Build And Battle: The Settlers - Kingdoms Of Anteria

The new Settlers game, Kingdoms of Anteria, is about 'persitent city building'. Hurrah! The news arrives in the form of a press release from Ubisoft, who will be presenting Kingdoms at Gamescom next week. There are other elements alongside that city building though.

Players will work to build up, control and optimise their production chains and economy to unlock building upgrades and new sectors, resulting in kingdoms growing larger than ever before. They will also have the opportunity to face-off against fierce enemies and frightening bosses in tactical battles to earn resources and special loot as they level up. Players can choose the champion class and skill set that best suits their play style from the thousands of different combinations possible.

So what am I? A town planner or a champion?

Both, I guess.

The online PC game Kingdoms of Anteria takes players on a new The Settlers journey where they manage an emerging economy to create a bustling kingdom while leading their champions through dangerous and challenging adventures.

Dangerous? Adventures? Online? While I'm not taking that as confirmation of 'online only' just yet, I'm nervously anticipating social features and some kind of SimSettlers situation. Say it ain't so.

Players can also team-up with up to three friends to dive into adventures that will help them collect loot while discovering the secrets of the untamed lands of Anteria. They can also visit and trade resources with friends to create a healthy supply chain and economic growth. No matter what players prefer, they will be able to focus gameplay on their favourite feature, either developing the Settlers’ kingdom and optimising the economy or seeking tactical fights and new adventures.

I'd describe my current outlook as 'cautious'. If I were updating my Livejournal, it'd look a bit like this:

Current Mood: cautious, anxious
Current Music: Iggy Pop, Curiosity.

When I visit Ubisoft's Gamescom patch next week in Cologne, I'll find out more about these online functions. I'll be investigating The Settlers as closely as possible, in fact, primarily to see if the city building and resource chain management is as calm and colourful as my memories of the first game in the series. Such pleasant memories. The series didn't keep my attention over the years but the original has a very special place in my heart - moreso than Sim City or Populous, I thought of it as a world inside a machine.