not altered the concept at all". Although he praised the graphics, the tutorials, and the variety of mission objectives, he was critical of the bugs, writing, "in typical Blue Byte fashion, the game has appeared in time for the first patch". He concluded that "anyone who is, like me, a fan of the series, will be disappointed". PC Gamers Jim Preston scored it 72%. Although he praised the economic system on which the game is built, he criticised the lack of variety within it, writing, "you're forced to create the entire supporting infrastructure for your settlement the same way every time." He also referred to the gameplay as "complication masquerading as depth". IGNs Dan Adams scored it 7 out of 10, comparing it unfavourably to Zeus: Master of Olympus. His biggest criticism concerned the lack of differentiation from Settlers III, writing that "aside from some improved graphics and small additions, it's hard to tell this is really a new game". He was also critical of the AI, pathfinding, and repetitive missions, and he felt the designers had failed to steer the gameplay away from an over-reliance on combat. While praising the graphics, animations, and the game's "great personality", he concluded: "Blue Byte hasn't managed to find [any] new ideas that might keep the series from becoming the serious pool of stagnant gaming that it is quickly becoming". GameSpys Bernard Dy scored it 67 out of 100, comparing it unfavourably to Age of Empires II. Like Adams, he felt it was too similar to Settlers III, and although he praised the "appealing" graphics and "fascinating" animations, he felt Blue Byte had failed to return the gameplay to an economic focus, writing "nearly every scenario is a race to build a military". He also criticised the AI, lack of combat strategy, and mission variety. He did, however, praise Free Settle and multiplayer modes, concluding that "Settlers: Fourth Edition has charming moments, but has been long surpassed by games with better character and superior combat". GameSpots Ron Dulin scored it 6.4 out of 10, finding similar problems to Adams and Dy, and comparing it unfavourably to Impressions Games' City Building series. Finding it too similar to Settlers III, he felt Blue Byte had failed to move away from a reliance on combat. He also criticised the mission variety and the lack of combat strategy, writing, "it's never more complex than moving all of