I was a big fan of the first Adelantado, so naturally I was pretty excited to see that the next chapter had been released, and immediately hit the download button on my computer. I admit, I purchased Adelantado Trilogy: Book Two on the merits of the first game alone... something I rarely do. But I thought it was worth the risk...and really... how badly could they screw it up, right?
I'm happy to report that the developers did not ruin a good thing, and, in fact, improved upon the few things that annoyed me in the first one. For example, they minimized the amount of clicking you need to do when Don Diego goes out and smacks pots and terrorizes bushes. It now auto picks up any items that are found in your vandalizing efforts.
OK, quick aside... should these natives really be that happy with us? I mean I pretty much smash every pot and machete the crap out of every bush I find... I'm literally destroying their land and taking all their gold right before their eyes... and not a peep out of them? Nothing?? Really? OK...
Anyhow, graphics are very similar to the first game. Still the darling little workers and men in conquistador armor scurrying to and fro as you give them more and more tasks to complete. I still love the way Don Diego struts his stuff as he swaggers from one pot to another, brandishing his sword and laying low to foul bushes.
The music again is similar to the first game as you are immersed in the soft strumming of the Spanish guitar - just right to get you in the mood to claim some land for Spain.
Again, your rival Pablo Rodriguez isn't far from your mind as you race against his exploits hoping to complete each level before him. Stinking Pablo... he's always ahead of me until the very end when I manage to pull ahead.
It's really an ingenious way to set a time for a level. Instead of racing some arbitrary time limit, each level becomes extremely competitive and personal. The clock can win... but no way am I letting good old Pablo get the best of me!!
The gameplay, again, is the same as the first one, although they have introduced a few more buildings and now you have dinosaur attacks in addition to the cavemen attacks... hey... I don't remember dinosaurs and conquistadors living in the same time period... now we're really steering far from reality... oh well... it's not like the story is even remotely close to history, so let's just throw dinosaurs in the mix as well! Why not?!
You will have the choice of picking between a few different difficulty modes... even if you've played the first game, it's a good idea to start out on easy... because well difficult is... extremely difficult.
My only one slight complaint I have about Adelantado Trilogy: Book Two, (and it's the same one I had with the first Adelantado) is the length of each chapter. I know that sounds ridiculous... normally, we're complaining games aren't long enough.
But, when I sit down to play, I usually don't have a good length of time to play... so, when a level starts going to 45 minutes to an hour... (and that was just level three!) then I start to get restless because I really have other things I should be doing. If there was a way to save your progress mid-level, or create some kind of mini-chapters within chapters, I think that would really just put my excitement for this game over the top.
As it is, Adelantado Trilogy: Book Two is still a 5-Star game that does not disappoint. I already can't wait for the final chapter to arrive... I may need to take a few vacation days to play them, but I'm sure it's totally worth it...