GamersInfo.net

Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City holds many mysteries. The first mystery is why they never thought to include an “Oops” button. Third in a series of popular casual games, Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City almost made me cry. I lost two tribes to starvation when I forgot to pause the game overnight. Not a good start.

Much like the premise in previous Virtual Villagers titles, you are in control of a small tribe of flower-wearing natives (hippies) looking for a new home on the island of Isola. They strike out from their village and are washed ashore after a storm capsizes their raft. After the headcount, they realize they are standing on the beach of an abandoned civilization. Your job is to find out what happened here. A tutorial in the beginning helps you navigate the map, technology screen and survivor roster, but after that, you are on your own.

Uncovering the secret behind the ruined society requires completing 15 achievement puzzles related to the ruins on the island and the survival of each inhabitant. If you succeed, a door opens and your villagers learn the history of their beach. However, making it this far is not as easy as it sounds; the beginning of the game is particularly volatile.

During those first few weeks on the island, feeding everyone is a constant battle. The game runs in real time, so even when you are not lording over your settlers, they are busy working, growing, playing or starving. As your first source of food, the beehive is vital to your mission. The hive has a limited reserve, and when it’s gone, you must rely on the occasional mushroom until the first tree grows to fruition. Deaths due to starvation are common.

Besides feeding your tribe, there are other issues to deal with, including education. The old settlement must have put all their dummies on a raft and set them afloat, because all your villagers arrive unskilled. Luckily for you, they can learn a handful of trades such as research, medicine, farming, building and parenting, but at times, it feels like you are forcing their educations.

Once they get the hang of their new careers, tribe members continue their crafts until you drag them away. Researching benefits greatly from this. The real-time action allows you to put a few villagers to work in the lab, leave the game and return to a sizable technology point balance. Spend these points on upgrades in technology, construction, alchemy, medicine and leadership to earn new abilities.

Technology points are important, but the top-ranking profession has to be the newly added chief position. One of your villagers is destined to lead the tribe, and along with the prestigious title, they earn a few perks. Although you can call on the special skills of the chief only once a day, using magic food in an emergency can save your villagers from becoming the tropical Donner party.

When time passes on your island, you can see it in the growth of your inhabitants and in the new weather patterns. Children grow into teenagers, who grow into adults. Adults age into seniors and become a pile of bones. Training in any profession is constantly changing as your teens become eligible to work and your elders pass away. The circle of life is accompanied by real-time weather effects. Each day on the island brings a chance of sun, fog, haze or rain. A hazy day slows production, and a rainy afternoon sends your people running for cover.

Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City is a great pastime for the office, but I found the stop-and-go play somewhat annoying. There are many times when my gaming session lasted only two or three minutes before I ran out of things to do. Another problem is the restrictive puzzle-solving process. Even if you are ready to repair the statue, you can’t begin until you can buy the correct upgrade.

I can’t help but think that despite my enjoyment of the game, it is time for developers to add something to their formula. This third release keeps the basics intact but doesn’t make an attempt to surprise fans with anything really exciting. Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City is definitely worth a look, but if you played the first or second game don’t expect it to hold your interest for long.