Stronghold 2

Kingmaker mode is an extension of the Skirmish mode Firefly Studios introduced in Stronghold: Crusader. In the Skirmish mode of Crusader, players would build up their castle and then attack their neighbors in an attempt to crush and destroy the opposition. In Stronghold 2, Kingmaker continues this delightful concept, but takes it to the next level.

In Kingmaker, the map is divided up into estates. There are two kinds of these territories: village estates, and castle estates. Village estates can be purchased by spending honor points, which you earn by “living like a lord.” So when you do things like hold feasts and jousts, have a wife or attend church, you earn this new resource called honor.

When you add a new estate to your empire, any resources created by that territory get sent back to your main castle via a carter (sent from a Carter’s Post, one of the new buildings in Stronghold 2). Smaller village estates are quite useful for setting up external farms, leaving the space within your castle walls free to be used for your war making apparatus. Castle estates are huge structures that are equal to your own, initial castle, and must be taken by force.

So in Kingmaker, you will fight for complete domination of a map, acquiring and losing territories as you fight it out with either computer-controlled or human opponents (up to eight people can play in Stronghold 2 multiplayer matches).

The other new component of Kingmaker is the ability to spend your honor points on promotions. Promotions are Stronghold’s take on the “ages” concept from other strategy games. You begin the game as a lowly Freeman, but can advance through the ranks up to a Squire, Knight, Knight Errand, Duke, and eventually become a full-fledged King. Advancing in ranks gives you access to new buildings and units, but where Stronghold 2 differs from other strategy games is that your existing units stay the same.

So in other words, an Archer created by a Squire is the same as an Archer created by a King. So if you want to stop spending your honor points on promotions early on and instead concentrate on acquiring more territories and building up a huge army, you can opt for that instead. It’s entirely up to the player.

Territories and promotions will be available in both the regular campaign and Kingmaker mode. The primary difference there is that in the regular campaign, you can’t advance any higher than Duke, as there already is a king (and he’s perfectly happy in that role thank you very much).

words taken from http://pc.gamezone.com/gamesell/p24776.htm

Settler: Heritage of King

Heritage of Kings: The Settlers marks the return of the 11-year-old Settlers franchise. This fifth game in the series comes after a four-year hiatus, and on the surface, much has changed. The cutesy 2D graphics of the original games have given way to a beautiful and more mature 3D look. However, at its core, Heritage of Kings stays true to its predecessors, as this is a real-time strategy game that's focused far more on the process of constructing buildings rather than tearing them down. And that makes for the game's greatest strength, as well as its biggest weakness.

It takes a really big village to succeed at Heritage of Kings.

The campaign in Heritage of Kings tells the story of your character, Dario, as he attempts to unify the land and reclaim his rightly throne. As the lost prince of this story, it's his job to prove to the people that he's a good steward by defeating the forces of the evil and restoring the land. In addition to the various spearmen, swordsmen, archers, and cavalry that he can recruit, Dario is accompanied by various hero units, each with his or her own special powers and abilities. This all falls fairly well into the familiar real-time-strategy formula.

Where Heritage of Kings differs from most RTS games is in its focus. In most RTS games, you usually start a level with a fair bit of building and end it with a lot of combat. But in Heritage of Kings, the ratio is more like 90 percent building and 10 percent combat. This keeps in line with the earlier Settlers games, as the series has always been more about medieval city building than Command & Conquer. As such, your goal is to build a sprawling, interdependent web of buildings, where workers and peasants go about their daily lives. It's a very charming and engaging formula, at first. However, the further you get into the game, the more you realize that you're not so much playing Heritage of Kings than you are simply sitting around waiting to gather the mountain of resources you need to build up the same huge, interconnected web of buildings over and over again.

words taken from http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/thesettlersv/review.html

Virtual Farm

Old MacDonald had a farm. Now you can, too, in Virtual Farmer, the game that puts you in charge of turning a struggling farm into a booming success! Choose your crops, till your ground, water your fields, harvest your produce and take your goods to market. Once there, you get to set the price! You ll have to keep a close eye on demand, though. Earn enough money and you ll be able to build processing plants that can turn your raw goods into exciting new products. With tons of upgrades to earn, plenty of customers to satisfy and easy-to-handle point-and-click fun, VirtualFarmer will have your entire family shoutin YEE HAW!

