Settlers 7: Paths of a Kingdom - The Long Review Part 1 - Dawn of Settlements - So many fails.
3Watch me tackle the first level of the Campaign:
The Dawn of Settlements.
Wow, I had so many technical failures during this video. This is the first long review video I have produced to a level high enough that I feel comfortable releasing, even with the constant fails made throughout it.
It's a pretty useful stepping stone and will help me refine my technique.
I will also release the raw captured gameplay video under a creative commons license in order to allow others to use it should they wish (provided they give proper attribution of course).
I will as this series progresses, offer people a chance to win a copy of the game themselves! Just comment in this and any future videos I release about this game.
The game itself has a nice atmosphere to it. Colourful scenery and models. A melodic fantasy score plays in the background. The units are well animated. This is a wondrous fantasy world.
The lip syncing may be a bit off during cutscenes, but I blame localization on it more than anything. I believe Blue Byte is German and Ubisoft is French, so those may have been the primary language targets. Still they get the job done.
The game itself is pretty fun, of course tutorial levels are always a bit slower paced. I will have to continue this review in the next video and beyond to really guage the game. So far it is enjoyable though.
Thanks to Wikipedia for help with the game description below:
The Settlers 7: Paths to a Kingdom is a real-time strategy and city-building video game developed by Blue Byte Software and published by Ubisoft. It was released on March 23, 2010 for Microsoft Windows and OS X. It is the seventh game in The Settlers series.
Paths to a Kingdom features gameplay similar to that of past 3D games of The Settlers series. The player may choose between playing a Campaign game, a Skirmish Game, a ranked game and a multiplayer game. The game gives the player an opportunity to choose between three unique paths of development for victory: Military, Science, and Trade. In the traditional Military development path, the player builds the kingdom's army in order to conquer and destroy enemies. Players can also conquer enemy territories without making an army, by using priests. In the Science development path, the player must focus on researching technological upgrades. Finally in the Trade development path, the player builds their economy and attempts to occupy the best trade routes on the map. Each path of development contains unique units and possibilities. In all development paths, the player wins by collecting Victory points throughout the course of the game.
The AI enemies have been greatly improved over those included in previous games, with more than twelve different AI profiles with unique behaviours. The game also includes an extensive new online multiplayer mode which allows players to both compete and co-operate with one another as well as gain tutelage in the form of a mentor request. Players can also generate and share content.
Although heavily marketed for its online gameplay, The Settlers 7 offers two major single-player modes. Whichever mode is chosen, the player generally begins with a simple village and expands it sector by sector to create a kingdom. During this process, the player must fine-tune their production chains and transport systems. The Campaign single-player mode also serves as the tutorial, gradually introducing new gameplay elements as the player progresses through the various stages of the story narrative.
The title themes "Hero Within" and "Ever After" were produced, composed and performed by British/Latvian singer/songwriter Kariina Gretere, who is also known for her acclaimed music for ZanZarah: The Hidden Portal. The remainder of the music was produced by German company Dynamedion in style with the main theme.
You can get a physical copy of the Gold edition here:
http://goo.gl/DchoyL
But you may find the game for cheaper on Steam or UPlay.
Raw game footage:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KN8VcPK_tl8
Title Screen Animatic:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cpvg7mNwTzA