14 DAY TRIAL // Every now and then, Gameinvest, the Portuguese game developer, manages to come up with a really interesting game concept that could, given a big enough financial investment, become a true hit. However, that financial investment usually does not arrive to the developers, so the games remain in the more underground area. Probably the same will happen with the company's latest project, World of Zellians, which allows players to create a civilization from scratch.
The game, in development for all major platforms at the moment (Nintendo Wii, Xbox 360, PlayStation 3 and PC) is a strategic life sim where players must create, manage and grow a civilization. The gameplay appears to be a combination between any classic city building sim and a real time strategy, which makes it even more appealing. But we'll see if and when Gameinvest finds some distribution partners.
"The concept of creating a balanced society in World of Zellians is truly engaging and challenging, and we are designing this experience to be fun and accessible for all audiences - from casual to core gamers," said Gameinvest founder and CEO Paulo Gomes. "As the ruler of this society, players will be responsible for developing the community as well as providing a positive influence in the world - creating a very challenging and interactive gaming experience."
In the game, you'll have to help a primitive tribe of Zellians become a prosperous, self-sustaining society. You'll build streets, farms and so on, just like in any similar game, but you'll also have to take care of the resource management by assigning workers (called Disciples in the game) to tasks like planting corn, watering trees and managing marketplaces.
Also, you will have to protect the inhabitants of your cities from an evil god called Zorm - you'll do so by controlling the Zorm areas of influence on the maps in something that seems like a Black and White concept. So, in the end, we have city building, real time strategy and a bit of Black and White gameplay (all these are assumptions, though), which means that World of Zellians is indeed a great title.