arsenal.
- Mechanical Monster: The Juggernauts of the Light armies are massive robotic rhinos/boars ridden by spellcasting Adepts.
- Mooks: Monsters of the Warrior class are mid-tier fighters, including Giantesses, Genies, Spirit Armors and Djinni.
- Order Versus Chaos: Any battle between Light/Dark Order and Light/Dark Chaos.
- Our Monsters Are Different:
- Our Centaurs Are Different: Centaurs for the Light armies, and Centabra for the Dark armies, are Horned Humanoids with leonine claws rather than hooves.
- Our Demons Are Different: Chaos Demon for Dark Chaos and Arch Demon for Dark Order.
- Our Dragons Are Different: Frost Dragon for Light Order and Fire Dragon for Light Chaos. They resemble Chinese-style dragons, but with humanoid torsos and no hind legs. As their names suggest, they possess Breath Weapons of ice and fire, respectively.
- Our Genies Are Different: Genies for the Light armies, Djinni for the Dark armies. Spirits inhabiting legless Animated Armor, fighting with a mix of staff martial arts and spellcasting.
- Our Giants Are Bigger: The Fire Giant for Light Chaos, and Giantesses for both Light armies. The Giantesses are brawny Statuesque Stunners swinging warhammers, while the Fire Giant is a molten Rock Monster.
- Our Gods Are Different: The four Demigods, and their unlockable God forms.
- Our Ogres Are Hungrier: The Ogre Mage, for Light Order. Notably subverts the 'hungry' aspect by being a Wutai Magic Knight rather than a savage brute.
- Physical God: Each Demigod is a unit on the field, and is your primary spellcaster.
- Redshirt: The Sentinel class - consisting of Centaurs, Centabra, Unicorns and Dark Unicorns - are the weakest monsters in the game when it comes to combat, but on the strategy map they offset this by serving as Barrier Warriors who can block movement and stall the enemy advance.
- Secondary Color Nemesis: In their default color schemes, the Light factions are colored red and blue, while the Dark factions are green and purple.
- Sibling Rivalry: Durlock and Helamis are brother and sister, or at least consider themselves such, and fight each-other almost as much as they fight Aenna and Epothos.
- Shattered World: Apparently, the world was destroyed by a cataclysmic war between good and evil in the distant past, and the Demigods are fighting each-other over misshapen, patchwork continents floating in the void of space.
- Stripperific: How the hell can Aenna walk around in that bikini-like outfit of hers without getting cold? And Helamis has skeletal hands covering her... assets. Their God forms cover a bit more, but aren't much better.
- Unicorn: Some fairly vicious-looking ones are available for every faction, covered in chitinous plates and spikes (moreso with the Dark Unicorns), with the iconic 'horn' actually being a narwhal-style tooth protruding from their lower jaws.
- Unique Enemy: Each faction has one of their three "Champion" monsters be a unique design and model that isn't merely a Palette Swap of another monster in other armies. These are Light Order's Ogre Mage, Light Chaos' Fire Giant, Dark Order's Iron Golem, and Dark Chaos' Cyclops.
