The Settlers (Second Review)

Title		The Settlers  (Second Review)
Game Type	Management Sim
Players		1-2
Compatibility	All
HD Installable	Yes
Submission	Tony Belding Courtesy of Sean Caszatt

Review
The Settlers only runs in PAL mode, and it won't open a DblPAL screen on
my Amiga 4000/040.  It does install on hard disk, starts from Workbench,
doesn't multi-task but does return to the Workbench okay, which would be
a handy feature if I didn't have to reboot for PAL mode.  It also takes
good advantage of any extra RAM you might have.

The game reminds me of an ant colony.  It's fascinating to watch the tiny
people going about their business: building houses, chopping down trees,
forging iron, farming, baking bread, etc.  The graphics are good, though I
wish there could have been an AGA version.

The game plays very slowly and provides lots of intricate detail, not much
excitement.  It's certainly not as exciting as Populous II where you would
have volcanoes erupting, mass warfare, guys walking around with their
heads on fire, etc...

Despite the level of detail, The Settlers doesn't offer a whole lot of
control over the activity of the settlers.  For the most part, you tell
them where to build houses, what kind of house to build, and you lay
roads to connect them.  From there the little guys just do their thing.

You can also tell your knights where to attack.  Combat can be downright
boring as the knights take turns duelling in single combat in front of a
guard hut or tower.  Occasionally fights break out in the open country
when one group of knights intercepts another.  The victory is satisfying
when enemy buildings burst into flames.  The vast part of the game is
spent building up your society to prepare for battle.  The actual war,
when it comes, is not such a big deal.

Really getting into this game will require MANY hours of play.  My overall
impression is of a pretty good game -- not necessarily perfect, but worth
buying for those who like "god sim" games and are looking for a new
challenge.

Alphabetical list.