Sadly, the game is a bit boring. While the concept is very good (mixing RPG and Simulation gameplay), the amount of micromanagement of this is so brutal... it's not even fun, feels like a chore. The UI is also terribad, I certainly wish a lot more work were added to it, but it really manages to annoy you. A good idea gone wrong.

A decent game.

It's a bit hard to get into but it's still well worth the cost.

In general you control a family and it's business, you find a wife, breed some kids to take over your business and eventually strive towards the goal you've selected.

I highly suggest getting Renaissance instead of Venice due to Renaissance having the same content as Venice (Not counting maps, there is however a free map pack you can download from their forums) but with new content added.

In my opinion it doesn't really add too much to the game. It's still better than the previous versions, but you're better of getting Renaissance.

I picked this up in the Guild 2 Complete Pack, and all you really need to buy is Renaissance - it grabs all the new features and puts them together. There are updates on the Runeforge forums, head there and install the extra patches for added stability. Multiplayer is doable but difficult due to errors, though there are some workarounds given on the Runeforge forums as well. If multiplayer was perfectly smooth I'm not sure I'd ever need to play another game! Definitely worth it though, no matter what. Single player (and multiplayer, when it works) is fantastic.

This expansion is my second favorite and the Venice maps are great! There are some professions in this game that aren't in the others and are specific to Venecian theme. An excellent game for those that find The Guild 2 fun to play. I reccommend getting the Guild 2 or the Guild 2: Renaissance game first, though.

No matter what profession you choose, the point is to make money. That means building a shop, hiring employees, acquiring raw materials and buying carts to transport your goods to market. The secret to success is organization and time management, not to mention recognizing the most efficient means of production. It's an uphill battle finding the time to keep your workers happy, your shop well-stocked, level up your Talents, protect your holdings from your rivals

The weak link in the expansions of The Guild 2. The best thing to say about this game is that the visuals are slightly improved.

Aside from that, there are many bugs, few new professions and buildings, and the new maps aren't very interesting. Worst of all, this game didn't enthrall me like the others in the series.

That said, this game certainly isn't bad, there are just better games in The Guild saga.

This entry takes the best bits of the first two expansions and gives 4 new maps(scenarios as it calls them) to undertake your rise in the Renaissance world. It's basically a refined version of Guild 2. I have a bit of issue with the few maps available, but they are big and varied enough for the game to not get repetitive anytime soon.

The second expansion pack for The Guild 2. One very good thing about it is that it include most of the important addition from the Pirates expansion. However, it introduced quite some bugs when released. Later patch made it much better after fixing the bugs. It has not introduced a lot of new content though. It looks more like changing the model and skin to make a different theme.

kind of weird to get this as part of a bundle considering it contains the entirety of 2 other items in the bundle but hey, i gotta have em all right? as with the other guild 2 expansions i just wish there was more of what it is, though if you were just going to pick 2 pick this and renaissance and youll have all the guild 2 content.

I disliked this DLC compared to the other, but I still can't complain about it giving the gamer more golden G2 content. Less is brought to the table with this DLC, and it shows once you start playing it, but I still can't help but feel like I got more than my money's worth. =P

Some older reviews have commented on crashes, they were common until i installed the patch that is available for this game. Its been stable for me since, even when renaming children. I've yet to have a game end quicker than i killed the other dynasty, usually about 50 years of the first characters life before i go hunting them down.

Not sure how people get that you can't marry whoever you want, so long as they are single, not of a rival clan and of the opposite gender all it takes is time.

Most of the professions are not much fun, just create a shop and send them all to work. The rogues i have the most fun with, can choose to loot the rivals buildings, pickpocket areas of the town, hire mercenaries to protect against rogues for your town, kidnap rivals (or anyone who might pay a ransom) and other things.

The patch fixed lots of the problems compared to an unpatched version, and added a new map. At 5$ this is a great game.

It certainly has potential, and its fun to play until you encounter the weird bugs. And then it seems like you have to play this open ended game exactly the way the makers want you to in order to not get stuck forever.

The gameplay mechanics seem stale and very hardcoded. The maps are small. There's a lot of crash bugs. The rival families die in about a week, so set it to the mode where you don't win if they die.

Making a family is fun, but it seems like you run into more crash bugs the more children you have. And you can't just marry anyone. Its a very restrictive game masquerading as open-ended.

Don't get me wrong: Its a fun game. Worth a few dollars, sure. You'll get some hours out of playing it once you figure it out. Would be a great game if the developers had put some effort into it.

If ever the term "gem in the rough" was appropriate, this would have to be it. Granted, the game is plagued by bugs (though patches have helped), and does perhaps not have the highest production values.

But, it is unique, and has a certain charm to it. There is something strangely appealing by assuming the role of a lowly starting merchant and working your way to the top, either by straight business acumen or other less honorable methods. The gameplay does tend to get repetitive, but if you are like me and enjoy games that are highly detailed in their gameplay models (nice mix of RPG, RTS and SIM) here, you might just get a kick out this game.

Not too happy with this expansion. It was worth the buy back when I purchased it, but with the new Renaissance this is made obsolete. Even then

What is good about these expansions packs, is that they are stand alones and incorporate all of the previous games. So that is a big plus. At the same time though it makes previous versions not worth the buy.

Good game. However, it does not run very well on Windows 7, and you may suffer some severe lag. From other things I have read on the official game forums, it's best run on Windows XP.

However, with the short amount I've played, I love it. Fantastic game and I would definitely recommend it to people. The ability to become part of a society and move up the ranks in society is good, and the realistic powers that you gain from doing so are also great.

Overall I would rate this game 7.5/10

Awesome game. Sucked back when it released, but a recent patch fixed almost every bug with Vista. Now runs like dream. Would definitely suggest this to anyone who enjoys business simulators AND The Sims type games. Your families personal lives have a large amount of influence on your success. Your business may thrive at first, but if you worst enemy controls the city politically, you'll find it hard to continue on easily.

This game is really good just as the other were in the series. Now you can pretty much do anything. The game run smooth and the balance of power is good. I can only recommend buying this game its really good ;-)

Bad things.

Wait for the patch.

- When you play for several hours and save and want to play the save game again its impossible to load... very annoying.

- els as said above small bugs, but in general a solid and well done game.

- I cannot find anywere to borrow money... ??

Having bought the previous titles in this series I bought this expecting significant improvement having been made to gameplay, unfortunately I have been left disappointed. In the previous games patience was required as the games did not really develop until they were fully patched. Although the game has been transplanted to Venice it is basically not too different to the previous titles. As a fan of the series I would still have happily parted with my money but the old problems from the original Guild II seem to have crept back in, the regular crashes (particularly when saving making it even more frustrating), graphical glitches and the wrong audio being used in places. As a fan of this series my best recommendation to any new buyers is wait until the necessary patches are made and to any one who has the previous games fully patched there isn't enough new here to justify parting with your money.

Ive got this game and will give it 8/10 there are some bugs that should be patched as soon as possible they dont ditract fully from the gameplay but lead to some random crashes

Graphics are good

Control system is passable to good

Depth is pretty good could use some additional work

Game balance is fair to good

Sound is excellent

Longevity of game is good to very good

Am liking this game more than the previous 2 mostly because there are less bugs its playable from the go there hopefully will be more support from jowood i see that they are now more focused on ongoing support rather than the old jowood that pumped things out and then left them hanging. So that is a good sign new management = better game support similar to 2k games so yes a good effort, good dev support hopefuly for once good patch support into the future and more attention to detail and depth in their games so im happy