A unique game,that will occupy you for hours.
Dwarf fortress requires a lot of micro managing; you will have to designate nearly every task for your dwarves yourself. Such as where things should be built, to what should be grown in the fields each month. Managing to build a functioning and self-sustaining fortress will take a lot of time and patience but there's nothing more satisfying than seeing your dwarves merrily drinking booze together in your solid gold dining room!
Another thing that is likely to turn away prospective new players is the graphics. The game uses a set of symbols for its graphics called ASCII, which will probably be familiar to anyone who has played a lot of rougelikes such as Nethack. It is possible however to download tilesets which will replace the games ASCII graphics with easier to understand picture representations of the games objects.
There is no real way to win the game, as the games main source of fun comes from how you lose, this may seem odd but bear with me. There are literally thousands of ways for your dwarves to die, pretty much most things in the game are dangerous in one way or the other. Cute bunnies can become ravenous zombies, the local carp are flesh eaters, goblins hate you, elves will eventually hate you, and the weather hates you. Buts it's all this diverse genocidal hatred towards dwarves that creates all the fun, you never know what's going to happen next! I mean who knew that your latest ore mine was home to a horde of demonic mushroom men?
And now I get to the part that makes the game really shine. Every world you play in is randomly generated meaning that you can get a different experience nearly every time. Each world that is generated also has its own history, mythical beasts slain, towns founded, kings and queens crowned etc. Which reminds me of another great thing about the worlds, they are constantly changing with everything that happens within them, a great human hero might slay an evil goblin warlord who killed his brother. Or a Powerful queen might be pushed off a cliff by an angry badger. These things can happen during word generation or afterwards during play.
Other than the dwarf fortress mode there is an adventurer mode and an arena mode, which are all completely different from one another but I won't ramble on any longer, and leave you to discover all about them by yourselves.
Closing Words
Dwarf fortress is an incredible game, one I am yet to find any like it. With a bit of patience and initial frustration, you will find an immersive, fun and altogether awesome and free! Game that will keep you amused for hours on end. Oh and it's still being actively developed.
In a nut shell
Sound: 4/10 there really isn't much beyond the music.
Graphics: 3/10 for those looking for next gen 3d, you won't find it here.
Replayabilty: 10/10 the possibility's this game offers are incredible no two plays are the same.
Game play: 9.5/10: There is so much to do!
Presentation: 7/10 the various interfaces could do with some sprucing up but they get the job done.
Playability: 8/10 steep learning curve but relatively bug free (may vary on subsequent releases)