The Nations

Aaah - isn't it cute? Look at the way the trees sway; marvel at the hopping bunnies with their floppy ears; bask in the bustling sounds of a prosperous town, and raise an eyebrow at the large-breasted Pimmons, the one-breasted Amazons and the no-breasted Sajiki insectoids.

The Nations is a surreal mix of The Settlers, Zeus and Black & White with gameplay focusing almost entirely on establishing a thriving economic community through understanding different types of characters (and races) under your control. To a certain extent it works well and for a few hours it's surprising how much you genuinely care about what happens to this utterly bizarre collection of creatures. The ability to satisfy each inhabitant's desires by creating jobs and homes specifically for them leaves you with a definite feeling that everybody in the town is important. Indeed, losing just one of these cogs often has devastating consequences.

This novel individuality does raise a few problems though; as far as we can see it's impossible to stop somebody from doing their job once they've started, which is especially irritating if you have an overzealous lumberjack roaming the forests. The inability to directly control any characters, bar the knight, is also highly frustrating.

Trading is another needlessly contrived area of play and becomes more so the further you get into the game. Still, if you concentrate on just killing your enemies, it's lots more fun. In truth The Nations is unlikely to make an impact, and yet there's no denying this pleasant offering rekindles a sense of innocence and fun that is so rarely seen these days. The Nations is a timely reminder to us all that RTS games don't have to be historically, or indeed, metaphorically up their own arses to be enjoyable, although apparently it helps.