The original version of Settlers 2, as the new game's title spells out, appeared on shelves 10 years ago. It was fairly well received then, especially in Europe. This iteration of The Settlers has for one reason or another maintained a smallish, but firm, fan-base and those pining for days gone by will definitely be happy to see the game return to the marketplace. As with the original you control a group of settlers as they develop their towns and spread across the world that is in front of them.
Underneath the exterior of each of these cute little guys lays a killer desperate for conquest, trust us.
Blue Byte has completely revamped the original game's engine. Back in its original day the graphics of Settlers 2 weren't amazing, but were at least solid, however by today's standards they look extremely dated as one would expect. The developers have added more than just higher resolution visuals. A brand new 3D engine has been implemented, and is done so quite well. You can angle the camera down at preset angles and distances to take a closer look at the action on the ground. This does not add a vast amount of change in what is involved in playing the game but it is fun to see your settlers up close as they go about their business.
The story behind the settlers struggle to grow their villages into a sprawling mass of roads and buildings is a fairly unimportant to the actual gameplay and serves mainly as a little bit of a backdrop and explanation as to why the little guys are swarming across the maps presented to you. After all the women in their town disappear the settlers set off in a boat on a desperate search for them. Their boat ends up at the bottom of the ocean and, for some unknown reason, they begin building towns in order to travel across the land and towards portals to the next level. The back-story is definitely not going to win any literary prizes but that’s not really what you’ll be playing the game for.
In their quest for capturing territory the settlers most valuable tool is flags and buoys.
The look of The Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary Edition slightly betrays the complexity of the gameplay itself. More recent Settlers have deviated a bit from Settlers 2's heavy slant towards economies, supply chains and infrastructure. This has caused some of the gameplay elements of the series to become slightly diluted. The remake shifts its focus back towards the original’s methods of play. Very little has changed in the core gameplay in the 10th anniversary edition. This will, not only undoubtedly be great news for those purists who loved it 10 years ago, but also many new players to the game will be able to appreciate just how gracefully its ideas.
One thing that helps Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary Edition stand out from the crowd is the fact that truly conquering the game rarely involves just pointing, clicking and dragging units to achieve objectives. Rather than directing troops to where you want them in order to seize territory, it is essential to build up a rock solid infrastructure to get them the supplies they need, and the bases they require, from which to launch their attacks or provide defence. Moving units around is controlled by the AI of the game and this is integral to the gameplay, offering a relatively unique take on the genre. Working towards your goal therefore involves giving your settlers a nudge in the right direction by building and through expansion of territory. This style of play may irritate some who prefer a more hands on approach to this sort of game. Combat is, although very simple to initiate, involves directing troops to go to the right set of barracks.
Making your way through each level is not a simple matter of building a few, mines farms and barracks. Were these are placed in relation to each other is just as important as having the right structures to produce the right materials. For example it is important to build farms, not only near water supplies, but also to the industries that will use them such as bakery's or donkey farms. Town planning does not end there a complex series of roads will need to get these industries products to their next point of need. The land has different gradients meaning that it is important to try and build over the flattest route, allowing your settlers an easier, and faster, path between way points. Food needs to be supplied to mines, the mines produce needs to be supplied to smiths and other locations and the chain continues on, each step feeding off the other and all transported from point to point by the settlers.
Your towns will soon become a sprawling mess of bulidings and roads.
It is reasonably enjoyable just to watch the little guys dressed in blue go about their industrious lives. In German there is a word, 'wuseln', which loosely means 'to bustle around', and it can be described as something that is quite fun to watch. This wuseln, this hustle and bustle, bubbling with frantic energy is definitely the look and feel that the German Developer has gone for, and it is indeed an enjoyable sight to behold. If you feel the need to be active in playing the game constantly there is a speed up action command button which easily speeds things up three fold When you are in a rush for the settlers to get their act into gear.
Building in Settlers 2 can be a frustrating exercise. To begin with there is no way to rotate your structures, therefore you are limited in how you can connect each one with the rest of your town. Roads must connect to a flag point at the front of all buildings, meaning your roads can end up snaking around buildings just to get to the entrance. This could be construed as adding a level of strategy to town planning, however it can become rather frustrating. The lack of direct control that you have over your settlers can also affect the building process. You can decide to what sort of building resources go but it is difficult to get supplies to individual buildings on occasion meaning that sometimes the Settlers view building as more important than you do, sending materials elsewhere than the players preference.
This is what the game actually looked like 10 years ago. A little different, aye.
Extras in the game are relatively scarce but there is a multiplayer mode and a map editor. The multiplayer allows for the three cultures within the game to be played and random maps are available. Whilst not being the best strategy game for multiplayer, it still presents a decent distraction for those bored with the campaign mode. As usual, the map editor is for those that have both the inclination and the time to spend on such things.
Settlers 2 was a reasonably high-quality title in 1996. Playing through this re-release, with its new touch of paint, only serves to further prove that the original had a great deal going for it, and was indeed an excellent game, not only of it’s time, but in an ongoing sense. Choosing to go with a fun and playful look, rather than an overly sober one, works wonders in improving the enjoyment offered by Settlers 2: 10th Anniversary Edition. To be able to help the population of tiny guys along with their conquests, giving small nudges in the right direction, rather than playing as some godlike hand dragging unit’s from place to place is a mechanic that some other titles have toyed with and this game proves this cab be a fun experience. If only all games which were enjoyed 10 years ago could be so easily transferred into the contempory age and still maintain the playability and quality that was felt during their time.
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