Customer Reviews

1503 A.D. The New World

5 star:		(13)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(7)
2 star:		(4)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

1503 A.D. is a wonderful simulation game for several reasons. It is an engaging game, well worth its modest price. If you are NOT a "gamer", 1503 A.D. is a great first simulation game to try and see if you like this genre.

First, it's important to note that 1503 A.D. is not about slash and burn like Age of Empire. Nothing wrong with Age of Empire, but in that game your sole purpose in building an economy is to build a military to defeat the other guy. And when the other guy's defeated, the game stops. And if you don't attack him, he'll attack you, so it's a tense play.

In 1503 A.D. your goal is to build an economy and explore the new world. It is a simulation of that time when Spain, France, England, Holland etc. first sent ships to the Americas and the Caribbean Islands and discovered the fantastic lands and resources available there. You play at your own pace without time pressure.

I find it engaging on three levels: first, creating a working economy (it's literally a little MODEL of a world, with miniature ships, buildings, roads, trees, animals, crops, and people); second, extending that economy over multiple lands, using ships as the means of communication and trade (for example, you need a tropical island to grow dye plants for luxury clothing); third, the basics and luxuries correspond to the actual economy of that time (food crops, clothing crops, tobacco, dies, spices, whale oil, etc.)

As several reviewers state, 1503 A.D. is quite engaging to play over many hours. You can stop and resume anytime. There are indigenous tribes to discover and trade with. There are prebuilt tutorials and campaigns to try. And there is a "sandbox" mode where you just pick a map and build on your own, with nobody telling you what you have to do.

There are other computer players to trade with. And yes, if you wish, to fight with. You can build troops and warships and send them off to do battle with other settled cities or with the bad guys everyone loves to hate, pirates. The point is, you don't HAVE to do this if you don't want to. Or you can do it LATER, after you've gotten the other features under your belt.

At $9.99 the price is hard to beat, plus, the game plays on normal computers and does not need super graphics cards. I think this is an engaging game well worth its modest price. And it's a GREAT way to explore playing simulation games and see if you like them.

One other tip, in addition to the printed manual that comes with the game, there are many free ONLINE web sites and forums with lots of help, tips and walkthrus etc. from other players. So you can play on your own, or follow a detailed walkthru, or just look up stuff somewhere in between.

The initial version of this software AD 1602 was fun to play, a kind of post-Renaissance Sim City. After a long wait, the 1503 version was released.

At first I hated 1503, thinking it was overly complicated. Well, switched to ENGLISH version (yuh! not smart, I was playing a version in German, the original language of this game) and I broke down and played the tutorials. Wow! There's a lot here. Not only are the graphics stunning, but the economic play is complex and interesting to the end. The formula to success (many aristocrats) is not as it was in 1602. In this case, trade balance is all; if you dare an agressive and too early expansion, your economy can take an irreversible downward spiral, and the cathedral starts softly playing the Miserere from Mozart's Requiem (haha, an anachronism but damn funny, you guys!)

Lots to love here, a great computer game, indeed.

The first few nights I spent 10 hours solid playing. This is not good for school. Incrediblly addicting. I like economic simulations that don't focus on war. This is a one of a kind game that gives you a choice to war or not because the AI follows your actions. It has a new twist on the economic scheme in that it is a less comunistic form of government. The funds you acquire are from the sale of items at the market square (Capitalistic). The game takes long in progressing from level to level moving from pioneer, setteler, citizen, merchant, aristocrat. The education system is expanded from the last game of the series (1602) to include research for warfare units as well as larger ships, wells, larger textile manufacturers etc...
You will like this if you like CaesarIII, 1602ad, Tropico.
But you will not like it if you like to just war and avoid the whole economic thing as in: Starcraft, AOE, C&C Generals.
Allthough if you like both CaesarIII and AOE then you'll love 1503a.d.

I am in love with this game!
As a woman I do not play very much. That's how it used to be anyway...
Times change - ever since I started playing 1503 A.D. it is hard to concentrate on anything else.

Here's why:
I started to explore the world of 1503 A.D. to find the perfect island to settle and start building my empire.
Once I found it and explored it to find out about the ressources I started to set my first little buildings. Next thing you know is that all these tiny people come out of their cabins and start working - sooo cute!
After a while - and after many more buildings - my little village started to grow.
If I keep my people happy my village will soon turn into nice little city with big houses, university ...

If you are looking for something to relax and have fun at the same time - this is the perfect entertainment!

Very worth buying!

You get your money's worth with this one. It's challenge is to build a town without bankrupting and that means being an efficient civil engineer. It operates well (few if any bugs) and the graphics are top notch. There's several websites to get clues on how to approach all the scenarios. This game appears to be big in Europe.

