Oasis PC

An unusual strategy game created by an independent development team. "Oasis" was shown for the first time to a wider audience during the Independent Games Festival organized in March 2004. He then managed to reach the top ten products representing the Web/DL category (games downloaded via the Internet or running directly in web browsers). Shortly after the end of the festival it was decided to release a fully commercial and at the same time published in a traditional way (sales in shops) version of "Oasis".

Mespite the fact that the basics of the game bring associations with the famous "Civilization" series, the described strategy can boast of several interesting innovations. The main thing is to speed up the game. While in Sida Meier games the completion of the game was associated with hours of sessions in front of the computer, in the case of this title, the whole game can end within a few minutes. "Oasis" tells the story of ancient civilizations. Special attention was paid to the figures of the barbarians. Fighting off their attacks is one of the basic tasks the player has to face. He plays the role of an Egyptian pharaoh (King of the Scarabees) who, after many years of wandering, returned to his homeland. He learns that a curse has been cast on his kingdom. In order to rebuild the state has to carry out quite standard activities - first of all, explore the map, find lost cities, connect them by roads, cultivate fields and prepare an army that could repel the already mentioned barbarians.

Depending on the level of difficulty chosen, the first part of the campaign lasts from 60 to 80 turns. The player can then freely explore the map and develop his empire. It was shown in a similar way to "Civilization". After this time barbarians appear. From that moment on, the fight against them becomes a priority, and the remaining options go into the background. The player must defend himself. At the end of the game, the program gives a grade that takes into account, among other things, the number of lost cities or military units.

The game title is associated with the key element of the game. The player must search for further oases. They contain magical obelisks. There is one such object on each map. After winning this item he has to repel the attack of the barbarians. If he succeeds in this action, he will get the glyph needed to break the curse. In order to get rid of it completely, he needs to collect a dozen of them. The player is also successively awarded with various upgrades and new technologies to help him fight his opponents.

Graphic Arts "Oasis" is extremely simplified. A significant part of the screen is occupied by a screen with information about the number of turns completed. Since this is a turn-based strategy, we are only dealing here with static boards.

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Last updated on 10 December 2007