| The Guild 2 Graphics 4/5 Good graphics, although could have been more modern. Play control 9/10 In this sequel of Europa 1400 - The Guild, you have an avatar, and he is quite easily moveable. You can also ask others to follow you and move around when your avatar is near... although they must be at least neutral towards you to obey. You need to slow down the game if not pause it to talk to people since they have the habbit to go back to what they were doing. Interface 6/10 Better interface than The Guild 1... but the you still need to press alt or control keys on your keyboard to find the menues makes it quite annoying... irritating when you do not know that there are some keys on the keyboard to show you "hidden" menues. For all I care, all the menues could have been accessible via the city map screen and remove that "entering business" thingy, everything then could have been managed from the city view... and since there are no avatars, what's the point in getting inside a business anyways? Stretching a game session? Fun 8/10 It is a fun game which you can play with friends as well as in solo mode. Although, the game is pretty repetitive once you have been through all the carreers once. Luckily, this multiplayer mode elongates the longevity of the game and interest you might have to it. With the arrival of an avatar, the game is going to a higher level and is much more entertaining than its predecessor. Depth 11/15 The game can take you through generations of medieval entrepreneurs which can last for a very long time. The lack of variety and amount of business limits this rating. They have added a few things to the game but removed others, you no longer have educational and interesting historical facts about Europe during that time period. Although, there could have been a small background for each character in the game like who were his parents, what apprenticeship they have gone through and who were their master, what university they attended to if any, how many siblings they have, etc. Story 1/10 There is absolutely no story in the game. You launch it and play it the way you want it... which is much better than a story oriented game where you have little or no choice in the story itself. Idea 5/5 Great idea. The idea to run a medieval business is interesting an opens many different kind of interpretation. The idea is full of potentioal. Non-Linearity 10/15 Each game can be different if you take the time to make it different. It is less linear than its ancestor, especially with the arrival of the Avatar which changes many things and variables. Interpretation 8/15 The game is poorly interpreted but touches more of the idea than its predecessor. It could have been ten times better though. Luckily, the arrival of the avatar makes it much more interesting and better interpreted. The idea is full of potential but the game only touches the surface of that potential, it is quite unfortunate. Completion 4/5 The game was decently made upon launch albeit a few bugs. The game also needs an expansion to make it more worthwhile at replaying it. This is why the game only gets a 4 ou of 5 on completion. 66/100 A decent game. A must rent... only buy if you are really into medieval business games as well as political games... also you could buy it to complete the collection if you already have Europa 1400 - The Guild. If you are not into such games, then do not buy it. |