

I've played a few strategy games in my time, including some off-beat and niche titles that dealt with Railroads and Hospitals, but nothing prepared me for how obtuse The Guild 2: Renaissance was. I've played a few strategy games in my time but nothing prepared me for how obtuse The Guild 2: Renaissance was. Unfortunately this variety and the basic game play was so well hidden behind confusing and impenetrable menus that it was impossible to figure out. Some of that curiosity comes from the variety of professions you can assume and how that changes the game play and the choices you subsequently make. Putting my misgivings aside I was struck with how compulsive this kind of game could be - taking a singular profession and building an empire out of it - started to make those entrepreneurial neurons fire with delight.

I'm already self-employed so I have enough experience of building a business from scratch - playing a game of it, no matter the time period, didn't exactly appeal.
#HOW TO PLAY THE GUILD 2 RENAISSANCE SIMULATOR#
The idea of playing an economy and political simulator didn't fill me with excitement at first. Unfortunately, this is masked by an inaccessible interface that makes the act of playing this for anyone other than an enthusiast virtually impossible. This standalone expansion to The Guild 2 brings a range of improvements to the original game, offering more professions, buildings and scenarios that take you through the Renaissance period. This may well be a game with a intricate soul, I never quite managed to find out. The Guild 2: Renaissance hints at the minutiae of business, but struggled to connect me to what lay beneath a bewildering interface.
