"A great game that will keep you busy for hours"

You are Christopher Columbus, a young man about to embark on a journey that will change the world forever. You start in a small town at the doors of the king's palace, where you are to gain permission to explore the world in search of treasure. You will have the opportunity to buy ships, boats, food, men, soldiers, animals, weapons, and spices to take on your journey. As soon as you set sail for the new world, you come into danger. Storms lurk everywhere on the raging sea, and if you are not careful, you risk losing a ship and all of the men/equipment inside. Once you make it safely to the shore, it is time to explore. Eventually you encounter Indian villages and have the opportunity to make yourself known there. Whether you trade, steal, or kill everyone and raid the village is up to you, but your actions will not be forgotten.

Graphics 9/10
There wasn't a lot of technology involved in games when 7 Cities of Gold was made, but the certainly put all they had at the time into it. The scrolling view at the beginning of the game is incredibly detailed for its time. The sea, storms, and land don't look too bad. Don't be surprised to see 30 Indians running around you at a time- something amazing for its day. The graphics are poor by today's standards, but they have no negative affect on game play even today.

Music and sound 6/10
The music is pretty repetitive throughout the game. The entire new world is an never ending loop of about 15 seconds of audio. Indian villages have three different kinds of music, depending on the mood of the Indians when you enter. If they are friendly, the music is slow, if they are hostile, the music is very upbeat. The normal music plays if they are “cautious”.

The sound effects are pretty lame, seeing as there are only about three of them. One is for when you kill an Indian with your sword, one is for getting hit by a storm, and last is when you discover a secret in the new world.

Plot 9/10
The story carries you through the game because of the historical aspect. Always trading spices for gold from Indians and trading it in the new world for more supplies is very realistic.

Game play 8/10
7 Cities of Gold is very fun to play, but it can get repetitive fast. There is always new land to be discovered, so that is not the issue, its just the long journeys back and forth from new world to the old world gets really old fast. There is an aspect of strategy to the game as the way you act towards the Indians determines the outcome of the game. I will say no more on this as it would reveal secrets.

Replay value 10/10
Even if you buy all the same stuff every time at the beginning, no two games will be alike. I have been playing the game for ever 10 years now, and am still enjoying and discovering new things about it every time I play.

Overall 8
Great game to play when you are looking to kill a few hours. You need an older machine to play it on, but is that isn't a problem, then go ahead and pick up the game.

Reviewer's Score: 8/10, Originally Posted: 10/04/04