Publisher/Developer:Ubisoft/Keen Games
Genre: RTS/Civilization Builder
Price: $29.99
Verdict: Really enjoyable RTS/City builder game, especially for newcomers to the genre.
Pros: Very simple to get to grips with and lasts a fair length of time.
Cons:Few niggles that stop it from being a brilliant title.
I love Real Time Strategy games. Ever since I first played Civilization 2 on the PC years ago, I have been hooked. They are the kind of game I’ll load up for 20 minutes, and 7 hours later I’ll realise I’m hungry and I should have been in bed hours ago. However, I’ll let you in on a secret: sometimes I like playing the simpler ones. I like being able to be a bit hands-off with certain details and just switch my brain off a little. I loved Civilization Revolution on the Xbox 360 for this exact reason; it combined all my favourite elements of Civilization, without the need for controlling every single last element of my Queendom. This is where Dawn of Discovery comes in; it manages to combine simplicity and fun in one very addictive and portable package.
Keen Games are perhaps not the first game developers that spring to mind when you think of Civilization clones. In fact looking at their past record, they have made such memorable hits as Santa Claus Jr and the new Disney game for the DS, G-Force, so the arrival of Dawn of Discovery has come rather out of the blue.
Upon loading, you are presented with two options: the story mode and continuous play. The story mode is the real meat to the game with a 10-12 hour campaign behind it. In many ways, the campaign is an extended tutorial but as you progress further, the hints become fewer and things become a bit more difficult. In fact, it’s extremely well paced. You start as a very small fishing village and gradually the game introduces you to more and more elements within the game. Eventually you become leader of a huge sprawling city, but the game perfectly introduces you to things slowly meaning that you are never intimidated by anything that is thrown at you. The early tutorials perfectly explain how to actually play the game with the controls very simple and intuitive. It almost feels if the game was designed exclusively for the DS which is strong praise considering it has also been released for the PC and Wii at the same time. Everything is easily controlled by simply tapping on a building to be given options or tapping one of the icons to the right of the screen to choose another building to create. If you can’t remember what each icon means, simply hold down the stylus until a tool tip appears: it’s the sort of control system that a child could figure out and not once did I feel a need to consult the manual for help. The only downside I could find was the only way to move the camera around was to drag the stylus; it would have been nice to be able to move the camera via the D-Pad buttons instead. As is typical with RTS games, it is all about building up your colony and growing. At first you will simply be building homes, farms and markets but the further you progress, the more options become available to you. By the latter stages of the story mode you will be building everything from schools to firehouses, as well as contending with rat infestations and even the plague. The story behind the story mode is admittedly not the most compelling of tales, just the typical ‘Kingdom in trouble, build up the Empire’ type of story, set in 1404, but that’s hardly the point of games such as these.
The entire layout of the game is pitched so well, certainly one of the best pitched RTS games I have played in recent years. It is possibly a little slow in places for experienced gamers but it doesn’t take long to traverse past these sections, and things do heat up quickly enough. With the mission based story mode, it’s not even like you have to conform at all times. After completing the early levels, things open up a bit more meaning that if you want you can just do what you want and ignore what the game advises you. It’s a testament to the game that I did find myself doing this at times, simply because it was fun. There are also achievements to unlock, these open up hidden areas in the game and can then help you go treasure hunting for treasure, funnily enough. It all helps the longevity of things a treat.
Unfortunately it’s not quite all plain sailing for Dawn of Discovery. There are some downsides to it. At times you can feel a little restricted by the story mode and wish the game would keep advising you what to do, a feature to turn it off would have been great. The combat is also rather simple and underdeveloped but admittedly for those of you who prefer the diplomatic route of winning, it’s not a big deal. The main problem I found was with determining supply and demand. At times, it was difficult to determine what was actually needed, which is something that is pretty crucial in RTS games. It was particularly annoying when I was trying to work out what I needed to do to progress, and something that is quite inexcusable in a genre that requires such details so much.
It’s a shame that Dawn of Discovery suffers from some irritating niggles as overall it’s a very enjoyable game. It may not be aimed at the hardcore RTS player, but I think even the most cynical of RTS gamers would enjoy this to some extent, and other gamers will love it for its welcoming visuals and helpful introductory gameplay. Unlike other RTS games, it doesn’t have a scarily high learning curve to begin with nor is it intimidating, making this an ideal title for casual gamers and the younger gamer. Dawn of Discovery deserves to do well despite its faults, but I suspect it may well be overlooked for more recognisable titles which is a real shame. If you spot this in your local game store, do pick it up. It’s well worth a look.
Popularity: unranked [?]
