The Settlers: Rise of an Empire
Preview
An updated look at this classic franchise
by Sergio Brinkhuis
previewed on PC
Birth of an Empire
The birthplace of the Settlers was not the PC. While the series has abided very successfully on the platform, the first game was actually released on the Commodore Amiga back in 1993. A PC version followed a year later but despite that extra year of 'tinker time', Blue Byte barely succeeded in delivering the same fantastic experience as they had on the Amiga. PCs back then just weren't meant for gaming and would need another two years to catch up with even the lowliest Amiga 500. That did not mean the PC game wasn't successful, it did exceptionally well. So with the downfall of Commodore, Blue Byte chose the PC platform as the permanent home for their much loved franchise.
The Settlers: Rise of an Empire heralds the sixth installment of the series. Should the game be called Settlers VI then? If you are among those who consider Heritage of Kings to be Settlers V, then yes. If you -like me- feel Settlers V breaks too much with the original format, then no. But that doesn't mean that fans of the series should ignore Rise of an Empire. Blue Byte is again changing the gameplay mechanics and while it is difficult to see it as a Settlers game, it has the potential to please the same crowd.
Changing the game
The difference between the original format (Settlers I to IV) and Rise of an Empire is apparent from the moment you enter the game. Instead of choosing the location of your castle, you are given a prefab town with some basic buildings already in place. A castle, storehouse and church have been provided and it is up to you to expand this into a thriving city. In the central square you will find the leader of the settlement: a knight sent out by the king to develop the settlement. Knights have different abilities that influence your city's development. Some will focus on military, others on economy or trade. As you meet certain requirements, you will gain rank and with each new rank, new buildings become available.
Exploring the map, you will soon find other settlements. Some are friendly, others are downright hostile. You can trade goods with the friendly ones, which is useful because your initial territory will likely not hold all the necessary goods to advance your buildings to the higher levels.
Territory
The hostiles on the map come in two flavors: bandits that will extort you -robbing you blind if you don't pay- and enemies that have the exact same agenda as you (take over the world). There can be only one so these hostiles will need to be destroyed. You can deal with the bandits in any way you want. They won't try and gain new territory but as long as you pay them hard coin, they will provide you with mercenary units at a fair price. So keeping them around for a while can actually be of use.
