Try as I might, I can't recall any other significant medieval life simulation except, perhaps, The Guild 2. That alone makes this game interesting, but believe me, there's much more to it than just being a complex and fun medieval strategy game. It's a highly ambitious, challenging, unique, sometimes even frustrating but ultimately rewarding game.
The amount of gameplay options available are sure to leave even seasoned gamers' heads spinning. You start out as a young free man or woman in one of the major cities of Europe in 1400 AD, ... from here it's all up to you! Every aspect of your social life can be explored somehow. If you never played this, imagine a game where you can:
- Marry, have children and a family dinasty;
- Work as a merchant, craftsman, entertainer, priest, politician, crimelord, robber baron... or all of the above;
- Manage a business and all its possible variables (hiring, training and keeping workers, buying raw materials and turning into products, selling in the marketplace, expading, building new branches, handling taxes, crime activity...) or just leaving it in the hands of a trade master who'll work for you;
- Having a network of spies on your enemies tails;
- Holding fesitivities at your home, perhaps inviting the local sovereign for dinner;
- Achieving nobility titles and the suitable privileges;
- Building bigger, better places to live, up to a royal palace;
- Having romantic affairs with members of the local nobility;
- Having a politic career, fiddling with the laws of the land;
- Sending your enemies on trial for their crimes (and standing trial, even spending some years in the dungeon if you're caught!);
- Employing a number of measures against your enemies (threatening, insulting, duelling, starting rumors, writing funny rhymes);
- I could go on for a while but I'll stop because the list is already too long.
I think, because this game is so greatly ambitious, it must have been extremely hard to develop, thus leaving space to flaws. Controls are sometimes awkward, sometimes unresponsive, or rather just feel "not right", leaving you wondering what you did wrong. It is sometimes unclear what you need to do to accomplish certain things. The tutorial is lengthy because there's a lot to know, but alas, it won't cover everything. Finally, the automated help of trade routes and masters soon become mandatory, but neither work so well. Many times you'll prefer to spend the time to do it yourself, simply because you can't afford to waste the time lost from a cart stuck in the marketplace for years, or a master that won't send the (paid) apprentices on proper training or work, instead leaving them standing for several hours for no apparent reason.
These flaws however only exist because the game is so incredibly grand, nearly limitless. If there wasn't so much to see and do, I wouldn't need automated help. If there wasn't a challenging (but arguably fair) time limit each round, I wouldn't need lightning-paced controls and shortcuts. If there wasn't a wide plethora of options to ascend in life and vex your opponents, I wouldn't need any assistance after the game starts, I'd probably have it figured before starting. And fortunately after you're past the learning curve, you'll ignore any flaws, as most are a matter of familiarity with the controls and timing of the game.
A word about the expansion pack: it adds a large city, new politics offices, new occupations, new careers, in other words, it greatly expands an already features-heavy game. Nice move bringing the expanded version GOG!
And a word about multiplayer: I think this completes the most games nowadays, so for an early 2000's game, it's a really desirable feature. Send your friends and relatives to jail, ask for their removal from their public offices, spy on them, marry their children! :)
I can tell many will find this game too overwhelming. That's okay, I think that's the point of The Guild. This game is for everyone who digs unique and challenging experiences, micro-management, a real-life-like amount of options and a solid replay value.