Disclaimer: I loved the original Settlers II a ton as a kid and it still has a special place in my heart. Widelands is pretty much a clone of Settlers II and s

Disclaimer: I loved the original Settlers II a ton as a kid and it still has a special place in my heart. Widelands is pretty much a clone of Settlers II and stays close to its formula, including the graphical presentation which keeps the ca. 1995 isometric 2D graphics alive. The game is better described as a base builder / city builder game with the goal of expanding one's own territory to cover a certain goal point. Conflict arises because said point is usually in an opposing faction's territory and you have to take it by force. Combat is very indirect with no direct control over any units and thus there is virtually no tactics other than trying to man your posts with more better equipped and better trained soldiers. In essence, your military strength is mostly function of how well your backing industry works. Gameplay in the Settler series feels much like the Anno series after it in that there is a military component that comes into play late in the game. Most of the game is leading up to it, but has you focus on building a thriving colony in its own right. Within the Settlers series, Settlers II is unique in that it has a transport system of paths and cutesy carriers that needs a lot of attention from the player to avoid clogging and collapse. Terrain factors a lot into this, too. Later entries in the series have done away with most of this, which changed the feel of the games a lot. Unless things have changed, 0 A.D. is a straight up RTS with direct unit control and less base building. Moment to moment tactics matter. To me, it seems vaguely inspired by the Warcraft and Age of Empires lines games, but is not sticking very close to any one of these formulas.