Settlers, the classic PC Real Time Strategy series, makes it way to mobile courtesy of the lovely devs at Gameloft…
specification
Price: £3
Designed for: Phone
OS Required: Android 2.1+
Available: here
verdict
A much-improved conversion of a hallowed management sim
Gameloft are clearly on the Android case at the moment, with a much improved conversion of the revered PC management sim. The tutorial starts out with a handful of mundane wood choppers and stone miners but pretty soon you are engulfed in inter-related resource chains. By the time it gets to needing armies, you’ll be frantically clicking round the screen to ensure you have the economic might to support them. Even better, the interface works fine once you work out how the hell it functions. Luckily, you can fast forward through the boring bits and slow down when everything looks about to turn chaotic.
So, where are the niggles? Well, managing resources through a series of sliders that determine a pecking order for who gets what may save a few clicks but it needs better explanation. However, this too is a common feature of Sims and RTS’s; after the basics are mastered, there are some things you’re expected to work out for yourself.
Settlers HD is ambitious stuff – which succeeds far more often than it stumbles.

That looks interesting been after a good RTS for a while…
Hmmmmm, nice. Just need a good Civ port now
@Mark
Checkout this FreeCiv port:
http://hackcasual.net/?cat=4
Nice game, but a little bit laggy on some devices.
@Kieron,
Great link many thanks
Looks great and I was going to purchase this, then I looked a little closer at Gamelofts’ T&Cs.
That soon changed my mind.
“Gameloft products can be selected as downloadable software from our online store. We accept absolutely no returns on game downloads. Should you be unable to download the game, select a game that is incompatible with your phone, lack sufficient credit to download it, or have a problem with your internet service, you will not be refunded. If you complete payment more than once, you will not be refunded. We reserve the right to replace your purchase with another game in exchange. “