Module Two "Blog Game Review"

The Guild 2 Pirates of the European Seas

Today I will be reviewing the game The Guild 2 Pirates of the European Seas, a very addictive dynasty game by Jowood Studios.

Game play ****

Choosing the dynasty mode I set out the create my family, you can choose from one of five archetypes, Patron will take you down the path of a tavern owner and an Inn, the Craftsman will allow you have a carpentry business, rouge a robber barren and scholar will eventually hold a church. For today's review I will be taking on the roll of a patron. First step after character creation is to establish a title, titles are bought at the town governmental building and are needed to advance the buildings and houses you own. After the title is established you can start by buying or building a bakery, why a bakery you ask, well you have to have something to sell. All of the buildings you can buy as a Patron directly reflect goods needed to run your common house, which will evolve into an Inn. Bakeries provide bread while fishing huts allow for different dishes to serve, farms provide grain, milk, and other goods needed in the bakeries and other shops at different levels. The pace of this game is very slow but can be sped up with the (-) and (+) keys. The over all object is to start with your main character, take a wife, have some kids (the children will replace your main character eventually, as you or any of your offspring can be murdered, die of old age or disease) You will play through many generation in the course of this game.

Graphics ****

The graphics are stylized and a pleasure to look at, the studio did a great job capturing a feel and cycle of life in a growing town. While not greatly detailed it wasn't really needed because you are playing in a "god" like mode moving and rotating around the town but they are more then adequate to create a good feel.

Sound ***

They captured the sounds of each area you move through while playing the game, the tavern brings in all the sounds you would expect from visiting, as do the farms and even the streets of the game.

Story ***

Story is created by the player, there are ever-present goals needed to reach to expand your dynasty but most of the story is left to your imagination. For example while playing a rouge I found the other family dynasty in my town that had beaten me to establishing a thieves guild, so I stalked them and took them out by killing off each of the members until their dynasty was no more, thus allowing my to purchase the run down thieves guild at a bargain.

Learning Curve **

This game will not be for the casual gamer as the curve is quite high, there is allot to balance and micromanage, if that isn't your thing then you might want to avoid this title.

Control Scheme *****

The control scheme is intuitive, rotating the camera and clicking, selecting and moving your members was very well thought out and fluid, which makes the micromanaging of your dynasty much easier.

In conclusion I would give this game 3.5 tokens. The overall scope of the game and ease of uses is amazing, while the micromanaging and pace may turn some players off.