Below an impression from IGN’s Civ IV: Colinization - Dutch Faction Profile.
Peter Stuyvesant
Final Governor of New Amsterdam
Lived: c. 1602 - 1672
Traits: Mercantile (market prices are less sensitive), Industrious (+25-percent Hammers in all Settlements)Peter Stuyvesant first began his career as a soldier and administrator in the Caribbean, governing the Dutch island colony of Curacao. During his time in the Caribbean, Stuyvesant lost his right leg in a raid against a Spanish outpost and had it replaced with a wooden one. Yet his raw bravado made him popular among the Dutch West India Company’s administration.
Gamespy had another look at Colonization and wrote an in-depth preview, describing some of their adventures. A blurb:
Cities will grow in Colonization — albeit slowly — through births, but the major source for new colonists is European immigrants seeking religious freedom. This is controlled via the colony’s production of crosses, although players can also use gold to bribe a European to make the trek across the Atlantic. Having good relations with a Native American tribe along with a string of Christian missions in their cities can also result in “Converted Natives” that can be used the same way as a European citizen (though they will not take up arms as a soldier). Much of the game involves this fascinating mercantile balancing act — having the right people in the right places to produce the right commodities to generate fat profits on sales trips back to Europe.
Previews continue to pop up like worms out of the woodwork. Gamespot had yet another look at Civ IV: Colonization, describing their time spent on some of the Scenario maps that will ship with the game.
If all this sounds like a lot, it is a lot. It’s a bit surprising because Colonization is so narrow in scope compared to the Civ IV that encompasses most of human history. Colonization only takes place during a few hundred years and puts a heavy emphasis on resource management. Thankfully, the native tribes and rival European colonies aren’t interested in war, at least not early on in the game. One of the final products you’ll produce is guns, which are stockpiled in cities to be used as defense. The process of simply creating guns, cannons, and artillery is at the very end of the tech tree, but such items may not have even developed before your game ends. Even though the maps can be huge–we played for hours and only saw a fifth of the Northwest Passage map–valuable land is at a premium. To maintain your colonies, you’ll also need to expand into the territory of native tribes. Slowly, the tension will build, and war will inevitably be upon you, whether you would risk it or not.
The Escapist published a 4 page interview with Sid named Just Your Average Gaming God. In the article Sid shares his views on the gaming industry, how it evolved and what it takes to be a game developer in this day and age. The remake of Colonization is also discussed, but not in-depth. Here’s a snippet:
TE: While there is a big draw for independent games right now, have you also noticed a demand for more of the same? For instance, you’re remaking Colonization right now. Do gamers want something new or do they want more of what they already love?
SM: They want it all. I think there’s always been this tension between sequels and follow-up products and something new, and I think a lot of that has kept the industry growing and evolving. But I don’t think there’s ever really been a right answer to that question. I think it’s great that we’ve had the innovation like the Guitar Hero games, MMO games. Those have been big steps forward that have added new energy, brought new people into the industry. Then you’ve got Rock Band and a rationale that you need to expand on those new ideas and genres. So I think both answers are right, there needs to be innovation and new ideas, but once an idea’s out there, there’s a lot you need to build on. I think Civilization is a good example. We’re now up to Civilization IV and each of those games has brought something new that appealed to the audience that was designed to appeal to the audience of the preceding game. A good balance of both those things is really what’s good for the consumer, and also good for the industry. Like Madden 2009, I think EA can afford some risk-taking because they know a game is going to reach a certain audience. It’s the same thing here; we can take some risks with some ideas we have because we have our track record.
PALGN has posted their preview of Civ IV: Colonization. Much of the information in the article will be familiar by now. Yet occasionally a nugget of information slips through though:
The city management screens provide one of the more obvious points of difference. The left hand side of the screen is dedicated to a variety of specialist slots - furriers, blacksmiths, ministers of religion and rum distillers, to name just a few. As the game progresses, you can plug specialists into these slots, which will generally increase a city’s production of a particular resource or item. These can then be traded between your cities, with the native population or sent home on a trader’s ship. In our short time with the game, it quickly became apparent that one of the keys to success is a vibrant economy that makes the most of every resource at your disposal. Trade routes can be easily set up and automated, as can the placement of specialists. It’s also possible, in the best Civ IV traditions, to simply put people to work in the fields around your cities to produce food, lumber and whatever else lies with your city’s radius.
JeuxVideo posted up a preview of Colonization, unfortunately in French. If you read French, that’s obviously not a problem, in which case you should go and read the article. 
But there’s a consolation price for the rest of us in the form of 14 new screenshots. Check them out below:
Hot on the heels of yesterday’s gameplay video’s, Firaxis released the official trailer.
IGN can’t get enough of Colonization it seems. They’ve written up yet another preview, saying:
An interesting dynamic is also one of trade; you have a ship or ships hauling goods back and forth between the Old and New World. You basically need to constantly have the ship shuttle back and forth, otherwise you’re playing inefficiently. There’s not a lot of warehouse room in your colonies, and once you fill them up you start to lose goods. Hauling them across the ocean lets you clear out your warehouse for more goods and resources while also letting you sell them for cold hard cash. You can use this cash to pay taxes and appease your monarch when he comes demanding money (refuse and you can anger him, as well as lose the ability to sell certain goods overseas). But you’ll also burn a lot of cash buying things; tools are required to finish buildings, horses are needed to create stables, food to import if you’re running low. And then there are immigrants. Over time, immigrants of all stripes, from indentured servants to prisoners, become available; however, you can hurry the process by basically buying the services of specialists, such as mining experts. You also need to create or import goods to trade with foreign colonies and the natives. One tribe might be willing to trade cotton for guns, for example.
This video shows the complete map of the American continent.
Thanks (again) GreyBriar.
Along with the videos, GreyBriar also uncovered a treasuretrove of screenshots. They show all sorts of interesting things, ranging from the Internet Lobby interface to diplomacy with both natives and the homeland King.
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