Maroc - 3RD-STRIKE.COM - A La Une - 01/Feb 00:01

Yield! Fall of Rome – Preview

It’s often said that men think about Ancient Rome daily. Speaking from personal experience, we’d dispute this, but lately, the Roman Empire has been on our mind quite a lot. The cause is that we’ve been playing Yield! Fall of Rome, a new 4X game developed by Billionworlds and published by Daedalic Games, that was just released in Early Access on Steam. Having attempted to overthrow the Romans a few times now, we’re ready to give you our first impressions of what Yield! has to offer. Games that center around the Roman Empire typically depict it at its height, but as its full title implies, Yield! is set in the final years of this once mighty civilization. It’s a turning point in history, as other factions are starting to realize that the dominance of Rome is starting to crumble. Yield! puts you in charge of one of these factions, as you try to bring the Roman Empire to its knees and claim dominance for yourself. In the current build of the game, you can choose between the Huns and the Britons, with the full version aiming to offer a grand total of eight factions, each with its own campaign and set of unique units. Unit variety is going to be a thing to look forward to as new content is being added, because at the moment, there is only a single unit that differs between these two factions. The meat in the current build is in the game’s introductory campaign. The goal is as straightforward as it gets: conquer the hex-based map. Being a turn-based 4X game, this means that you’ll need to do more than just brute force your way across. Military conflict has a part in Yield!, of course, but mastering the economy and outpacing your enemies in a technological arms race also has a part to play. We particularly enjoyed the way politics came into play. Instead of simply wiping out the Roman occupants, you can try to convince them to form an alliance and even adapt certain Roman policies into your own. This then results in specific benefits or even penalties, depending on whether you implement the Roman way of life or stick to your own traditions. Compared to other titles in the genre, a game of Yield! definitely feels very fast-paced and more streamlined. There is a limit of 50 turns, within which you’ll need to achieve your goals and claim victory. This is done by earning crowns, which are victory points that are rewarded for meeting specific conditions, like controlling parts of the map or taking over enemy settlements. There is a board-game-like quality to Yield!’s gameplay, and this is further emphasized by the way the game looks. The elaborate, hex-based maps look like they were plucked off of the tabletop of a dedicated wargamer, complete with carefully painted miniatures to represent armies and buildings. We quite enjoy this stylized look, although the game could do with a bit more visual variety in the long run. The cartoonish character designs seen in Yield!’s key art are underutilized, and we’d like to see them make an appearance in cutscenes that expand on the narrative aspects of the campaigns in the full game. It is of course still early days for Yield!. In its current state, the game definitely feels like an Early Access title in that it is laying the groundwork for bigger things to come. The foundations are certainly there for Yield! to become a powerhouse contender in the 4X arena, but as it stands the game lacks a unique hook to make it really stand out. Right now, Yield! can simply be described as being a faster and more simple version of the Civilization series. That’s not to say that there isn’t enough here to keep you occupied already though. Apart from its introductory campaign, Yield! offers the option to generate non-narrative campaigns against AI opponents, a multiplayer mode, and a weekly campaign challenge. Looking at the road map for the game, players can look forward to more narrative campaigns and additional factions, of course, with plenty of room for player feedback to shape Yield!’s future. There’s even a co-op map editor in the works. One feature we look particularly forward to is how the developer plans to implement the flow of politics into larger campaigns. This might prove to be the unique hook that Yield! needs to truly set itself apart. As it stands, Yield! already shows a lot of promise, but it does feel light on content. Granted, the Early Access price point of €17.99 reflects this, and it’s probably a good idea to pick this one up while it is as cheap as it is. It’s certainly worth that, and the value will only increase as more content is added. Conclusion We’d tell you to keep an eye on Yield! if you’re a fan of 4X games, but this is a game that might just be worth taking the plunge with already instead of waiting for more content. There is still plenty of room for expanding on what’s in the game in terms of updates, but the gameplay foundation is solid. Yield!’s fast-paced take on the classic Civilization mechanics might need a bit more fine-tuning to truly gain an identity of its own, but the potential to do so certainly is there.