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"Like a glass of cool apple juice on a hot summers day. And also it's your birthday."

Throughout the course of history, simple ideas have always been the way forward if you really want something to catch on. Look at the invention of the wheel, for example; that's pretty straightforward. But jazz things up a bit, stick an axel between two wheels, add a ridiculously complicated method of propulsion and bingo, you've pretty much got yourself a car. Except, of course, I haven't, because I haven't taken my driving test.

Anyway: The Settlers then. A prime example of a simple idea of a computer game that works so fantastically well any future editions have been pretty much entirely pointless. I've no idea what number sequel they are up to, I think it's something like “The Settlers 5”, last time I checked they'd began adding additional titles after a colon (The Settlers: Naked Army) or whatever. This is always a sure sign that they've taken the amount of times you can add a number on the end of a title and still maintain a straight face, to the limit. The Settlers though, the original and one of the greatest games on the Amiga, if not on any computer games playing thing ever!

Whilst I was far more youthful, I had the utter delight of wiling away my summer mornings playing this game with a good friend that lived not more than 4 doors down the road from me, split screen two player, my red army against his blue. And no word of a lie, it was utter bliss. The Settlers is, at its most basic, like being a God but without any of that pesky responsibility. You start off, as the game begins, with your magnificent castle, a fortress of truth and light, surround by a small amount of territory controlled by you. What follows from this, I hear you ask. An absorbing economic simulation with cute cartoon characters? Well yes, to be blunt. Build a castle, a butchers, a bakers, a farm, a windmill, and a host of other buildings and watch in delight as your tiny inhabitants scurry around building, baking, butchering, farming and a host of other things, all before your very eyes.

Obviously all these individual buildings are connected to each other in an intricate, complex web, so for example, the corn you get from the corn farm is taken to the windmill to be turned into grain, and then in the bakery baked to form bread, which is then used to feed your miners. They then, their tummies full, mine iron ore which is treated and used to make tools. It's all very daunting at first, but quickly becomes second nature. Building little forts and stuff, and having them occupied by soldiers gains you more land, the aim being to expand your empire so you engulf as many natural resources as possible, until finally you end up border to border with another player, be it human or computer controlled. Clearly the aim is to attack him in an epic, drawn out confrontation and seize his little forts, slaughtering his soldiers and setting fire to his carefully constructed buildings in a furious, unstoppable way. It's all rather good fun.

So to summarise then: a rather good game when played alone, but one that really comes alive with multiple players. The graphics are somewhat dated now, but seeing as how the games probably shareware, you can't complain really can you? Add in a classic theme tune, which I still remember to this day, and all in all you've got yourself a pretty formidable strategy game, and one which puts to shame a lot of these more recent games. Now if only someone would go and release it on the DS, I could be playing wireless 4 player link up Settlers with all my friends, instead of all this The Urbz nonsense. Not that I'm bitter or anything! Ah ha!


Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 05/15/05

Title The Settlers
Game Type Management Sim
Players 1-2
Compatibility All
Submission Angus Manwaring Profiled Reviewer

Review
I wouldn't advise trying this game without the manual. The authors have
created an extremely playable and enjoyable game that initially may seem
unnecessarily complex. A little patience however will prove very
rewarding. "The Settlers" puts you in control of a settlement of folk with
all sorts of different skills and talents. There are Butchers, Bakers,
.....sorry, no Candlestick makers, Millers, Blacksmiths, Fishermen,
Armourers, several differnt types of Knights and many more. Each of them
has their own place to live, and if appropriate, to produce merchandise.
You'll not be surprised to hear, that there are other similar settlements,
that like yours, benefit from as much living space as possible. This is
where the Knights come in. By attacking a Knight's hut or castle, you
invoke a ritualised duel between your Knights and the enemy's. You can
control how many, and how skilful your attacking force is, and if
successful, the land gained will become part of your territory, destroying
any enemy buildings in the immediate area. This is great fun, and the
variety of terrain, and requirements of a well balanced settlement allows
for all sorts of tactics and approaches to the game. I haven't even
mentioned the mining which is crucial to success.
The game has been beautifully crafted, and takes account of the hardware
you have available. There is a nice learning curve in the missions as well
as a well designed set of tutorial exercises. It could be argued that the
combat is too ritualised and honourable, not allowing for unfair fights,
that are the key to successful warfare. But (as the cliche goes) this is a
minor niggle, and "The Settlers" is yet another Amiga classic.

"Like a glass of cool apple juice on a hot summers day. And also it's your birthday."

Throughout the course of history, simple ideas have always been the way forward if you really want something to catch on. Look at the invention of the wheel, for example; that's pretty straightforward. But jazz things up a bit, stick an axel between two wheels, add a ridiculously complicated method of propulsion and bingo, you've pretty much got yourself a car. Except, of course, I haven't, because I haven't taken my driving test.

Anyway: The Settlers then. A prime example of a simple idea of a computer game that works so fantastically well any future editions have been pretty much entirely pointless. I've no idea what number sequel they are up to, I think it's something like “The Settlers 5”, last time I checked they'd began adding additional titles after a colon (The Settlers: Naked Army) or whatever. This is always a sure sign that they've taken the amount of times you can add a number on the end of a title and still maintain a straight face, to the limit. The Settlers though, the original and one of the greatest games on the Amiga, if not on any computer games playing thing ever!

Whilst I was far more youthful, I had the utter delight of wiling away my summer mornings playing this game with a good friend that lived not more than 4 doors down the road from me, split screen two player, my red army against his blue. And no word of a lie, it was utter bliss. The Settlers is, at its most basic, like being a God but without any of that pesky responsibility. You start off, as the game begins, with your magnificent castle, a fortress of truth and light, surround by a small amount of territory controlled by you. What follows from this, I hear you ask. An absorbing economic simulation with cute cartoon characters? Well yes, to be blunt. Build a castle, a butchers, a bakers, a farm, a windmill, and a host of other buildings and watch in delight as your tiny inhabitants scurry around building, baking, butchering, farming and a host of other things, all before your very eyes.

Obviously all these individual buildings are connected to each other in an intricate, complex web, so for example, the corn you get from the corn farm is taken to the windmill to be turned into grain, and then in the bakery baked to form bread, which is then used to feed your miners. They then, their tummies full, mine iron ore which is treated and used to make tools. It's all very daunting at first, but quickly becomes second nature. Building little forts and stuff, and having them occupied by soldiers gains you more land, the aim being to expand your empire so you engulf as many natural resources as possible, until finally you end up border to border with another player, be it human or computer controlled. Clearly the aim is to attack him in an epic, drawn out confrontation and seize his little forts, slaughtering his soldiers and setting fire to his carefully constructed buildings in a furious, unstoppable way. It's all rather good fun.

So to summarise then: a rather good game when played alone, but one that really comes alive with multiple players. The graphics are somewhat dated now, but seeing as how the games probably shareware, you can't complain really can you? Add in a classic theme tune, which I still remember to this day, and all in all you've got yourself a pretty formidable strategy game, and one which puts to shame a lot of these more recent games. Now if only someone would go and release it on the DS, I could be playing wireless 4 player link up Settlers with all my friends, instead of all this The Urbz nonsense. Not that I'm bitter or anything! Ah ha!



Reviewer's Score: 9/10 | Originally Posted: 05/15/05