There wouldn't be any incentive to do much discovering if you could grow everything you needed on the first island you settled. Fertility varies from island to island, and no single island is going to have soil capable of meeting all of your residents' needs, so it becomes necessary to build exploration ships, seek out new islands, and expand your realm. Early on, most of the world is unknown and cannot be entered. Attaining access to these unexplored parts of the world is handled in an unusual but fun way. There's a series of achievements available to you that reward you with sea charts, revealing previously hidden areas. The goals for these achievements are varied, so regardless of what you enjoy most about being a leader, there's sure to be achievements that appeal to you. The goals range from stockpiling a certain amount of a given good to having a specific number of gold coins in your coffers.
Perhaps the most enjoyable achievements, though, are those that center on treasure hunting. You can purchase maps that reveal the locations of unknown treasures. Then, you can set sail and hoist the chests aboard your ship and race to get them back to your nearest island safely. This is made trickier by the corsairs patrolling the seas who want nothing more than to separate you from your newly found treasure. Unfortunately, ship movement is needlessly slow and cumbersome, which makes attempting to elude the corsairs more often a source of frustration than enjoyment. Still, successfully retrieving buried treasures is satisfying. The chests contain gold or useful goods and also help you earn those achievements that allow you to uncover more of the world, which makes the prospect of treasure hunting doubly rewarding.
You can zoom out for a loftier view of your domain.
Of course, when you're competing with rivals for limited islands and resources, not all disputes are going to be settled peacefully. There is combat in Dawn of Discovery, but it's very simplistic. There's only one military structure you can build, the barracks, which produces the only military unit, troops. You can defend your island from possible attacks by stationing your troops in warehouses and shipyards. You can also invade islands belonging to other rulers by building battleships to transport your troops to the enemy shores. Once your troops meet enemy troops in battle, the sounds of swords clashing ensue and the number of troops on each side dwindles until only one side is left standing. That's all there is to it. It's simple, and those looking for a more robust combat experience will be disappointed, but it keeps the focus on city building and resource management rather than military strategy.
Dawn of Discovery for the DS has simple visuals that depict your buildings and people with little detail, but despite the lack of visual flair, watching your villages develop into cities is a delight. The structures are cute in their simplicity, and there's some activity on the streets to liven things up. You can zoom in close to get a good view of the market carts going to and fro along your roads and zoom out far enough to look down upon entire islands. The jaunty music befits the visuals and evokes the adventurous spirit of settling on a new frontier. There's also a smattering of voice acting on hand in the Story mode, which helps give a better sense of the characters than you would get from the writing alone.
The attractive artwork used in story sequences is the highlight of the visual presentation.
It doesn't have the era-spanning historical scope that many games of this type have, nor does it bring anything new to the table. But the flaws here aren't enough to overshadow the pleasure of building your cities, sailing the seas, and discovering what awaits over the horizon. The brisk pace and accessible city-building mechanics make Dawn of Discovery a game that should appeal to the adventurous spirit in just about anyone.
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