Everyone keeps griping about this game, but please. Those of you who are, here's an idea, try playing it. :)

The New World was not created overnight. Anyways, I can start a mission at 8pm, and by 11pm, I'm a Merchant.

Let's allllll relax, and actually try it out.

Heres my take on this game:

Pros,

-Graphics are very very good
-The sound is Awesome
-Skill is acutally required to play it(unlike other stratagy games like Lord of the Realms, age of empires and Empire Earth)
-There is always somthing to do in it (just to name a few; fighting, economy building and city building)
-There is a manual included (so its not one of those games that installs the manual on to your PC)
-Games that you play in it can actually last a very long time
-Tons of different climates (ice, forest, jungle, desert)
-Huge maps

Cons,

-The game is very hard
-you will almost always find your self low on money or even bankrupt (unless your a vetrain player or some PC nerd)
-The makers at EA Games made the game play way to complicated. for instance, in order to get a jewellery stand, you need to find a gem deposit and a gold deposit. then you need to build a gold mine and gem mine on to the deposits. this lets you build a Goldsmith, which makes the jewellery, leting you make a jewellery stand. what makes it really hard is that gem and gold deposits some times arnt even in the game or are on a far off island thats to small to build on, forceing you to trade with computer controlled tribes who some how have the things you cant seem to get.
-everybody says and tells me to read the manual to learn how to play the game. I've read the manual from front to back hundreds of times and i still cant figure out how to play it to the fullest. I seem to always become bankrupt or get so frustrated with the trading, deplomacy and money management that i end up curseing at my PC and wanting to burn the game.

All in all, this game is good. If you like overly complicated games that take some time to master at, then this is for you. But if your like me and like to sit down for a nice relaxeing game of empire building and dont want to be bothered with the extreme realism that this game send your way than maybe you should find something different.

If anyone who reads this can help me out in any way on tips or hints on how to play and manage through this game, PLZZZ contact me at
radioactive_foxhound@hotmail.com

At first I admit the game was hard to understand, but when you know how to use everything its quite fun..Anyway..

To radioactive_foxhound from British columbia: quote-"...build a thriving colony over many many days of playing..." Many days?? I can build a thriving colony in like 2 hours, you just need to know how to play the game. Oh and the only reason that your boats are "harassed" by pirates is because other computer players can pay the pirates to go after your boats, just like you can pay pirates to protect you etc. Like I said you just need to know how to play the game (which you obviously don't).

To Tiffany L Savage from Chicago, IL: If you had read the manual you would know how to build on other Islands. Like I said before LEARN TO PLAY THE GAME, before you come here and trash it and make it sounds like it sucks. And I can grow tobacco (which isn't that hard- put a plantation, add some tobacco plants, and put a tobacco place, and wha-la), and my sheep do just fine. Oh and depending on the level you play depends on the amount of cultures/computer players there are (on the level I play which is Count-2 stars- I think, you get 4 other computer players and 2-4 cultures and then you)

To General Pete from SC: $42?!?! Where are you buying your games? I got mine for like $25 Canadian (which would be like on $10 American) when the game had only been out a week.

To Didier MILLEROT from Bruxelles Belgium: This game is to hard for 5 year olds, if you couldn't tell...

Alright I'm done my ranting and raving. I thought the game was great you just have to understand. I also can't wait until I can get the expansion pack.

There are four important questions to ask yourself when playing a game. "Am I having fun?" "Are the graphics palletable?" "Does this have replay value?" & "Would you buy or rip a CD of the soundtrack?" For me, it was "Yes, yes, yes, & yes."

Also try some more Sunflower games (this is a Sunflower game) like Knights of Honor & ParaWorld. There's also the Tradewinds series, Ages of Empires series, The Settlers series, Westward series, & the other two Anno games.

If you enjoyed the soundtrack of the game, you might share my taste in other game soundtracks. Try American McGee's Alice, Fable, Heroes of Might & Magic 4, Maple Story, Aveyond, My Tribe, Hidden Expedition Titanic, & Plant Tycoon.

I found it to be more complex than 1602 but better graphically. It does have several problems. All of the functions I had read that were supposed to be usable; were not. I had done a lot of research on it and supposedly you could board ships, capture enemy territory by building your warehouse over the almost destroyed one and others were nothing but hype. You find out in a text file on the CD AFTER you buy the product that not everything works. I think it was done on purpose so people would buy the expansion where it does work; European version. There is no official editor, like in 1602, but after a crash course in german I did find an unofficial one. The game is funner to play than 1602 but not worth the full msrp; in my opinion. It is worth buying at the low prices now for it. One last thing, support is very limited for this game, another lacking area. Have fun.