The Settlers: Heritage of Kings

The Settlers: Heritage of Kings
Developer(s)	Blue Byte Software
Publisher(s)	Ubisoft
Series	The Settlers
Engine	RenderWare[1]
Platform(s)	Microsoft Windows
Release date(s)	EU: February 18, 2005[2] NA: February 24, 2005[3][4]
Genre(s)	Real-time strategy
Mode(s)	Single-player, multiplayer

The Settlers: Heritage of Kings (original German title: Die Siedler - das Erbe der Könige) is a real-time strategy game for Microsoft Windows developed by Blue Byte Software and published by Ubisoft. It is the fifth installment of The Settlers series. The game tells the story of a young prince, Dario, who must regain control of his dead father's throne from the evil Mordred. Making his task more difficult is the division of the kingdom into various independent provinces since the death of the king, so Dario and his friends must work to unite the land before he can face Mordred's armies.

Heritage of Kings breaks from the typical pattern that previous The Settlers games had established; while the basic real-time strategy concept of resource micromanagement remains the same, a lot of the gameplay features have changed from those of The Settlers IV, and slightly resemble many of the gameplay aspects of Cossacks: European Wars. Heritage of Kings is also the first Settlers game in 3D.

Gameplay

The objective of the game remains the same as in all previous Settlers games; create a thriving settlement, while amassing an army and defeating rival nations. However, many aspects of the game have changed from the game's predecessors. For example, in previous games, scarcity of resources was a major factor. However, in Heritage of Kings, the introduction of refineries for the various resources enabled players to construct more buildings in less time and make running out of resources less of an issue. Another change is the ability to upgrade buildings, which enables them to perform their specific job more efficiently, as well as providing room for more settlers and, in some cases, allowing the player access to new technology. The game also removes workers who bring resources from the quarries to the processing buildings; now the workers in the processing buildings (blacksmith, mason etc.) collect the material themselves.^[5]

Gameplay in Heritage of Kings showing the new 3D graphics engine, the interface and the use of hero characters.

A major new addition to the game unavailable in any previous Settlers games is weather change. Initially, changing weather is automatic; after a set period of time the weather will change from winter to spring or summer to autumn, etc. In later missions, however, the player can build a machine capable of controlling the weather. This becomes a vital part of the strategic element of later levels insofar as the player can, for example, freeze a lake to provide access to previously unreachable areas, or thaw a river to cut off enemy troops from their base.^[6]

Heritage of Kings can also be played as a multiplayer game via either a LAN or over the internet. Online game mode has its own exclusive set of maps. The standard mode of player is "Conquest", where the player must destroy all of their opponent's buildings and units to win. Another mode is "Technological race", in which opposing teams must develop new technologies and research buildings. "Playing the points" is a combination of both modes; the gameplay time is limited to one hour, during which each player must accumulate as many points as possible, with points earned for both technological advancement and attacking the opposing player.^[7][8]

Overview

In a change from the gameplay of The Settlers IV, the player no longer has a choice as to who they play; the main story mode instead follows the adventures of the king's son Dario and his companions, as they seek to defeat the evil Mordred and return peace to the land.

Plot

The game starts when Dario, a young boy in Thalgrund, is attacked by minions of the evil Mordred. After surviving the attack, Dario learns from his dying mother that he is actually the rightful heir to the throne. Upon hearing this, he sets out, accompanied by his childhood friend Erec, to locate his last living relative, his uncle Helias. As Dario battles to claim his inheritance and save the land, he and his friends face perilous dangers and must overcome many difficult challenges, including making peace between the rival nations of Barmecia and Cleycourt, battling the ferocious barbarians of Folklung and Norfolk, as well as the dark hordes, and foiling the evil schemes of the countess Mary De Mortfichet in Kaloix, before eventually reaching the King's Castle, where Dario subdues Mordred's dark general, Kerberos. Finally, the heroes march on Mordred's base in Evelance, defeating him in an epic battle. With the kingdom finally liberated, Dario takes his place on the throne.

Expansion packs

Two expansion packs have been released for the game:

• The Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Expansion Disc was released by Ubisoft on June 24, 2005,^[9] and added bridge building, a new plotline involving an invasion by a tribe of savages, and three new playable characters; Drake, a gun-wielding bounty hunter; Yuki, an oriental mercenary; and Kala, a witch.
• The Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Legends Expansion Disc was released by Ubisoft on September 1, 2005,^[10] and included new single-player and multiplayer maps, four small campaigns following on from the stories of the main game and the first expansion (with one quest allowing the player to play as Kerberos) and two new playable characters; Mary De Mortfichet and Varg, the Wolf Bandit leader.

On November 10, 2005 Ubisoft released The Settlers: Heritage of Kings - Gold Edition, which contained the main game and the first expansion pack.^[11]

Reception

Reception
Aggregate scores Aggregator Score GameRankings 61.35%[12] Metacritic 58/100[13] Review scores Publication Score 1UP.com C+[14] Eurogamer 5/10[15] GameSpot 6.4/10[1] GameSpy [8] IGN 6.5/10[16]

The game received mixed to negative reviews upon release. While the graphics, multiplayer and sound design were praised, there was much criticism of the repetitive gameplay, weak combat, poor voice acting and slow pacing. The game holds an aggregate score of 61.35% on GameRankings, based on twenty-three reviews,^[12] and a score of 58 out of 100 on Metacritic, based on twenty-nine reviews.^[13]

IGN's Dan Adams gave the game 6.5 out of 10, writing "Without those big headed cartoon people, The Settlers series is just another RTS that manages to scrape by on technical graphics and decent sound. The gameplay, which I had believed would be changing fairly significantly, hasn't really changed a bit. Armies are organized a tad bit differently, but combat is still elementary school strategy for dummies. The pace of the game is still frustratingly slow and missions aren't anything close to exciting, even when they're supposed to be. This is simply a below average game that I can't really find much of a reason to recommend."^[16] Eurogamer's Kieron Gillen gave it 5 out of 10, writing "It used to be a management game and now it's an RTS, and it's not very good."^[15]

GameSpot's Jason Ocampo gave a rating of 6.4 out of 10, writing "For all its charm, Heritage of Kings would be a fairly enjoyable and likable game if not for its glacial pace. This is a huge game, but not in a good way. There simply just isn't enough action or variety to keep your attention, and the complex economic structure feels just a tad bit too complex for its own good. The game may appeal to you if you like slower-paced RTS fare, but even then, you're going to need a lot of patience while you plod your way through this one."^[1] GameSpy's Allen Rausch gave it 2 out of 5 stars, writing "The game has a huge amount of dead time where players will do nothing but wait to acquire enough resources to get their next base upgrade. You know an RTS game is in trouble when you can get up for a quick snack break secure in the knowledge that you won't miss anything important."^[8] 1UP.com gave it a C+, concluding that "Heritage of Kings starts out exciting as you discover the joys of creating working settlements in a deliciously attractive environment. Once you've been through the process a few times, however, it gradually becomes a snooze fest." ^[14]

References

External links

• Official web pages at Ubi.com