Last September, Ubisoft and Blue Byte released a detailed strategy fest in the form of The Settlers: Rise of an Empire. The game had all sorts of bells and whistles which made for a deep and engaging strategy experience. Now The Settlers: Rise of an Empire patch 1.3 is out and some dandy new features along with bug fixes are being served. Read the detailed version to see the changelog.

Did you know that Ubisoft's development studio Blue Byte is currently developing a new The Settlers game? It will be known as Rise of an Empire and if we're not mistaken, it's going to be the sixth entry in the strategy-simulation franchise. The game will be available on the Games for Windows platform this coming September.

Those who have been fans since the earlier iterations of the franchise as well as those who are just beginning to know the joy of playing The Settlers will be happy to know that an official dedicated-site has just been opened by Ubisoft. It contains various information about the title and includes assets like videos and wallpapers as well.

To help you get started, the following are the new features that will come with The Settlers: Rise of An Empire. You can go to the official website of the video game through our Read link below. It will also provide you with the info on how to join the beta testing this August.

Features:

• The primary objective of the game is to create large, lively medieval towns.
• The settlers interact with each other in a completely natural way and have wants and needs of their own.
• Female settlers appear for the first time in the series: Men and women fall in love with each other and marry.
• The lively, detailed game world is rich in animal and plant life.
• The settlers' busy life is presented in lovingly rendered animations that show what is going on in a transparent way.
• The world is divided into four climatic zones with changes of season and weather which influence expansion and resource gathering.

The Vikings, with the exception of Hagar, are often depicted as a race of bloodthirsty and brutal Scandinavian savages who sailed on ships with dragon motifs. While there were Viking marauders, they were more a minority. Most Vikings were explorers and traders known for their cleanliness and cooperative nature.

Whatever version you prefer, Vikings are simply irresistible. Ubisoft (who are having a good season) is capitalizing on the the blond and blue-eyed Scandinavian charmers with The Vikings addon for 3D remake of The Settlers II: The Next Generation.

The Settlers II: The Next Generation gameplay involves managing resources, building settlements, and protecting your people from invaders. The Viking add on contains a new campaign with 12 missions and all other races become playable in single player, new quest system, and more.

A German version of The Vikings add on for The Settlers II: The Next Generation from Blue Byte and Funatics Development, will be available February 2007. No word yet when an English version of The Vikings will sail for North America.

More screenshots after the jump - click on the "Full Article" link below.