In Settlers 7 you don't play the game the game (Drackonian DRM) Plays you! - No online connection= no play
Starting out you already have the map fully revealed - I really wished they would have had random generated maps with dark areas along with fog of war. It really adds to the uncertainty factor when playing and would help keep the game fresh. I am not sure why they went with static maps and full reveal though.
The graphic and animation are very good and will appeal to a wide variety of players. Its really fun to watch them go about their chores, constructing things etc.
The game plot is very simple and the only possible complexity is with their economy system.
I do like the multiple victory paths - that feature is always welcome and keeps players on their toes vs constant war victory/loss standard of measurement.
Bruce Shelley is the lead designer and I usually like most of his work - seeing him make such a strategy light game is a bit of a surprise - especially with such a straight forward game lacking any deep underlying complexity. I guess he was aiming for a different target market or something.... : )
So in summary the game itself is great for casual play but the DRM copy protection bolted on by Ubisoft pretty much destroys the game. Their DRM has mandatory online always requirements even for single player. I was dropped several times in about 15 min that I had to stop playing one of the single player missions I was on - to avoid getting really mad.
I would strongly advise staying away from this game until someone with Ubisoft drinks a tall glass of common sense and fixes this issue. Otherwise their daily meds of stupid pills will quickly run them out of business at this rate.