CATAN LIVE is coming

Well... it may be time to think about getting an Xbox 360. Catan is coming to Xbox arcade.

Here's a quote from their home page:

"As announced at the recent Leipzig Games Convention, Settlers of Catan, the legendary board game from the mind of Klaus Teuber, is coming to Xbox Live! Arcade. Developed by Brian Reynolds and Big Huge Games, Catan is slated for release in Q1 2007.

Catan places the player in the role of colonists on the newly discovered imaginary island of the same name. Through strategy and trading, 3-4 players vie for control over the valuable territory and resources of this uncharted wilderness. With ten million copies already sold, Settlers of Catan is the rare board game that appeals to casual players as much as hardcore enthusiasts."

Brian Reynolds, designer of Civilization II and Rise of Nations computer games, was spoken of very highly by Settlers of Catan designer Klaus Teuber: "I had no doubts that Brian Reynolds would do a great job, and the first version of the game exceeded my highest expectations. The AI is so clever that I even lost several games in a row! Hands down, this game for the Xbox Live! Arcade is an amazing achievement."

Here are some of the features of the game:

• Precision AI offers realistic challenges to even the most seasoned players.
• Immersive 3D "Living World" environment.
• Addictive and fun gameplay for up to 4 players.
• Play online versus friends or go up against 8 unique AI personalities.

The screen=shots are pretty awesome... I really like the 3d view, and the animation and sound will no doubt be excellent.

Perhaps the best feature that is missing from the Zone.com version ("Catanonline.com") is the fact that it is only 3 players - "Catan Live" has 4 player implementation.

There are some icons that you earn for accomplishments in the game, which I assume will appear in your game profile, such as number of games won with the "largest army" and "longest road", and also the number of opponents defeated and such which is also a nice touch.

It remains to see what the cost of the game will be on Xbox Arcade, but if this and the rumored Alhambra and Carcassone games also come to the 360, it makes it very tempting.