The main milking machine of the German studio Blue Byte Software – a series of economic strategies The Settlers – steadily feeds its owners, and at the same time a publisher in the person of Ubisoft, has been for a dozen years. In this case, the popularity of the “Settlers” fluctuates according to the schedule of the sinusoid, then soaring to unattainable heights, then sinking to the very bottom of fan sympathy. However, the sweet-smelling brand does its job well, attracting cash flows to the developers’ pockets. The sixth (not counting the countless additions) part of the project, debuted last year, received a lot of flattering reviews, both among journalists and in the ranks of ordinary gamers. Colorful graphics, fascinating gameplay and colorful characters returned the protracted RTS “opera” to its origins, which, undoubtedly, was to the liking of numerous fans. Of course, in such a situation it would be at least silly not to develop the success of the original by the release of an add-on, to the creation of which developers approached somewhat in a relaxed state. http://www.miniclipgamez.com/categories/35/fighting.html
The Settlers: Rise Of An Empire – The Eastern Realm can be compared to the relatively recent expansions of Age of Empires 3: Asian Dynasties, since both events unfold on the territory of the Indochinese peninsula. Only, unlike the creation of Ensemble Studios, the “Eastern Kingdom” is drawn exclusively to the Indian theme – nomadic migrants moved to the elephant monastery in order to restore order in the country torn apart by internecine wars. The cause of the bloody conflict was the evil goddess of fire, muddied the minds of the local people, coupled with their rulers. Actually, the return to an adequate state of Indians and will be the main task of the eight missions offered in the “add-on”.
Addon – he and in Africa addon, so to wait for the The Eastern Realm of some gameplay revelations is extremely naive. Let’s say even more: game mechanics has not undergone any changes – several innovations, bolted more for a tick than for the purpose of diversifying what is happening on the screen, perform a purely secondary role. That is, as before, paunchy little men pick berries, go hunting, build houses, sell goods, wage local wars and do a dozen other things that are characteristic of the inhabitants of the medieval empire.
The transfer of the game to the oriental setting immediately affected the design of the buildings executed in accordance with the precepts of Indian architects. Prior to encyclopedic accuracy, all the same Asian Dynasties to the “Kingdom” is certainly far away, but on the other hand it was difficult to expect from the fabulous strategy of strict adherence to the historical canons.
Instead of the usual scheme of changing the seasons (winter-summer), the seasons of rains and droughts came. In fact, the differences between them are minimal. So, in the “wet” period of time the transition of rivers is complicated and fishing is suspended, but in the reservoirs a huge amount of life-giving moisture is consumed, consumed in the dry period.
As a new unit, the geologist debuted. A curious old man with a backpack is preparing to cover all the surrounding areas in search of sources of resources. However, the need for its use disappears after the construction of commercial warehouses. With an acute shortage of minerals or building material, it is always possible to send a couple of caravans to a friendly settlement, in order to visit local barns. Missing resources are available to visiting merchants, however, they are not in a hurry to part with the goods for the n-th number of gold coins, demanding to fulfill a number of instructions in exchange for their stocks.
Side quests a lot, another thing is that they often are similar to each other, like two drops of water – only the actors and only the number of enemies change. In the camp of the heroes, a small addition occurred. To the already known trio of characters joined the princess Saraya, skillfully shaking the villains with a sharp sword. Plus, in addition to fighting skills, the princess has a very useful ability to speed up the process of collecting taxes and erecting the already mentioned commercial warehouses.
From the visual point of view, The Eastern Realm has remained stagnant on the spot. Although this fact in no way can be attributed to the drawbacks of the addon – the original engine is still able to please the eye, drawing beautiful, vivid pictures.
The “Eastern Kingdom” can not be classed as exemplary additions. Minor innovations are lost on the general background, and global changes have bypassed the expansion party. Therefore, characterize the game except as “only for fans” is very difficult, since only they are able to fully appreciate the move of Settlers to the hot lands of India.