Country Tales

If you think owning a house is difficult and demanding, then you should imagine how it feels to be responsible for an entire city. That’s what mayors have to worry about, although they are usually helped by their personnel. People have a variety of needs on a regular basis, and you must fulfill them if you intend on demanding taxes from them.

Country Tales is a time management game in which your task is to play the role of a mayor’s assistant and take responsibility for certain parts of the city. Besides the fact that you must build houses and facilities to produce materials, it is also mandatory that you collect taxes from the inhabitants of the said homes, otherwise you won’t be able to afford new structures.

The story is mighty interesting as well, and it’s certainly a lot more developed than in a regular time management game. As such, you are Ted, an ex-farmer who decides to make something of himself by going to school in the city. There, he meets Catherine, the fiance of the mayor that recruits him as an assistant. Naturally, things do not go very well between Catherine and the mayor, which means that Ted wins more than the city.

Although most missions require you to gain a certain amount of money, or construct some buildings, there are special objectives you must keep an eye on as well. Some of these involve clearing roads of debris, while others ask you to catch the pigs that have escaped from the nearby farm. It makes for a pretty engaging experience, thanks to the fact that you always have something new to do.

Each building can be upgraded in order to gain more resources from it, whether it’s materials, food or taxes. The happiness of each inhabitant is important as well, and it can be increased by making sure that the people always have food at their disposal. The graphics are marvelous too, and you can tell that the designers have put some effort into the environments.

In the end, Country Tales does not give you a chance to get bored, because you are always doing something new and exciting. Thus, if you are a fan of time management games and you do not back down from a challenge, this one should be on your “must play” list.