The game is good, don't get me wrong. It's Z. But in the current technical version I cannot recommend it to *anyone*. The controls are really bad because they did some really odd mobile -> PC port, there's virtually no settings, you can't even go windowed or change the resolution. The speed doesn't match up either. The screens seem meant for rather old phone screens, too. All in all, avoid. Really, avoid it. It looks Z, it is Z, and yet it'll just make you hate yourself for paying for this, like it did with me. :(
At first I thought this was really good. I mean, it has amazing artwork, an interesting world, interesting characters, and a combat system which somewhat seems like Fire Emblem. The only problem is, as impressive those first 1-2 hours are, that's actually all there is to it. Though the game is 8-10 hours long, it never once moves beyond what it shows you in the early moments. It still feels like the tutorial at the end, entirely due to how simplistic, forgettable and unimportant everything is. Worst is probably that ~20% of your time is spent watching a trek of ~1,5cm tall 2D sprites move across a 2D background. No interaction, no management, no random encounters, no random ailments, no nothing. The real shame is in just how interesting the concept, the world and the premise seems. Just... nothing came of it.
Ok, first things first: It's similar to Princess Maker, but it's not *like* Princess Maker. Long Live the Queen is more of a puzzle VN, as far as I can tell so far. You end up dying, in various ways, or frustrated that you didn't make it through certain skill checks. Yet OTOH, you slowly (via multiple playthroughs) figure out how to make it through all those checks. And at least for now, I'm quite hooked. The concept is deceptively simple, but it offers enough of a priority-planning challenge to be engaging.
While the game itself is pretty good, the PC port is something I would *never* advice to anybody. Locked at 720p, no gamepad support, no proper driver support. Stay the hell away from this. :(
The first Amnesia did something which was interesting: It fused an extremely eerie atmosphere with a gameplay which frightened players who usually get bored by "horror games". More specifically, it used the tension already present with the insanity and the darkness and the eerie sound and mood, added minor startling things but between the two this turned into a terrifying situation for the player. Light was limited, sanity was limited, hence time was limited, and yet you couldn't even look towards the enemy patrolling over there. A Machine For Pigs (AMFP) retains the atmosphere. The lighting, the sound design, the decor, the interactions, this all works splendid, and I feel just as tense and on the edge as I did playing The Dark Descent (TDD). But, unlike TDD, this one never does anything with the atmosphere it creates. It just... yeah. Nothing really. This ultimately makes it very disappointing, because while it isn't a bad experience, it becomes boring *very* fast, a result of simply nothing happening much. The moments of genuine terror, of dread whether to open or not open that door up ahead, they no longer exist. This feels like someone took Dear Esther and filled in Amnesia's atmosphere. Which is exactly what it is, really.
This game took me by surprise back when it came out. This is an actually faithfull remake of Settlers II. It keeps virtually all things the original games had, making it really great to play. If you enjoyed the original Settlers 1/2, this is an instant recommendation from me. A proper "remake". I hope they'll release the expansion pack (Vikings!) and the successor (though it might be that it was only released in Germany, "Aufbruch der Kulturen", where you play Bavarians, Egypts or Scots).
