Serf City: Life is Feudal

The graphics are very nice! The sound is nothing exceptional and there is an intro movie, which is very nice as well. An interesting feature, this game offers the “two mouse” mode. This is a kind of split-screen hot seat. Other game modes are: campaign, 1 player skirmish map, 2 players skirmish map, a tutorial, and a demo. You can play with up to 3 computer controlled players. Except for that, you can also set the map size, by choosing a figure in between 1-8. But beware because the bigger the map size, the bigger your RAM figure has to be. So, for example, to play an 8 size map, you would need 8 MB RAM minimum. However, I don't think this will present much of a problem today. In closing, I would like to say that this game is a simply great, and that it fully deserves the 5 mark, although it has a hilarious fighting system.

Fed up with the nine-to-five routine? Then why not sign up as the leader of a completely new civilisation – a people with an overwhelming desire for money, food and somewhere to park their park. Erm, pigs, that is. Settlers is the latest game from History Line and Battle Isle programmers Blue Byte. This time around, though, the German Wunderkinder have turned their backs on their warlike past and opted for something altogether more ‘wholesome’.

The point I'm ultimately coming to is that games of the Populous/Powermonger type, while exceptional examples of the genre, demand quite a high level of dedication and concentration, which is often offputting. Where The Settlers excels, though, is in taking genre, stripping away much of the excess baggage and presenting the new, leaner gameplay in such a clear way, that even if you have short attention span you'll find it hard not to get hooked within the first 15 minutes.

Eigentlich sollte diese originelle Mischung aus "Populous" und "Sim City" schon letzte Weihnachten erscheinen – aber bei Blue Byte siedeln nun mal Perfektionisten, denen nur das Beste gut genug ist! Es wurde also nochmals ein Jahr für den Feinschliff investiert, und das hat sich auch gelohnt. Denn selbst wenn hier drei der vier Disks bereits für das pompöse Zeichentrick-Intro draufgehen, darf man die Komplexität der Geschichte keinesfalls unterschätzen – von den spielerischen Möglichkeiten her stellt das Programm "Populous II" glatt in den Schatten! Um das Fazit ausnahmsweise vorwegzunehmen: Den Leute von der "Battle Isle" ist mal wieder ein Klassiker geglückt...

Settlersin komeat grafiikat näyttävät renderöidyiltä, mutteivät ole sitä. Musiikki täydentää tunnelman. Settlers on terävä, innostava ja valtavan laaja peli. Rakenna, sodi, etsi mineraaleja, laajene. Älä ihmeessä missaa Settlersiä.

The most important point to make about The Settlers is that it is not a God game. It might look like one, and at times play like one, but there is considerably more depth to it than Populous. By the same stroke, it is not Sim City. Again, there are many facets of it that might be akin to the Maxis classic, but there are a hundred more that are not. In short, rather than being totally original, this is a blend of quite a few game styles. Why the high mark? Because it does the job so well.

A1200: You get the option of bigger maps, and more sound effects, giving you that self-satisfied feeling of having something just a bit better and smoother than everyone else.

Warning, warning, you are about to read a review about a strategy game. If you are offended by words such as ‘thoughtful’, ‘in depth’, ‘economic simulation’, ‘long term progression’, or whatever, then CLOSE THE MAGAZINE NOW. This is not, repeat not, a cutesy platform game. Right then, that should have got rid of all those who are never ever going to be into a game that takes several hours to play, so I guess all of you that have made it thus far are potential buyers. There are lots of games that The Settlers reminds me of, as it looks like Populous, plays a bit like Sim City, and the way that the characters look so terrible in screenshots but come to life when you see them moving around their domain is reminiscent of Lemmings. Yup, The Settlers is like lots of things, but still manages to be a unique game, which is truly a rare and satisfying thing to see these days.

The military aspect of the game is fortunately very small and unimportant. Its outcome seems like only a direct consequence of the economic performance. If it was for me, it could have been scrapped completely. To me, this is a business game which has nothing to do with war - one of the best ever.

Kein Adventure, keine Flugsimulation und keine Action-Ballerei versetzt derzeit die Amiga-Zocker in Verzückung. Ein beschauliches, hochkomplexes und weitgehend gewaltfreies Strategiespiel auf hohem Niveau tummelt sich stattdessen auf den ersten Plätzen der Verkaufs-Charts. Kann dieser Erfolg auf dem PC wiederholt werden?

Settlers har en härlig stämning, schyst manual och trevlig grafik. Man tröttnar inte i första taget eftersom man har så mycket val att förenkla eller försvåra både förutsättningar för sig själv och motståndarnas skicklighetsgrad. En solklar fyra på gränsen till full pott!

Die Siedler ist einer der ganz großen Klassiker und kann auch heute noch überzeugen. Beim Aufbau der Siedlung vergehen die Stunden meist im Flug.

Good landscapes and engaging gameplay. So-so character graphics; cluttered interface; only moderate depth. Fun if you're unfamiliar with kingdom-building, but it needs more variety.