Jo Wood has released it's most recent Real Time Strategy title called "Cultures 2", which some might consider to be somewhat of a bold move since it was done almost immediately after the long awaited Warcraft III was unleashed upon the world. Well, this title will really surprise anyone who can stop fighting orcs and undead for a moment, and proves to be a decent entry into the ever growing RTS market. Basically, the story of Cultures 2 revolves around Bjarni, son of the infamous Leif Ericksen, who's quiet and peaceful life is shattered by a sudden vision depicting the ultimate battle between good and evil. "Ragnarok" ... a word used by the Norse meaning "The End of the World", is depicted as a huge serpentine dragon known as the Midgard Serpent. Bjarni realizes that he must travel through part of the earth, including England, the Orient, and Baghdad, in search of three strange heroes seen in his vision as well, then venture out to face the beast and save the world from destruction.

Good story, great concept. The actual events, people, and encounters that Bjarni and his people encounter are based around actual Norse mythology, legends, and history. Each separate part of the story has a "History" tab you can click on to read up on the Norse people and the events that were used to put together parts of the game, which helps to understand a little more of what the whole purpose behind the missions are. Just like any decent RTS title out there, there will be different lands to explore and conquer ... and while it's true that Cultures 2 is definately an RTS at it's deepest core, it does a lot of things differently which set it apart from other titles in the same genre out there. Most of your time will be spent in more of a "Godmode" so to speak, similar to games like ActRaiser or Populous, as you will take a handful of Viking explorers and use them to create villages and explore the land. Each villager is used for their own unique purpose in helping to get things running, as you will assign such tasks to each male citizen as woodcutting, stone extracting, or farming ... each one vital in it's own way. Women are present as well throughout the small dwellings, which isn't found in every RTS title out there, and are responsible for things like increasing the population and keeping the men and children healthy so the village can thrive. Every townsperson has their own role to play, each one important to ensure survival.

The next addition to the RTS piece is implementing an RPG flavor to the overall scenarios as well, both for fighters as well as townsfolk. Bjarni will kind of "hang out" most of the time and seen to supervise the villagers in their daily routines, since he is mostly cut out for exploration, fighting, and conquest. He may be assigned a task like "Search out the three witches of Nord", which requires him to seek out a shipbuilder East of where his village is located, and is told upon arrival that he must pay 10 flagons of mead for transport, thus bringing you back to the small town and setting your people to work building mills and breweries to produce the payment. Characters can also switch weapons, use potions and inventory items, or upgrade current armor ... just like an RPG, and workers will level up in their current responsibilities which enables them to grow to the next level as well. For example, you may assign the newly grown up Forkbeard to farm. After enough experience in earned in farming, he will learn the ability to become a miller and produce flour. Thus ... RTS time again where you have to obtan lumber, stone, and wheat to build a mill. After he earns enough experience becoming a miller, he can become a baker which provides the most important food source to the rest of the population. Each step opens the way for someone else to move in and level up in that area, and produces a revolving door effect. In addition, there are multiple buldings and other things to build, ranging from single family dwellings to barracks, and even other smaller but important things like wells, beehives, and catapults also.

Now, all of this is really neat, and it's a lot of fun watching your Norse village grow and thrive under your direction, but it can also create somewhat of a downside as well. Any of you who have read my bio will see that in my "not so fun because I'm not playing video games" life, I am a regional supervisor for a sales center. This game is all about supervision and micromanagement at times, and any of you aspiring middle management folks out there will find some good practice with looking after upwards of 7 however many seemingly endless vikings and making sure that they are eating, sleeping, praying, doing what you tell them to do (sometimes they tend to hang out and say that they can't find anything to do, and have to be assigned work areas) and getting married or rotating jobs so they don't get bored. Scouts who look for expanding land to keep building on have to stop often in their exploration and put up signs or else they and wandering townsfolk can get lost, causing you to drop what you're doing and guide them back to the village. Fortunately, there are message pages which come up on the top of the screen on each Nordesman which tell you what's going on and takes you right to them if something is up, but it can get a little hectic when you are trying to work on three of them at the same time and four more pop up. Of course, part of the Norse heritage is fighting and conquest of lands ... which you will do ... but it's not what you are going to be doing most of the time.

