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Not a real Settler game

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: October 26, 2007
Author: Amazon User

I have had all other versions and they have been much more fun to play> this version does not have free maps and the preset maps are not as good as the old ones, also not enough variety.
It was disappointing and I just bought the new Settler Rise of an Empire and I hope it get's better again!

Review by Comparison.

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 0 / 0
Date: June 08, 2008
Author: Amazon User

It's like 1503 AD meets Dungeon Siege. Possibly 1703 AD, but I haven't played it yet. & a little bit of Heroes of Might & Magic 4 & Age of Empires tossed in. It's fun to watch the trees, tall grasses, cattails, & wheat dance in the wind. The seaweed dances in the water, but there are no fish, even though there are animals all over the land, but you can't hunt them for food. The terrain would look more realistic if the land near the water banks looked wet. The campaign is quite fun & you may find youself spending more than 8 hours a day or night playing it. I love the camera in this game; you can zoom in on the buildings & watch the workers & zoom out for battle. In single player games, you can do an ammusing thing; hire tons & tons of surfs to suck the enemy's resources dry.

A terrible butchery of the Settlers francise.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 4 / 9
Date: February 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Whoever is responsible for butchering the Settlers series into this title should be fired. I suspect UBI is to blame for wanting to make the game more "Mainstream". In the process, they destroyed everything that Settlers was supposed to be about and what we are left with is a pretty lousy game.

Its truely sad what has happened to this series, this title is best avoided.

Another great series bites the dust

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 8
Date: January 07, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The settlers series began as a great idea which empasized economic development rather than building a massive army to defeat your enemies...warfare is still a factor but the stronger economy always won...with this game the makers guessed that a new engine meant a better game...wrong .. I see many people praising the weather...ok so..? The point here is that the series which reached a golden age in Settlers III and IV took a steep dive with this one ..like someone else said..if you liked the old ones please spend your 29$+ s&h on some other more worthwhile title instead and if you've never played the Settlers series I recommend IV I guarantee you'll have much fun than you would with this POS ... I cant believe someone actually said "Best game in the series to date" ..how very wrong ;) anyways I hope the game goes back to its roots with the next one .. otherwise I will be a very dissapointed fan of the series :(

settlers.. decent game but quirky

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 2
Date: June 02, 2007
Author: Amazon User

After wanting this game for ages, I finally found it used at a good price through amazon.com and bought it after playing the demo. The game itself is a very cool RTS, with nice graphics and lots of little goodies. The strategy plays a large role, especially considering changing seasons, where rivers freeze in the winter, allowing access to previously untouchable parts of nice sized maps. The heroes are great, each with different abilities and the military system is good, this is a great game for defensive turtles. Unfortunately, the process of building up a large colony and military is monotonous, the same steps and research are required map after map and the upgrades come slowly. This alone is the reason my copy has sat untouched for a couple of weeks, but I'm sure many people would love an RTS where rushing in the beginning isnt such a big issue, and economy is.

Much better, thank you!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 7 / 13
Date: February 27, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I enjoy this game immensely. The previous Settlers games had some nice things, but the overall scheme was rudimentary compared to this newest version.

Finally, a Settlers game where the workers work, and don't take 20 minutes to walk!

The action is much more detailed, the graphics obviously much more so, and the quests/missions/maps are better as it relates to story-line.

Cool but would like to see some key features return

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: December 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a fun new game in the settlers series with some cool features like heroes, great graphics, and great use of weather in the story.

There are also some sadly missing great attributes of the settlers series that I hope they bring back in the next version. Missing are carriers, trails, and the complex economy where you start with some bricks tools and have to build up industries relying on different foods, etc. The real fun of the old series is in the building of the economy, bounded and measured by the famous carriers. The use of carriers made sure that you had to make good sensible cities or they would end up horribly inefficient.

The new game has fun things too. The heroes bring a lot to the game as they have some character and special abilities and handle a lot of the fighting and leading of fights. Weather is used in an amusing in fun way - you have access to an inventor who can create a weather machine which freezes the lakes and opens up new avenues of attack.

