Your mission is to guide the tribe of villagers from the moment they find themselves on an isolated island and their only concern is to find food, stay alive - up to the moments, when food shortage is no longer an issue, so you may concentrate on developing technical skills and knowledge to improve the living standards of your virtual civilization.

 

As you see, Virtual Villagers 3 is a real life simulation that cannot be more realistic - since you will be witnessing and directing life of several generations. Just like in real life, you will be playing the game that is not split into levels, and will have to intuitively “smell” the goals and define the ways for your civilization to progress, and improve the living of the Secret City on each stage.

 

Just like in the prequels, your villagers will have to master several skills:

 

- building and restoration(required to build and fix the houses. New houses are required to provide housing for your increasing population). When being dragged onto a ruined house villagers start to willingly rebuild it. They are builders and have strong building skills.

 

- researching(adult villagers who succeed in research work will become master scientists - people to manage the progress of your civilization);

 

- parenting(Drag an adult villager on the adult villager of an opposite sex - if it’s love, they will disappear in a hut, and a lady will soon come out with a baby on her hands! But mind that a nursing mother will have to spend a couple of years “on a maternity leave”. She will spend all of her time with her baby, so you can’t count on her as a builder or a farmer);

 

- agricultural skills(related to planting and harvesting fruit);

 

- collecting(collecting is a skill that only kids normally possess. First, kids will have to collect mushrooms that appear on the territory of the city from time to time. So, if you notice a mushroom while browsing the city, find a kid and drag him/her to the mushroom).

 

To see the list of items to be collected, click on the collections button on the left-side menu. As a rule, aside from mushrooms, the kids will have to collect turtle shells, tablet pieces, and feathers.

 

I was a bit wrong when saying the game is not split into levels. Actually, you can view the potential way your civilization will progress in Puzzles tab. Each stage is marked as a puzzle, and when you find a solution for it, the puzzle is unlocked, and you can move further.

 

With all that said, there can be more questions for those of you have haven’t tried that game. First, how could developers put so much sense and such a complicated plot and mechanices into a relatively simple graphics of a casual game? Second, can the villagers live and solve puzzle without additional guidance? For the rest of them I’ll just let gamers speak. Live witnessings are better than one thousand reviews… So, I just asked a couple of my close friends who have been playing the VV3 and this is what they said:

 

1. Is it the first time you’re playing Virtual Villagers franchise?

Doreen: I am afraid, yes. Last year when VV1 and VV2 were released, I saw the screenshots and took these games as something that was too hard for me. But now I just thought I should give this game a try and I find myself popping back every half an hour to check out what my people do when I’m at home.

 

Heidi: It’s not the first time for me. I enjoyed the prequels a lot. And I love the third version even more.

 

2. Is the Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City different from other games in this saga? What are the new things that you discovered in the latest version and liked most?

Heidi: Yeah, what I loved about the third version was its gorgeous graphics. Bright, eye-catching view of an exotic island. Everything is so excellently performed - those giant magical ruins, statues, remains of the ancient city. Yes, the graphics is much better than in the previous two versions. You can even see the faces and the whole personality of each of villager now.

 

Doreen: As a newbie, I cannot answer your question regarding the differences with the previous versions. But what I found out in a game was that separate world, or a little piece of it where I can relax. My real life is pretty fast-paced and stressful, but when I take a break, and return to my Secret City, life runs at a slower pace. Maybe it’s because of the real slow pace of the game. Just imagine yourself in this sweet little island washed by the crystal clear ocean, and all those people, kids playing with puddles, collecting mushrooms and shells. This is where I want to appear in the middle of the “hot” business meeting.

 

4. What are the things you disliked about Virtual Villagers 3: The Secret City?

Heidi: I don’t know why, I don’t like the idea that mushrooms appear for a short time. I’ve lost a lot of mushrooms - I mean they had disappeared before I could find a kid to collect them. And I don’t like the absence of the clearly expressed goals. At times it’s just hard to figure out what to do at all.

 

Doreen: I agree with Heidi. It would be easier to play if there were some contextual hints that pop up if you’re stuck and don’t know what to do. I also wish the normal pace would be faster. It takes time to change your tribe and see these changes come into effect.

 

5. So, do you think your tribe can live without your involvement for a certain stage and even solve puzzles?

Heidi: I believe so. I haven’t made a long way yet, but my tribe solved the puzzles without my personal involvement. While I was at a loss about what to do, some girl just went to the amphytheatre and tried the chief’s dress on. The same was with the first tree and the bee hyve. My people somehow sorted out what to do without my involvement. I only saw the results.

 

Doreen: I disagree with Heidi since my experience was absolutely opposite to what she has just described. I had to research every part of the island, and then I directed the villagers. As for the tree, I spotted the seed, and dragged the most experienced villager onto it. And as for the chief’s dress, I had to drag every villager, even kids to it before I found the correct girl:).

 

5. How much time a day do you play this game?

Doreen: I have it installed on my notebook, so I carry my little world with me. I return to it whenever I can take a little break at work and let my brain and soul have rest.:)

 

Heidi: I am a stay-at-home mom, so every morning after my kids go to school, I switch my pc on and check what’s new in the Secret City. And later on, I get back whenever I have a tea break from house chores. Let’s say I play three times a day, each time it’s about half an hour.

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