A Return to the Golden Age of Gaming.

There was a time in the gaming universe when graphic bits were counted upon both hands, and RAM was known by most peoplehas a mountain dwelling headbutter who could be watched on primetime wildlife television shows. As time progressed the value of vidieo games were lost in pixels and high resolution graphics. The art of strategy and patience were replaced with frantic button pushing and large screen creatures so nonsensical that the idea of relating with them has become obsolete and nearly impossible.

Out of the chaotic multibillion dollar gaming industry a title that reminds me of days of yore, not only in a gaming sense but in a feudilistic way way as well. This game is Evony. It's simplicity in design has all the makings of a classic. It's repetitious graphics and lack of a third dimension takes me back to the days of 8-bit glory when the point of a game was not to impress people with your ultra hightech entertainment system but to allow yourself to be lost in a world that you have created. It is the intricacy of the game that keeps one raptured and the social experience that is developed from the nature of the game itself makes it a lifetime addiction.

The premise of Evony is simple. You are given an alloted amount of various resources and with these five basic materials are left to create a world of your own design. In the fine image of classics such as Civ I, Risk, and even the Total War series. You find yourself in a  linear world of economic and time based straegy that from minute one forces you to use your "gasp" brain. The Real-Time economy includes a player driven market and resource development that continues even when offline. The affect of RTS continues when the battles between players begin. As the game is based on a coordinate detailed map, the distance between players and their created cities is also time driven for movement to and fro is all executed in miles. The forces of your created army and opposing players will clash on a frequent basis wether you remain online or not and the importance of preparing for these circumstances also add to the startegic value of Evony.

Although the strategy and nostalgic warmth created by Evony are enough to keep a gamer interested it is the social structure that is developed from within that will keep a person in love. Players are organized into groups known as Alliances. The ability to communicate not only adds to your likelyhood of ingame survival but the moments you create with people who share your interests can develop into a friendship that truly brings an extreme amount of joy and entertainment into your life. Without the pretentious attitudes that come attached with some of the more popular and expensive MMORPG's,  Evony is the type of game that not only keeps your strategic skills at top form but allows you once again journey back in time to the Golden Age of gaming.

J. Conner

AKA

Conners, Server 91.