There no longer seems to be an on-line community to create maps that allow the game to be replayable. This is one of the biggest missing features. There is an online section that does not seem to be connected to anything.

Overall I like this game but I hope that the designers consider bringing back the old favorites for their loyal fanbase and mix them with the new great ideas. I would buy it again if they did.

Another Success in the series.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 8
Date: April 18, 2006
Author: Amazon User

I've seen the reviews from others who played the previous games in the series, claiming this one isn't fun. They're full of it. It has the same basic elements, in a much easier, more fun to use interface that beginning gamers and old hands both can very easily grasp the concepts of and truly enjoy a strategy game right away, without the harsh learning curves. There's no overwhelming manual to read for three days beforehand.

The tutorial is built right into the game play to naturally and gradually ease you into the things you need to do to make your city work. Gradually may make it sound unexciting, also not true. The game opens with your village under attack, and after dispatching the enemies, you must begin to repair and rebuild, so it is definitely exciting and challenging without being overwhelming.

You are introduced to how to control the hero and all other game aspects as you need them in the game. The game gets progressively harder, making you use what you've learned to come up with tactics.

I've never been the hack and slash type even though I love city builders and rpgs. The fighting in this game is smooth, easy to control, usually with plenty of time to prepare. The heros add their own special abilities and personalities to the fighting. In the previous Settlers games, it was next to impossible to figure out how to easily move cannons around to where you needed them, they got hung up on terrain. I didn't have to spend an hour figuring out how to get trade centers to move needed tools from one settlement to another, as all resources were able to be used anywhere I chose to build. The efficiency was still required as your working people need their homes and farms near their place of work. They wouldn't walk half way across the map to find a bed. Frequent saves on harder levels before moving your troops out is a very good idea though.

I loved the combination of RPG elements of heros and storylines, with little things to discover on every single map. Improvements could be made in some areas in that we should be able to sandbox every scenario, there were many I completed the scenario before I finished exploring the maps. We should be able to continue playing the same map if we want to. Another area for improvement would have been goods for our people to buy that we had made. Who can live on food and housing alone? No one, people want *things*. Add a bit of that, and you'd have a powerhouse of a game.

As it stands, I would say this game is a must have for rpg, city building, AND strategy gamers, which is a unique combination that should appeal to many types of gamers. Give it a shot before you let the harsh critics turn you away, at least try the demo. I'm already looking for the expansion pack I just read on their site has come out. ;)

Best settlers installment yet!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 10
Date: July 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

though it differs from its predacessors, to me this one was the most fun and visually stimulating. the graphics are incredable and stylized and the gameplay is no longer focused on minning gold, instead earning it. mines do have their place though. this plays more on real life though it is set in a fantasy world. workers pay taxes while giving you the neccessary commodities you need to build an empire and defend it. the upgradable society idea work wonders here as well. i love the idea that you can butild a college and research a technoplogy, instead of just building a number of buildings in a certain order, or just having your people know already and just needing the proper tools.

like i said,this is more like life. you need workers for their taxes and rescorces, they need a place to stay and food. you provide this and you win their services. using this money and rescorces you can build great empires and armies. each platoon has a leader and the number of their followers can be increased, as well as armor, sight, and weapons.

this is by far my fav of all the settlers series. i know you will love it, even if all you are interested in the eye candy.

Great game, calm down fan boys

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 25
Date: March 17, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Ok, all the Settlers fanboys claiming that Heritage of Kings "butchered" the series need to seriously chill. The previous Settlers games were graphically ugly and who bothers about comparisons? We are talking about THIS game, not the previous ones. If you liked them, then go play the 2D pieces of crap.

Heritage of Kings has AMAZING graphics, better than any strategy game I have seen to date. The action is also very interesting and the game is far from easy. If you like a challenge it, this is the game for you. The game is never boring and there is a ton of upgrades. Also, you get quite a few heroes and each has two very cool abilities. In summary, if you like medieval strategy games (i.e. knights and swords, not star craft type of game), this is the game for you. Until Age of Empires 3 comes out in August, I say this is the best medieval strategy game out there.

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