For diehard settlers fans

"Rise Of" therefore is based on the old settlers parts, which indeed at first sounds quite promising.
Not quite clear is this, to whom the game is aimed - old hands who have already played several games settlers, clearly too few innovations will find in this part. Innovations you could not find, except for a few small details, really vain, but more on that later.

But those who never played with the small bustling males, buildings erected, roads and production chains created and led wars has, which might be overwhelmed with this PC game first. Because "The Settlers - Rise Of An" requires knowledge in strategy games largely expected, mainly due the fact shows that there is no introduction and no level tutorial. Although reports in the levels now and then a window with tutorial tips, but that should not really help newcomers in this field. Only the first level runs peacefully, already in the second campaign it will be involved in combat operations, when you do not play fast enough, which might be for inexperienced players much too fast.

Three people are in "Settlers - Rise Of An" available: the Bavarians, so Bayern, Scots and Egyptians. In the campaign, which is the heart of the game with eleven missions, it will automatically play with the Bavarians, which will not appeal to everyone, because the small People but was designed very clichéd and anxiously funny. In plain English: The Bavarians produce wheat beer and pretzels, pull with decorated ox through the streets and even their headquarters acts directly as from the Bavarian Forest are added into play, including flower boxes at the windows. They speak in the cutscenes with strong Bavarian accent, which unfortunately very hard acts funny and as a result is rather annoying, even if the speech is at least quite succeeded by the voices ago.

The story of the campaign is not outstanding, but quite funny: the God Olympus wants to put people to the test, which is expressed during played campaign in different tasks - for example, have for the Olympic Games 60 liters of beer brewed and five fortresses as Accommodation will be built. Other gods and people are trying to thwart these plans and mix vigorously with to prevent the Bavarians on the fulfillment of the tasks. At higher levels, the tasks are more demanding; as allies must be protected, for example, then what already is not so easy and requires thoughtful planning. By offered three levels of difficulty you have the possibility, relatively easily to get to your destination, for example because the easiest game the mines do not need food and one at the beginning of the game has many resources available.
In addition to the campaign is of course also has the opportunity to play free. Here you have then all three nations to choose from. Scots, Bavarians and Egyptians differ visually and strategically one another - for example, while the Scots are aggressive and combative, but get its production difficulties in transition, are the Bavarians happy medium; the strength of the Egyptians is the production of goods. The products differ slightly; You can also produce a single cheese - - so the Bavarians Weissbier, the Egyptians have milk and Scottish soldiers drink prefers whiskey.

The graphics should be quite a matter of taste - as, for example, sets the Anno-series from Sunflower on realism and detail, Ubisoft has continued chosen a cartoon depiction. The small settler figurines are quite cuddly - the Bavarians resemble striking garden gnomes, but they are advised not very expensive or pretty. With their noses Knoll and the rounded forms they act very childish. That's nice, but not particularly lovingly made or consuming; all too soon we'll meet enough of the figures, almost all look the same. Unlike the settlers themselves but act the building nicely designed and varied.

A very large graphic letdown are unfortunately the computer-generated characters that appear in the cutscenes of the game and lead dialogues. Here one feels downright Ubisoft completely stumped because the brutish animated characters seem never to date. They are designed carelessly - or let's say it openly: ugly - and move during the complete sequences swinging from left to right; a facial expression they have not, while speaking to move even the lips. Something really want to see any more! Annoying also: The cutscenes interrupting the flow of play often condemned; just has you consider where you want to place a building, here comes the next Einspieler, which then drives the story does not really move.

The biggest problem of this game is but certainly that there are few innovations. As previously it quickly builds up a functioning settlement with infrastructure and enough goods and then eventually leads his war against computer opponents. Because the graphics can not fully convince, that's just not enough. In other games of this genre, it does at least fun, the landscape, the animals and the busy people watching, here is this fun but was relatively poor, unless you do not have high demands on graphics.
Production chains are also advised quite simple and offer little innovation. Little goodies such as those mentioned pretzels are indeed a nice idea, but that is not nearly enough to connect with the complexity of other simulations, where one is quite kept on their toes in order to meet the needs of residents. The settlers do not develop further, they make no civilization through stages and their needs do not rise. Anyone who has ever wondered where they live - you do not know, because there are as usual no houses built, only the usual production and military buildings, the one by the way can not rotate, so that they are all aligned on the map forward are and can also be connected in one direction to the streets.

Another new feature is, after all, the so-called "online lobby"; Here you can create your own avatars settlers and the time with minigames drive until the next multiplayer campaign via the Internet.

Conclusion: "The Settlers - Rise Of An" is something to fight their way for diehard settlers fans who do not want to miss the old settlers feeling, and for beginners, who are confident the first difficulties alone. Compared to other games on the market, the game seems especially graphically bit poor. The effort witty campaign with Bavarian stained dialogues is certainly some players very much, others will be rather annoyed them. Sorry, no major breakthroughs - here one would have expected more clearly, finally, can also be a popular classics such as "settlers" not ever rest on its laurels.