Settlers II is the sequal to a game called Serf City.
The idea is to start a small colony and explore the surrounding land in able to exploit its resources to defeat the enemy.
From the moment I played this game I loved it. It is almost like creating a small self supporting world. Everything you create has its own pathway in which to achieve a goal. In order to build you need stone and wood. Stone can be harvested form the land.
Wood can also be made by shopping down trees, however planks must be made to be used to build, so a sawmill is needed. Also, your trees can run out, so you need to build a forester to replenish your trees.
Other pathways include the creation of tools, gold and food.
Obviously, food is needed for the mines, which produce ore to make tools or gold.
The game can become very complex, but is not that difficult once you get the hang of it.
After you have collected enough gold, and spread your territory as far as possible you must fight the enemy. The combat in the game was rather lame, but still did the trick. You have to upgrade your military by using the gold coins.
Obviously, a higher rank of military will defeat a lower rank, so the idea is to make your entire military at the highest level before attacking the enemy.
In this game the enemy typically is passive and waits for you to attack before counter attacking. This can come at an advantage because you can take as long as you like to build up your defenses before the final onslaught. Typically one level can take 1 to 2 hours, but I have taken as many as 4 to beat a level.
The why of the game was never really clear to me. It seemed you had lost your home and needed to find your way back.
Ah then there is the road building. In order for a building to be useful, you must be able to build a road to it. You are able to build road between two flags. Between these flags is one of your settlers which will transport your goods between his flags, working almost like a large water brigade.
All in all, I would give this game a 4 out of 5. Not exactly the best game I have ever played, but definitely well worth the time. The animations are amusing as well. I say try it for yourself. Maybe you will fall in love with the series the way I did.