Turtle Odyssey

Turtle Odyssey is a sequel of our most famous game, Turtle Odyssey. It is filled with magical atmosphere of underwater adventures. Our well-known hero, brave and kind turtle Ozzy starts the journey with an innocent game of catch, as Ozzy accidentally smacks into a slab of ice, cracking it and letting a mysterious creature go free. Intrigued, he follows, unknowingly setting off on the adventure of lifetime, which - as depicted via a lovingly-rendered mission map you’ll traverse one stage at a time - is filled with excitement and wonder.

Features:
- 50 levels
- 6 different worlds
- 6 bonus-levels
- 17 enemies
- roulette wheel

TROPIX

Choosing a game for the entire family is a lot like planning a vacation. Puzzle fans would like to relax by a mountain lake while fast-paced arcade fans are most likely scouting out the ski slopes. Fortunately, just about everyone loves the beach and Tropix is an oasis for all gamers. Plus, you get to bring along a monkey!

An archipelago of unique game islands, the Tropix world holds eleven individual games in one gamer's paradise. Puzzle fans will enjoy matching exotic fruits in Cascade, a match-three challenge of strategic swapping featuring explosive power-ups while word gamers can search for the highest scoring words in Water Words. For the "extreme" gamer, there's Jungle Jump, an adventure through the Tropix rainforest where swinging from vine to vine is the only way to avoid giant spiders and carniverous fish. Puzzlers who prefer a little more action will want to try Puffer Popper, a pretty good variation of one of the most popular casual games models today: fire colored balls at the oncoming line to clear them before they reach your sand castle. And, of course, there's the ultimate quick break - computer solitaire. But this is just the beginning. There are uncharted islands in Tropix and as you play more games are there to be discovered. Parasailing, Sudoku, and even a, "keep an eye on the ball" shell game are just some of the extra diversions to be found. Every time you play your score and progress earns you sand dollars which are central to advancing in the game.

You and your primate pal begin your adventure on Outset Island. Although your journey begins on a small speck of land surrounded by the sea, this is merely the first stop of five destinations that include Mystic Island and Sunset Lagoon. In order to move to the next island, though, you must satisfy your monkey's desire for food, comfort and fun on each one. But, in order to do that, you've got to go shopping and the Tropix Trading Post only takes Sand Dollars. Featuring Sombreros, Beach Balls, Tiki Torches and more, each Tropix location contains unique products to help you meet your monkey's needs. Once you've purchased an item, place it on the beach, sit back, and watch as the monkey and his friends explore and play.

Tropix is undoubtedly the premier bargain in casual games. One download able to deliver eleven variations on the most popular games today is a heck of a deal. The games are quick, easy to learn and play, and feature a well-detailed tropical theme. The graphics are state of the art and the stylized characters make for whimsical fun. The Tropix Trading Post is full of quirky items and a screensaver featuring the islands you created and your monkey is an excellent addition. Really, just watching your monkey roam the beach and play with everything you've given him is pretty fun.

For the family looking for a break that everyone will want to be a part of, though, there's no better option than Tropix. It delivers quick fun at a fantastic value, is easy to get lost in, and is appropriate for all ages. Now, I'm off to the Coco-Bowl; monkey wants a barbeque.

For the family looking for a break that everyone will want to be a part of, though, there's no better option than Tropix. It delivers quick fun at a fantastic value, is easy to get lost in, and is appropriate for all ages. Now, I'm off to the Coco-Bowl; monkey wants a barbeque.