The Settlers: Rise of an Empire
Preview
The settlers return in yet another sequel
by Marcus Mulkins
previewed on PC
If the bushes are a-shakin’, don’t come a-knockin’
The Female Settlers pose the risqué speculation of "How detailed will be the growing of the population be?" By hiring traveling entertainers and organizing fairs, the player acts as a matchmaker by enabling male and female settlers to get to know each other. There will be 4 distinctly different climatic environments ranging from sub-arctic Scandinavia to North African desert. There will be up to six "noble knights"/specialists available to help the player through certain difficult missions. There isn’t really much in the way of military action, the emphasis being on defense from marauders and belligerent neighbors. However, in multiplayer mode (via LAN or Internet), the goal is to build your city the fastest and then send troops to pound on your opponents. (I do somewhat get the impression that combat tends to favor the defender – but I’m just guessing.) For those that simply want to build a medieval town from scratch, a freeplay mode is available.
If You Build It, They Will Come
In reflecting upon the title, The Settlers – Rise of an Empire, several questions come to mind. Whose settlers? How many empires sprang from a single city during the Middle Ages? Other than old cities that pre-date the Middle Ages, how many went to the expense of investing in a really long, really solid, really expensive stone wall? At the start of the game, you start with a “small” castle and a storehouse. In the feudal system that was predominant throughout Europe in the Middle Ages, everybody was in somebody’s chain-of-command: Peasants (serfs) belonged to the local lord, who in turn swore fealty to a bigger lord who was beholden to a king or emperor. Anybody outside of that chain-of-command was an outlaw and was subject to being munched on by anybody with more muscle. If a local robber baron (which is what you’d qualify as if all you owned was a small castle) got too uppity, running up his revenues by over-taxing the merchants passing through his territory, he would most likely be visited by a nearby duke or count. Likewise, if he did anything that attracted serfs from elsewhere (the Settlers you’ll be trying to get to move into you’re budding community), it would have to be at somebody else’s expense – and that would be justifiably viewed as theft and also warrant a visit by someone else higher up on the food chain.
So, how can a player, with any kind of historical foundation, be able to build an empire? I can see it in a New World setting (minus the stone wall). [Well, maybe after all: New York City does have its Wall Street.] I can see it in a more military-oriented game that involves conquering your neighbors, like in the aftermath of the Fall of the Holy Roman Empire. But as a stand-alone city springing up out of nowhere in the middle of Europe in the middle of the Middle Ages, I’m not seeing it.
What the heck. It’s just a game after all. Forget about such niggling questions and just enjoy the game for what it is: The latest rendition of a tried-and-true citybuilding game with some truly gorgeous zoomed-in graphics. Odds are heavily in favor of you enjoying the game. And Ubisoft and Blue Byte will definitely enjoy making the sale.
