Reminds you of Settlers 2 and a pile of Dwarf Fortress clones like Banished and Towns. It's cute. I kinda love the graphics and I knew that I was buying the game because of them. But I just wanted to play some sort of Lego Strategy game. And this is it... while it lasts. >>> There's barely any content in the game. After you restart a few times and test out some strategies, you're already sick of building the same stuff over and over. Once you get to the expensive stuff, you realize that it doesn't really do anything except makes the people happier. And that's the biggest problem with the game in my opinion... >>> It's all about making people happy so that they'll do stuff for you. Thank god Settler 2 didn't have that mechanic. You feel like the citizens are just constantly whining. >>> Nobody's ever happy. They want some sort of amusement parks and escape rooms and cafes all a block from their front porch or they just leave you to die. To me, it's just not a fun mechanic. It feels like the game is punishing you for wanting to build a big city. And there's just not enough content. How do you actually keep people happy? Build one of each luxury item around a block of residents. No matter how stupid it looks like. >>> Took me few hours to see absolutely everything the game had to offer. There was a ton of potential, but it would need to ramp up the content like Terraria to keep me interested. What a shame.
Back in 1996 when I played the demo on some 300 shareware games CD, I just had to own it. The graphics are incredible, the gameplay solid, the soundtrack magnificent. It all builds to an atmosphere that I haven't seen anyone outside Blizzard be able to capture. I own the physical version, recently played it through, and it still holds up remarkably well. There are some features that games like StarCraft 2 have that make your life a bit easier, but I didn't miss them. Of course, it's always hard to review a game that turned you into a hardcore gamer (I think I made my mom worry for sitting in front of this game 8hrs per day). To me it's just one of those classics. It has so much personality that I think you get something out of it if you just sit in front of it and play around a few hours. With many strategy games, the campaign is the worst part and the point is to play the multiplayer. With Warcraft 2 I feel like you should play it for the campaign. The missions are really fun, even though they get a bit ridiculous at the very end. Not for the faint of heart. The problem with the multiplayer is that the two sides don't really differ in any way except for the spells. And the orcs will always have an upper hand because of a spell called Bloodlust that the ogre magis have. It's basically just a rush to who can get the spell and units first. Is it worth a few dollars just for the campaign? Yes. Absolutely 100% yes. Enjoy the graphics, the butter-smooth gameplay, and the awesome tunes. You'll be humming them for days to come. One of my favorite games of all time. So happy that it's now digitally available. Good job GOG.
