Banished

It's a very polished game with great in game mechanics and nice smooth graphics, but after a playing it for a while and getting the basics going... there's just not enough in it to keep me interested long term. I found myself setting the game speed to max or near it for a lot of the time and that's not something that one should be doing in a strategy game. Maybe it needs some sort of combat or more production elements. I would love to see a Banished 2 with more gameplay added as it is a good game just not a great one.

The game itself is what it is. It was very fresh when it came out. It may be a bit dated now, but the modder scene is fantastic. There are hundreds of mods available. Also, the very good MegaMod combines dozens of mods in one huge pack that adds heaps of new buildings and features, new production chains, more compact versions of buildings and a lot more.

Banished is really enjoyable and easy to learn. But it's hard to master ! Graphics are nice and the game looks optimized and offer a good frame rate. Interface is clear, not so beautiful but easy to navigate. This game deserve to be best-seller of this first quarter of year.

First of all, let me address my displeasure at having to stop playing to write this review! :) With that said, let me just say...WOW! I haven't been this excited about a game since Lords II was released in 1991! I have played all types of city-builders from the Anno series, SimCity, Empire Earth, Civilization, and more and none compare with this. What a breath of fresh air! The only "enemy" to fight is starvation and cold and unlike other "builders", you get to watch as your people gather materials and build their civilization...what a concept! And all this in a package less than 200MB! My hats off to the game's developer and my whole-hearted thanks for creating a game that's FUN to play! Oh, one final thought...how about a t-shirt to advertise this gem? I was thinking of something like "I was Banished at GOG.com" on the front with the Shining Rock Software logo on the back? I for one would LOVE to buy one...and lastly, don't buy this game on sale. The developer has both earned and deserves full price! Now, let me get back to my game!

I have enjoyed playing the SimCity series for years, but Banished knocks it out of the park! Beautiful graphics combined with an intuitive interface that is easy to manage and learn. While it is elementarily easy to grow your population in the SimCity series, this one is realistically challenging. If you overlook doing something it will really make you pay at some point in the game. The best part is that there is no money budget so no loans to get you out of and or possibly into greater trouble!