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1503 A.D The New World Review - PC

In an age where the majority of gamers have a very short attention span, are real time strategy titles still as relevant as they once were? Gamers these days don't want to have 6 hours of their lives washed away as you try and set up an important trade route with a nearby town. We want kick ass explosions and action a plenty, double and triple crosses and a pumping soundtrack. Yet the market is still flooded with god-like management games, nothing better than building your own empire and taking on the world! As I sit down to play 1503A.D, I know I will have to invest some serious time in order to garner a satisfying gaming experience, but at the end of the day, is it going to be worth it?

Gameplay

Starting with just a lone sailing ship, you must set up a base camp and build your empire from scratch. As the saying goes, Rome wasn't built in a day and you must control every aspect of your civilization in order to see it flourish. Creating a warehouse leads to the creation of markets, mines, smelters and various trades that can all be expanded in order to create your own utopia. Of course, in order to thrive, your settlers must be content and you'll be forever tweaking and adding to your establishment just to keep them happy. If they have to walk too far to the market or "clothing store", they'll start to starve and freeze. Your basic aim is to advance the culture through 4 levels, winding up at aristocrat. In campaign mode, objectives and goals are given to you prior to one of the games 12 missions. The developers have managed to create quite a bit of variety with the goals but the game actually plays a lot better in Sandbox mode. Sandbox mode just allows you to create your own colony with no restrictions or deadlines and turn it into a great Empire.

There is very much a trade focus in 1503A.D and gamers expecting a lot of action and epic wars will be surely disappointed. Yes, you can create grand armies but it is going to come at such a massive cost to the community that most will feel that it's just not worth it. But if you went to the Genghis' Khan school of Warfare, you will come across some pretty god damn awful controls and set ups. Amazingly, if you don't go on a warpath then neither does the computer-controlled civilizations! Yes, that's right- the A.I is set so if you don't arm, they don't arm. It is then quite ironic that if an invading army destroys you it is because of your own decision to arm! Very silly indeed.
The game also comes across as very vague in certain situations and leads to some frustrating and painstakingly slow game play. When there is some sort of problem with a building, say it's been over-used; a (continued next page)