1492- Colonization of the New World was sent my way by Salty Olives, and as of 5/17/2016 are facing some legal issues with the title. Which before I get to my review, I will copy and paste their statement.
The store page for 1492: Colonization of the New World is currently unavailable due to a legal notice.
We are reviewing the situation and working to resolve it as quickly as possible. The game will return to the store once this process is complete.
Thank you for your patience and support — we’ll share updates as soon as we have more information
This situation is new for us, so we don’t yet know how long it will take. We’re working to resolve it as quickly as possible so we can get back to Update 1.1.
To clarify what’s happening:
Take-Two Interactive has sent a legal notice to Valve Corporation regarding alleged IP concerns. We have not been contacted directly, this is between Take-Two and Valve.
1492 is inspired by Sid Meier’s Colonization, which we’ve always been open about. We’ve only used elements we believed to be in the public domain, but Take-Two appears to disagree.
We’re reviewing the notice and will respond via Valve. Some minor changes may be made.
That said, based on our initial review, we believe there is a possibility that this notice may be automated (AI?) and triggered by specific words or phrases found in the game.
At this stage, we are not convinced there is a valid case. It’s not uncommon for larger companies to take a cautious and wide-ranging approach to IP protection.
Without being out of the way, let me get to my review. The game is much like Civilization on a smaller scale and in a different role to start. You aren’t on your own as a new country, but as a colony of said country. I started by making my own city with a few people and attempting to get things rolling. I had a single ship to send back to England with some furs and to get new people to help run my new settlement.
Thankfully, the ship, after it hits the open see will simply travel to England, then let you decide what you are doing there, then come back. You can, of course, control it on your coast. I really like this approach because it lets me focus on my side of the ocean.
How you handle things like the natives and other countries in the Americas is up to you. I chose not to make my life harder by going to war with them, but it is an option. I simply enjoyed trading and setting up new settlements. You do have to be careful, however, since not everyone will just take whatever you stroll up to their town with. I learned this the hard way with a (metaphorical) truckload of furs nobody wanted until I got to what is probably modern-day Texas from Pennsylvania.
Now I won’t lie to you. The sound and graphics of this game aren’t the best, but the game is fun. It is a nice 6/10 title I enjoyed, but can’t say there isn’t better out there. It is, however, a nice change of pace, and if their legal issues get straightened out, I can see it having a fan base and, with a few updates, being a great game. Best wishes, and may the gaming gods bring you glory.
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