Settlers 7 welcomes you to the mythical medieval land of Tanria; a home of peasantry and pleasantry. Gone are the left-field attempts at shaking up the formula (ala Settlers 6) - fans will be glad to hear the series has returned to its humble roots. If building sprawling cities and macromanaging an economy are factors that appeal to your particular RTS persuasion, then this game could be just the thing for your ambitions of omnipotence.

The campaign follows the adventures of Zoé: an ambitious princess who wants to prove to daddy that she’s got what it takes to be a real queen. This solo side of the game feels like a taster, designed to prepare players for the wiles of skirmish and online play. The single-player learning curve has such a shallow incline, particularly early on, that you’d barely be able to slide down it.

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Check out some of the new features in Settlers 7

Combat is incredibly simple, with units of different shapes and sizes banding to a particular general to form a single group that’s sent off into battle. There are technological upgrades on offer, but with only four main military unit types, you’re barking up the wrong tree if you’re looking for an in-depth combat experience.

But the Settlers series has never really been that style of RTS. Instead, Settlers 7 is a return to the quaint charm of older Settlers games, complete with cartoony graphics that add to the overall feel. In true Supreme Commander style you can zoom right out for a god's-eye overview of the map, or zoom right in to see the warts on a specific peasant's nose. There's so much character and charm built into the finest details that it's easy to get lost in the enjoyment of the little things.

The interface is particularly intuitive - simple symbols are used throughout to let you know which buildings require particular attention and exactly what they need at a glance. Space is often limited, but when your city and economy start to grow as a result of your clever planning and management, it's hard not to feel proud of your creation. You can even reflect your personality in your main castle design, which serves as an avatar for multiplayer matches. In the skirmish and multiplayer world you can win by following one of three paths to victory: military, technological or trade. Each path is balanced in its own right and players can choose to play it straight, mix it up or even switch paths as they see fit.



There are tutorials on offer for every little thing you can do, and you can even request help from other players. Alas, the tutorials aren’t always as comprehensive as they could be and sometimes leave out simple steps that can lead to much tearing of hair. Despite the homely feel that Blue Byte was clearly aiming for with the cutscenes, the voice acting is a bit dodgy and lips don’t always synchronise with the speech, providing an unintended Kung Fu-film feel. There also are a few annoying playability bugs, but these pale in comparison to the buzz-killing save bug that resulted in the need to crash the game manually. The cherry atop the cons cake has to be the new Ubisoft DRM system that requires players to be online at all times; even for single-player.

Interestingly, Settlers 7 also includes in-game support for Twitter and Facebook. You can integrate your Twitter and Facebook contacts with the game and keep your friends in the know every time you score a victory; think the systems that are in place on Xbox Live and PSN and you’ll get the idea. A 250-stat matchmaking system ensures that you will be matched with players of appropriate skill and path persuasion, and not trounced by a Napoleonic general when you’re a trade extraordinaire. An included map editor also allows players to try their hand at creating new worlds, with the option to share your latest creation with the Settlers community.

With a lengthy campaign that can be played at your own pace, skirmishes and multiplayer maps aplenty, and the promise of shared user-generated content, this game has a fantastic replay value. It may have its fair share of flaws, but Settlers 7 is a welcome return to the quaint Settlers form of old.


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