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Guild 2, The

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6.0 User Score:

Mixed or average reviews

Based on 18 critic reviews
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Based on 8 votes
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Game Info

Publisher: JoWood Productions / Aspyr Media

Developer: 4Head Studios

Genre(s): Real-Time Strategy, Simulation

Players: 8

ESRB Rating: T (Teen)

Release Date: October 16, 2006

Summary

Is it a life simulation? Yes, it is! Is it an RPG? An action game? Most definitely so. And the best thing is...you are the main character. Go back to the dark middle ages and found a new dynasty. Take care of yourself, because your opponents never sleep. Marry a beautiful wife and make new friends...control your life. Hand down your skills and your descendants will greatly appreciate it. Live your life as preacher, thief, craftsman, outcast or aristocrat...it's up to you. Everything's realtime. Walk around the streets and accidentally watch an execution of a prisoner or a rich merchant being robbed by one of your opponents. Build your own character. State-of-the-art role playing features allow you to create your own unique character and play in a party of up to 3 members with different strengths and weaknesses.

Also On Metacritic

GAMES: The Guild 2: Pirates of the European Seas

Also On The Web: Official Website

What The Critics Said

All critic scores are converted to a 100-point scale. If a critic does not indicate a score, we assign a score based on the general impression given by the text of the review. Learn more...

Worth Playing

A fairly solid economic strategy simulation where the player can utilize a number of varying tactics and maneuvers to gain an advantage in a well-designed medieval environment. Unfortunately, the impressive level of detail and the interesting gameplay options at your disposal take a backseat to the technical issues and repetitive micromanagement.

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GameZone

The Guild 2 is an open-ended game that has a great concept and carries it almost to full fruition. Unfortunately, some frustrating bugs mar the package.

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PC Gamer UK

Alchemy, brigands, gold management, and lots of trading [Christmas 2006, p.85]

Gamers Europe

There is something captivating about The Guild 2 that makes you put up with the bugs, the bad animations and the memory leaks.

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Strategy Informer

Sadly the AI almost cripples the game and leaves questionable balances between class professions.

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Game Over Online

All of its bugs certainly put a damper on things, but the pace of the game also seems to be much slower, and the activities seem much more repetitive than they were before (the daily council meetings in particular are a real killer).

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GamingExcellence

The game is a micromanager's dream, but if you don't like that type of gameplay, it may be your nightmare.

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PC Zone UK

It looks fairly dated, and is only really for the devotee of life-sim games, feeling as it does like a semi-precious curiosity. [Dec 2006, p.68]

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GameSpot

Micromanagement and repetition really bog down this original but unfulfilling game about directing the lives of people trying to make it in the Middle Ages.

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PALGN

While fans of the original and people who are intrigued by the ins-and-outs of rising in a social ladder will enjoy the game, there isn’t enough to grab newcomer’s attention, and everything does become quite overwhelming at times.

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Games Radar (in-house)

Although it may keep you interested for a while, and some of the classes offer some interesting challenges, The Guild 2 is even more rough around the edges than the original Europa, and not nearly as deep or even as interesting.

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Yahoo! Games

Think of it as the medieval version of being an air traffic controller: hard to recommend to everyone, but if you're up for a challenge, and can handle all that micromanagement, give it a shot. Just be prepared to go take a long lie down in a darkened room when you're done.

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G4 TV

If The Guild 2 gets the patches it deserves, there’s a worthwhile simulation in here somewhere for niche-hybrid lovers. Else it’s just a glorious mess of ideas stumbling around in a soup of unrealized possibilities.

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1UP

It doesn't help that The Guild 2 ships with technical issues: characters that disappear into walls, visual artifacts that take a restart to clear, buttons that don't work at all, and drop-sync issues with multiplayer games.

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PC Format

Ambitious and complex throughout, but lacking the fun factor. [Dec 2006, p.109]

PC Gamer

Lifestyle simming is engaging for a little while, but its sluggish pacing and repetitive tasks do irreparable damage to the game's fun quotient. [Jan. 2007, p.78]

Computer Games Magazine

If it sounds a little like that other everyday-life game, "The Sims", that's because it is. But only a little. Both games are about your character's struggle to get ahead in the world, but The Guild 2 makes it a struggle for you as well. [Jan. 2007, p.70]

VideoGamer

A maddening example of a game that was ruined by a lack of focus in its design stages - had it been released with a wider scope it may have made a great RPG, or had it been a little faster paced and involving it may have made a mediocre RTS.

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What Our Users Said

The average user rating for this game is 6.0 (out of 10) based on 8 User Votes

Note: User votes are NOT included in the Metascore calculation.

Johnny D. gave it a4:
Are you kidding? I love detailed game play, but please: Drawn out compliments & kisses to get the girl to fall for you? Lengthy, boring council meetings? And endless cart trips to the market for wood & iron? Sorry - This was a good idea gone terribly wrong.

Kyrandos gave it a7:
Absolute agreement with "I would have been happy with less graphics and better gameplay. " The graphics are totally secondary to gameplay in a game like this, and bloated GFX that would look decent - below average in a FPS is simply overboard for this kind of game. Plus, the bugs effectively make it completely unplayable. I wish I could give it a higher score.

Carlos R. gave it an8:
An outstanding concept that can only get better when the bug squashing is finished. Right now be ready for some SHOW STOPING bugs.

Jimmy Jay gave it a10:
Absolutely awesome and engrossing! A+

Rob E. gave it a5:
Not nearly as endearing as Europa 1400:The Guild. Significantly less classes to play as, a steep learning curve, annoying time compression. I would have been happy with less graphics and better gameplay. But still, a unique game with a unique style. And all the people look ugly! maybe that was the 1400's.

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Guild 2, The

Game Info

Summary

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What The Critics Said

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