Funatics - that is the name of the German game company which developed the Cultures series.
I came into contact with the first one sometime in early college or late 12th std. Anyway it was quite some time back. And I didn't have a backup setup or copy of the game. Also there was a HDD crash in between which created a situation of gross unavailability of digital data.
Anyway a few days back I had a strong urge to hunt down this game and play it. I couldn't even recall its name properly. I was having the name "Civs" or "Civilization" in my mind. I was trying to find this game without running into any one of the Sid Meier's series.
After a frantic search session lasting about an hour and after trying out various questionable ways of querying Google, I gave up.
While closing the open browser tabs, I glanced upon a Civ 4 forum talking something about another game.. and I was just skimming through the lines, when a post one fellow caught my attention.
He spoke of the exactly same game that I was looking for and was asking for its name. Someone followed it up with the name "Cultures". I felt as if all gaming neurons fired at once. That night(yesterday), the game was found and safely downloaded to my disk. Additionally I got hold of the 2nd,3rd and 4th installations of the same game.
Reviews spoke of a lame and slow game filled with micromanagement. Exactly what I had in mind for a relaxing night.
Played a lil bit yesterday before moving onto some intense action of Call of Duty:Black Ops.
It is true that the game is quite slow, and requires almost continuous attention to minute details like whether ur fellows are hungry, they have homes, and so on and so off. Doesn't sound surprising to a player of Caesar,Zeus or any of that genre. Does it? But then in those game you play the role of a facilitator. You build roads and buildings, and people work and produce stuff you get to use. In case of Cultures, you need to take care of each person's individual needs too. You get a more closer approach and it feels bad when one person dies or war affects them. Without sounding philosophical, this game is quite relaxing and addictive because it requires you to be part of each and every thing in it.
But as most of the reviews point out, such a game is not welcome in many places, especially so in USA. In Europe and other parts of the world it has gained more support. I guess they have one sure fan in India. Maybe a couple more that I know of.
Overall it is a good game for people interested in RTS but don't want to be grilled with the fast pace of most of such games. A moment of ignorance or a single wrong decision can derail your entire built nation in most of such games, whereas Cultures can be quite forgiving to the player in such situations.
And hey look what I found Funatics Website. Seems Cultures is available online too. And they have a few more games too. Enjoy!
Here is also a link to Gamespot entry for this game Cultures (5.8/10)
I came into contact with the first one sometime in early college or late 12th std. Anyway it was quite some time back. And I didn't have a backup setup or copy of the game. Also there was a HDD crash in between which created a situation of gross unavailability of digital data.
Anyway a few days back I had a strong urge to hunt down this game and play it. I couldn't even recall its name properly. I was having the name "Civs" or "Civilization" in my mind. I was trying to find this game without running into any one of the Sid Meier's series.
After a frantic search session lasting about an hour and after trying out various questionable ways of querying Google, I gave up.
While closing the open browser tabs, I glanced upon a Civ 4 forum talking something about another game.. and I was just skimming through the lines, when a post one fellow caught my attention.
He spoke of the exactly same game that I was looking for and was asking for its name. Someone followed it up with the name "Cultures". I felt as if all gaming neurons fired at once. That night(yesterday), the game was found and safely downloaded to my disk. Additionally I got hold of the 2nd,3rd and 4th installations of the same game.
Reviews spoke of a lame and slow game filled with micromanagement. Exactly what I had in mind for a relaxing night.
Played a lil bit yesterday before moving onto some intense action of Call of Duty:Black Ops.
It is true that the game is quite slow, and requires almost continuous attention to minute details like whether ur fellows are hungry, they have homes, and so on and so off. Doesn't sound surprising to a player of Caesar,Zeus or any of that genre. Does it? But then in those game you play the role of a facilitator. You build roads and buildings, and people work and produce stuff you get to use. In case of Cultures, you need to take care of each person's individual needs too. You get a more closer approach and it feels bad when one person dies or war affects them. Without sounding philosophical, this game is quite relaxing and addictive because it requires you to be part of each and every thing in it.
But as most of the reviews point out, such a game is not welcome in many places, especially so in USA. In Europe and other parts of the world it has gained more support. I guess they have one sure fan in India. Maybe a couple more that I know of.
Overall it is a good game for people interested in RTS but don't want to be grilled with the fast pace of most of such games. A moment of ignorance or a single wrong decision can derail your entire built nation in most of such games, whereas Cultures can be quite forgiving to the player in such situations.
And hey look what I found Funatics Website. Seems Cultures is available online too. And they have a few more games too. Enjoy!
Here is also a link to Gamespot entry for this game Cultures (5.8/10)
My first full gaming experience was Diablo 2. Left me scarred for life because it had some really violent content. But what an experience it was. Instant favourite and my all time favourite game even now. The CD key ended up being my mail ID because I knew it by heart :D. And I developed a strong interest in RPGs just because of that.
ReplyDeletegood to know.. everyone has a favourite or a starter.. unforgettable those are :)
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