"... In an effort to cater to the few dozen people who don't play first-person VGA shooters, Koei Corp. has released New Horizons, a game so lacking in flair that it makes Empire look like Command & Conquer ..."
- PC HYPE
"... I recently took a peek at Koei's new naval exploration game, New Horizons. Suffice it to say, I'll take another peek once the SVGA upgrade arrives on my desk. There IS an SVGA upgrade, right?"
- COMPUKE!
"I couldn't find a single stimpack or BFG anywhere in New Horizons. Worse, the god-mode cheat codes I always use didn't do a thing. Koei obviously must correct these oversights if they want to make any money off this game."
- PC FRIVOLITY & RAMBUNCTIOUSNESS BI-QUARTERLY
I'm almost afraid to say this in a public forum like IE, but I kinda liked New Horizons despite the fact that merely looking at it too long can cause clinical depression. Koei, famous for its SNES-to-PC ports, rarely alters the graphics of its games for translation, so New Horizons still looks like a poor man's Legend of Zelda. The colors are drab, the sound is poor, and the gameplay will seem alien to most PC gamers. That's the bad news. The good news is that a strategy game of surprising depth lies beneath the made-for-TV interface, so you may want to check New Horizons out anyway.
This game is set in the Age of Discovery, when naval exploration was all the rage and he who had ships had power. As one of six different characters, your objective is just that ... get some ships and obtain power through trade, warfare, and exploration. The characters you get to choose from are each suited to a certain style of play ... some are better pirates but poor diplomats, for instance. No matter who you choose, the first couple days of your adventure are pre-planned to assure that you get at least one ship and a first mate. After that happens, you're on your own, and God help you if you're one of those people who can't do two things at once. As captain of your fleet, you're burdened with an enormous amount of responsibilities, not the least of which are keeping your ships afloat and your sailors well-nourished.
To do anything, you need money, and New Horizons offers more ways to get rich than any other game I've ever seen. This is only fair, because going broke is even more easy. One of your first stops should be the local adventurer's guild, where you can always find an odd job to do. Some jobs, such as mail delivery or package transport, merely require you to go to a certain city and pick up your paycheck. Others, like pirate hunting, are a little more dangerous and time-consuming, but they provide an opportunity to fight, which many gamers need once in a while. If you prefer to sail the open seas without a destination, you can sign a contract with a cartographer or noble to seek out ruins and hidden landmarks. The pay is good, but you may have to search a while before you find anything (they're not called "hidden" landmarks for nothing). Finally, for the truly desperate, there's the pub, where you can play blackjack and yahtzee until the wee hours of the morning. The pub also serves as a hangout for sailors, and therefore is the best place to go when you're in need of crew. You can even treat the thirsty patrons to a few rounds and get some good traveling tips.
After stocking your ship with provisions and upgrading it with any one of a number of weapons and figureheads, you can finally sail. The navigation mode is nothing spectacular ... in fact, you control your ship in the exact same manner that you control your character on land. The only difference is that wind, current, and weather conditions can alter the course of your fleet, which is dangerous because provisions can disappear quickly. When that happens, the best bet is to stop at the nearest port and restock. In a pinch, coastal villages can be raided for food, as can enemy pirate ships (unfortunately, though, both of these tactics require fighting, and crew can disappear just as fast as provisions can). Staying alive is easy at first, but as your fame and power grow, so does the level of difficulty. It's tough to describe, but there's definitely an addictive quality to this game ... at least for me, the most diehard of SNES fans. Games like New Horizons are rare on the PC, but that's not necessarily because of their quality (you'd play Super Mario Brothers if it was a PC game, wouldn't you?). Give New Horizons a peek ... that's all you'll need to know if it's for you or not.