Graphically, this game can be best descibed as, well ... "cute". Despite the gritty viking lifestyle and the very seriously sketched Norse pictorals of battle and even a funeral during the install screens, this is a very cartoony game. Everything is bright and colorful, and the characters all have a round, hand painted look to them ... complete with bulbous noses and accentuated handlebar moustaches. You can zoom in or out while you play as well to get a better view of what's going on, but in full zoom it gets a little pixeled. There are some really nice touches added in here and there also, like deer grazing on a nearby patch of grass, or a herd of wild boar running through the town which causes hunters to take chase with bows firing. Each townsperson will go about their lives in full detail ... and each one has his or her own unique name and look. In addition, there are some pretty comical things tossed in for a snicker here and there. My personal favorite being a woman entering her dwelling after being told to have a child, with her betrothed heading in directly behind her and shutting the door. Hearts ascend from the roof of the house, and while he heads out the door and right back to work ... a stork flies by shortly thereafter dropping the new viking citizen to the proud parents.

Overall, Cultures 2 may not get the total recognition it is deserving of. While this game is not for everyone out there, even some RTS folks out there, it definitely deserves a chance to show you what it can do. It definitely provides a deep gaming experience and contains a lot of character, which is lacking in a lot of titles overall these days. I would definately recommend that the patient ActRaiser, Populous, and Sim City crowd give it an opportunity ... but anyone seeking more of a straight combat or faster paced RTS title may get a little bored with it after a spell. Either way, have fun getting to REALLY know each member of your viking tribe, and good luck saving the world from that darned Ragnarok.

Gameplay: 7.9
Everything in this game is simple point and click, with a pause button to help keep things under control and arrow keys to move the camera around. While easy to pick up and get into, thre are multiple aspects you have to look after, ranging from managing a large number of individual vikings, keeping the population even, making sure they are performing necessary personal and group tasks, to keeping an eye on diplomatic relations with other nations to open trade routes and plan for attacks ... or plan for making them. The screen also cannot be rotated, nor do solid objects get transparent, so it can be easy to sometimes lose a villager amongst the trees, brush, or a building periodically.  

Graphics: 8.5
Overall, very cutesy and cartoony. Great opening movie as well. Don't let the younger gamer look fool ya though, this game is mostly geared towards the older crowd. Everything was done in good detail, and is very colorful to look at. Each viking, regardless of number, will go about their own lives and tasks ... ranging from praying to working to sleeping to getting "hitched". Children will run around and watch their elders, or play with the nearby dogs and animals.

Sound: 8.8
Very good soundtrack, which has an orchestrated medieval sound to it. Sounds of battle, hammering, mining, and hunting (bowstring twang) can be found throughout. The vikings will respond with grumbling or "Ya" when given an order, and the wildlife will make natural noises when running across the screen. 

Difficulty: Medium
Everything is simple point and click, and the game will walk you through areas until you get the hang of what needs to happen. There's still a lot that goes into sitting and playing this game, however, and younger players may get frustrated with the level of work that goes into the life of building a Norse society.

Concept: 9.2
Not just another RTS title, but a dose of Godmode games and RPG elements worked in as well to create a different and unique title. Add in actual Norse legend and history, and it makes for a fun but educational title as well.

Multiplayer: 9.3
The online mode not only requires players to compete on total military domination, but also contains modes to see who can build the most economy, capture the most "flags" (areas of land), or even compete to see who can capture the most cows on a map. You can also go "Co-op" to run against a common enemy.

Overall: 7.7
Personally, I am having a blast (and straining my marriage!) sinking multiple hours into playing Cultures 2. I loved the mixture of actually building a civilization, playing RPG elements, and marching my army against neighboring villages. While this is a heck of a lot of fun, it's definitely not going to be for everyone out there. If you are looking for more of a war or battle sim, this isn't going to be a game for you ... but if you can be patient and enjoy watching an entire town grow under your leadership, this is a good addition to your PC library. They say that Rome wasn't built in a day ... Norse villages apparently weren't either.