Feudal Empire Building
Last updated: 10/10/2006 - 12:13
Building our own home may be something most of us can only dream about - but DJ Media are offering you a chance to build your own city state...
Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand
“Sim City, your time is up!” – PC Action.
Modern urban planning may well often follow very boring grid-like designs, with static boxes designating areas for various industries to occupy, but in the old days it wasn't so geometric. They never even had toothpaste, let alone rulers, which meant that cities had a more sprawling, organic feel to them, and everyone's mouth looked less than desirable. Digital Jesters – the people responsible for last year’s ace sailing sim. Virtual Skipper 3 bring the world of medievalism to life in all it’s messy glory with their latest release.
Medieval Lords is a refreshingly unique take on the city building concept. Shifting the perspective from the usual forced snap-to-grid structure that characterises the genre, developer Monte Cristo has bestowed upon its offspring a gloriously free-form 3D engine. In a world-wide first for city builders, it allows the player the freedom to place buildings wherever they like, in any position they like, and then view the action from any angle they like. Gamers everywhere no how have the chance to create Escher-like anarchic fiefdoms, and throw construction rules (if not the laws of physics) out the window.
Dynamic Threat
Add to this a more dynamic threat system - whereupon you can visually observe attacks on your city and become involved in defending it as it happens (a touch of old fave Medieval: Total War here, feudal fight fans). Add to this cutting edge visual and aural technology, and you have an exciting and involving experience that stands out from the crowd.
Featuring arguably the first ever fully functional, dynamic 3D map showing the city that players are building, the sense of immersion in Medieval Lords is higher than ever in this vibrant new city management game. Zooming in and wandering through town in first person is made a more complete experience by the local sound atmosphere technology, which ensures that the nearby flock of gulls in the fishing grounds will squawk through speakers whilst the music shifts accordingly with on screen action.
Buildings instantly display any changes to their status, and water flows in correct correlation with the environmental characteristics, all in real-time. Players can also create buildings of varying sizes, and allocate any shape and size to their fields, customizing according to the lay of the land. New and different terrain can be won by conquering neighbouring settlements.
High Stakes
The stakes of managing a medieval city are high: it's not about losing elections, but about losing the whole city! "Many of today's sims have a very simple, and often lacklustre approach to the geographical details of the world in which their city resides," says Terry Malham, director of Digital Jesters. "We have something a little different, and we know that players will appreciate the fresh approach to a type of game that has seen little in the way of innovation in recent years."
Players are able to control every detail, including their inhabitants, food production and the entire kingdom layout - and there’s a multitude of useable materials: buildings and stout infantry on hand to help you do just that.
Game features include:
Following its show-stopping debut at DJ Medias’ recent press launch, the UK website for Medieval Lords has also now gone live. Gamers can head to the site at: www.MedievalLords.com, where they can access all the latest information - from screenshots and video footage, through to news pieces and a forum for those who just can't contain their excitement any longer - Digital Jesters has provided a one-stop resource to cater for all the needs of aspiring feudal barons everywhere. Recommended.
Founded in 2003, Digital Jesters is a publisher whose portfolio consists of Trackmania, Virtual Skipper 3, Savage, Pro Rugby Manager, Desert Rats vs. Afrika Korps, and Beyond Divinity. The team has over 30 years experience, and prior to this were responsible for setting up CDV Software's UK division, generating over £2.5 million in the first 12 months, and breaking in new brands such as Cossacks, Sudden Strike, Divine Divinity and Breed.
Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand, is out now (at a SRP of £29.99), from Digital Jesters.
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"Great Looking"
This great looking medieval city building sim. almost instantly brings to mind comparisons with Sim City. The graphics are pretty amazing – top notch in fact - for all of the world and landscaping features – with great attention to detail. The only place this isn’t really the case – and this is one of the only places the game falls down – is that when you zoom in up close, some of the figures don’t seem to move or
Play Potential?
Very playable – time flies and you really get carried away with taking your settlement from the a humble homestead to a city state (well...it all rather depends on how much time you have to put into playing, like all RPGs it’ll be more rewarding the more you play, you can just tell). The menus and animation is all great.
Adding buildings wherever you like – unlike most building sims where you follow some sort of pattern laid out by the game - is very cool (and is much closer to the feel of anarchic middle ages building patterns anyway) and the atmosphere is great overall. The animation is very smooth and effective, but again, those characters walking about just aren’t up to the same standards.
Having said that, the sound is all great, with even a good old medieval tune playing while you go along. Sound effects are all good and well selected. Water and other atmospheric sounds all add up to a really good gaming experience. Graphic I’d give 4.5 out of 5 for (for the landscaping, buildings and overall game environment), but 3 or less for the people and other figures.
If they were to do another, improved version (of Medieval Lords: Build, Defend, Expand) they could definitely improve the movement of the people and other figures in the game, so they stand up a little better to the closer scrutiny that the 3D view set up allows you freedom to do.
Conclusion
As it is now, the game itself couldn’t be considered as quite top notch because of this small, annoying element, but it’s very playable, looks great and is one of those Sims you’ll definitely get plenty of long-term play out of - I’ll be having another go myself and it’ll take a long time to explore all its potential.
Overall I’d give it 4 out of 5, because of the close up graphics problem with the figures, but everything else about it is pretty amazing and runs very smooth. Recommended for all fans of sims. and strategy games and folk who want to still be getting loads of play out of a game months after they bought it.
Mark Wilde, posted on 16/11/2006 at 03:48