Dawn of Discovery
Publisher: Ubisoft. Retail Price: $49.99

Pass Inspection: Unlimited replay value, detailed graphics, great city-building experience.

Failed Basic: Lack of multiplayer option; needs detailed game manual.

The city building of Dawn of Discovery is second to none and rivals that of City Life or Sim City.

Dawn of Discovery is a city-building game with a heavy emphasis on trade, economy and, of course, military. One of the more exciting differences with Dawn of Discovery compared with other games in this genre is that its city-building takes place in the 14th century in a distant land with plenty of rewards and vast amounts of risk. You duty is to appease your King by expanding his empire while competing against rivals, pirates and friendly nations. Helping you along the way is your permanent ally Lord Northburgh, who is always open to trading with you and sometimes will provide you a with a naval fleet in times of need. As you explore the world, you’ll come across the great mystery of the orient. Once discovered, Grand Vizier Al Zahir becomes another ally, providing you with new opportunities to open up your trade routes to more exotic goods, to discover new designs for buildings and the potential for more rewards and quests.

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Your first responsibility when discovering an island is to build up a basic infrastructure. With houses, a marketplace and shops to produce goods, you’ll soon have a bustling activity around your village. In order for your civilization to advance from basic goods to luxury items, you must first provide the raw materials your townspeople are requesting. Each island is unique in what you can produce, which in the end makes this game that much more difficult. Islands are capable of only growing specific crops, minerals and furs. While one island can grow hemp, which makes rope and clothes, another island, can grow dates or mine jewels and coal. In the end, that means you must balance the right amount of production with what materials are actually needed: produce too much and you’ll find yourself paying for production with zero output. Your strategy depends on exploring the entire map and finding new islands to set up other settlements. As the game evolves, you’ll have multiple islands and settlements to manage, giving those who yearn for a cornucopia of multitasking and city management a dream game to play.

After settling your first island and seeking out additional islands, you soon notice many of the tiny attributes that really bring this game into its own. The graphics and music are two of the major peripheral pieces that add another dimension to the game. For example, when there is danger like a thunderstorm or a trade ship coming under attack, the music turns dark and foreboding. The graphics are exquisite and present surprises throughout the game. As your city grows, you’ll see workers traveling along the streets with empty or full wheel barrels depending on their route, rioters raising a ruckus against your poor management, or deer running through the fields because … well, because they’re deer.

What makes Dawn of Discovery so different from other city building, economic and military games, is that you can pick your ending. You have your common endings, chosen by selecting among six different scenarios, from the easiest setting of Elector to the hardest and most arduous setting, Imperator. The option of selecting “continuous” game play allows the user to decide how the game will end. Options range from “never-ending,” “diplomacy,” “sunken ships,” “conquer the world” or the most difficult, “building the Imperial Cathedral” or the “Sultan’s Mosque” or both! With so many ways to end your campaign, you’ll be replaying this game time and time again to try out new strategies. To keep the player busy, you have over 250 “attainments” you may achieve. These “attainments” range from completing quests to building churches. They are rarely easy to complete and to finish them all would be a significant achievement in any game.

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