Dawn of Discovery Wii review
I picked up " Dawn of Discovery" on sale for $18.88 at Deepdiscount.com. It had received good reviews at IGN and others, so for that price, I took a chance. I couldn't have been more pleasantly surprised!
If empire-building type games are your bag, I highly recommend this one--especially for the price ($30 @ Amazon). The only caveat I would include is that it moves at a pretty leisurely pace, so keep that in mind. The art style kind of belies the depth that the game provides. While looking at bit like a 15th century "Animal Crossing" but prettier, it plays somewhat like a real-time "Civilization", but confined into a single era. Basically, explore additional islands, build the necessary structures, keep your people happy, unlock additional maps, expand, etc. Actually, I can't fully describe the game as I've been playing for about 4 hours and I'm still learning new concepts and buildings. So far, combat has been minimal, but I'm fairly certain there is more to come.
Players can choose from Story Mode which works as an extensive tutorial or a Free Play mode in which they can set the starting parameters of the world in which they play. The Story Mode is one of the most complete tutorials I've experienced, gradually introducing the player to new concepts and controls as each mission progresses. This includes only showing icons for functions and objects as the player has been exposed to them. This really helps reinforce the locations of said items in the menus. Additionally, all of the instruction is both printed and voice-acted--very well actually.
Included in the gameplay are treasure hunting and achievements which reward the player with additional maps and bonuses. New maps allow for further expansion of your kingdom, and the potential for more diverse and efficient crops as one island may be better suited for certain crops than others.
If I had to criticize anything it would be that the game can sometimes move a little slowly. Its extremely forgiving tutorial gets a bit long-winded on occasion, but that helps make the game accessible as well. I think this will ultimately resolve itself as empires get larger and consist of larger numbers of islands. Keeping track of it all can definitely keep you hopping.
This was one of those surprises that (somewhat) validates the insane amounts of income I blow buying far too many games. When I find a good deal that I get hours of enjoyment from, it helps offset the $50 games I play once and forget about. Like I said above, this game is certainly not for everyone, but fans of the genre should give it a look