Virtual Villagers 4 now available
Just when I thought I was going to have some free time, Club Funkitron sends me a note to let me know that Last Day of Work has released Virtual Villagers 4: The Tree of Life.
I’ve been playing Virtual Villagers since the very first release. The popular time-management game tells the story of the people of Isola, a mysterious island that looks an awful lot like paradise. In the first edition, survivors of a volcanic eruption take to the sea before being swept to the island where they must learn to create fire, feed, clothe and house themselves and grow their village both in size and population, solving complex puzzles that allow them to master a variety of skills. The second release, The Lost Children continues the story with two villagers investigating a mysterious cave and discovering the lost children of the title. Chapter 3, The Secret City adds new challenges and a historical twist.
The Tree of Life continues the saga with the island chief directing a tribe of explorers to discover the source of Isola’s diminishing life. The explorers discover the island’s hidden eastern shore where they must find a way to restore the Tree of Life.
Game play for Virtual Villagers is simple and yet challenging. Basic tasks are easy to do but to solve the complex puzzles that allow the player to progress, the player must carefully manage village resources and properly develop each villager’s skill set. Some challenges require mastering more than one skill and while some puzzles can be done in any order, others require progressive puzzle solving.
Graphics have greatly improved since the first Virtual Villagers but they’re still pretty simple. Some changes for this edition of the game include a new select screen which allows the player to custom select a tribe, a new user interface, and real-time weather and in-game events.
Virtual Villagers is available on most popular platforms or directly from the Virtual Villagers website for both Windows and Mac.
