LAST UPDATED: 23 October 2000

VZSciFi Computer Games Datafile: Cultures

Publisher: THQ Developer Funatics
Platform: PC CD
Genere: Sim
Requirements: Pentium II 266MHz minimum - Pentium 400MHz or faster recommended - 64MB RAM - Windows 9x/2000 - DirectX 7 - Mouse
Price: £29.99
For: Single player
Out: October 2000. Suitable for all ages
Previewer: John Freeman

Features
Over 200 hours of addictive gameplay
A lush and warm graphical environment with diverse landscapes and tribes
Highly developed AI - each character commands their own unique physical likeness and personality Intuitive control system: The control system is designed to ensure immediate accessibility to all levels of experience.
Game interface enables easy access to all Vikings. Clicking on their home allows the player's to instantly locate the Vikings, wherever they are situated on the map.
Instantly gratifying with rewarding long-term gameplay
Players must undertake complex missions with multiple mission objectives.

The Plot
In the tradition of successful resource-management sims, now comes a compelling and critically acclaimed, addictive game, inhabited by a burgeoning colony of colourful Viking tribes - Cultures.
The story behind Cultures is set hundreds of years ago, in a small Viking village in Greenland. For many weeks cold rain poured down on the village, so much so that the inhabitants had given up hope of a prosperous harvest. Hunger ensued and consequently the population became bitter and depressed.
A glimpse of hope arises when they think they see the sun shine through the clouds. This is cruelly snatched away when it turns out to be a comet entering the Earth's atmosphere as a ball of fire. The comet suddenly explodes into six pieces on entering the atmosphere and tumbles down to earth, paralysing the villagers with fear. The villagers, though distressed, decide to interpret this momentous event as a sign from their gods and pragmatically, they set out to find the sixshattered pieces and bring them back to Greenland. They set sail towards the west, and eventually find themselves on the shores of North America.
Now it's your turnÉ From the moment they land it's up to you the player, to help the Vikings create their own settlement. You'll need to prepare your tribe to soldier on throughout the wilderness of the newly discovered American continent; trading, uniting and fighting until they retrieve the 6 essential elements of the comet that will restore harmony to their homeland.
In Cultures, the villagers depend upon the player from the moment they are born; players must care for their health and wealth, give them tasks, bring up their little ones, yet always keep an eye on their overall strategic goals. It's enough to make being made President of the United States look easy!
Once a colony is up and running, the game develops further by enabling players to build more villages as their tribes begin to trade with one another. However as PC Gamer magazine recently reported, "What is important though, is that your villages never become sprawling cities, so you'll always know who everyone is and what their needs are. In this sense, Cultures is a rural version of The Sims." This means that instead of engaging in constant warfare, a more tactical approach is to build up relationships with other tribes and actually befriend them.
The surrounding land features other tribes with their own cultural differences and diplomacy will allow you to negotiate your way through the game, obtaining pieces of the comet that may be in their possession. Another standout feature of Cultures is that each character is unique. Visually, they have different hair, clothes and physiques but more importantly as they have been encoded with their own personality they have individual characteristics and talents. This gives them the ability to fully interact with different characters they encounter, as they marry, have their own children and take on different jobs. It is important for the player to acknowledge the unique qualities of the villagers, as each and every one of the game's characters is important to the growth and welfare of the community.
With all combined features, Cultures manages to be absorbing, challenging and highly addictive. The game puts an entirely new spin on the micro-management sim genre opening it up to a wider audience. While the player undertakes 13 complex missions with multiple mission objectives, serious gamers will be guaranteed long-term gameplay. The intuitive control system and effective artificial intelligence will ensure that even novice gamers will find instant gratification.

Where can I get more information?

The Official Site
THQ UK
Includes release dates, back catalogue and other info

Funatics Developments
The Cultures developers

Fan Sites
Links welcome!

Tips and Cheats

It's not out yet!

Not to be confused with...

Viking Trail
Discover the 1,000 year-old Norse settlement at Lanse aux Meadows and much more along this Newfoundland and Labrador trail.