Caesar III
Rating: 4/5
So you think you are some kind of genius Sim City urban planner just because you managed to solve LA's traffic problems and rebuild San Francisco after the earthquake on a budget of tuppence. Caesar III will put you in your place--if you aren't careful that's in the Coliseum in Rome getting chased around by lions.
The genius of the Caesar series is that they take the Sim City concept to a whole new level of complexity without having to resort to ridiculous perils like attacks from Godzilla. The simulated life of an imperial governor is quite challenging enough.
As with Sim City, you start out as a city planner with pretty unlimited legal powers but a set budget. You have to attract a population, feed it, employ it, build roads to let it get from place to place, give it drains, policemen, schools, hospitals and (this being Roman Times) provide the odd pagan Festival and chariot race as well. So far, so familiar, and you may be thinking you'll have it easy - at least you don't have to choose different forms of transport or worry about pollution.
What makes the game so challenging is that as well as doing all of this you also have to placate a capricious Emperor and five different jealous gods, trade profitably with your neighbours and occasionally fend off barbarian attacks. The manual contains 220 pages, and none are wasted.
The first thing to note about Caesar III is how good it looks. Each of the buildings is lovingly detailed and animated. Moreover, the streets are thronged with people--not just as ornaments either. There are 22 different identifiable kinds of Roman and the experienced player will note each one and be interested in what they are doing and where they are going. Right click on a building and you will get an instant summary of what it is doing, and what it needs to develop further or produce more. Even more satisfying, if you right click on any of the people walking around you can find out what they are up to and they will speak to you (in an appropriate accent) telling you what is on their minds--usually what a terrible job you are doing.
The thrill of watching your citizens walking about quickly fades and is replaced by panic as the difficulty of the game becomes apparent. There is no difficulty level to set--you are in at the deep end right away. In the early tutorial levels you are not allowed to build all of the buildings you would normally have available, which makes the game easy in a sense, but can also prove frustrating when you know that a library would solve your problems if only you could build one.
As you would expect, the game supplies no fewer than 12 advisers which keep you up to date with the big picture and gives you all kinds of overlays so you can see which parts of your city need the most attention. The one drawback to the latter is that while they are active you can't see the buildings and areas they referred to so you can end up switching between the map view and the overlay view.
There is little more frustrating than when your clever master plan is scuppered by idiotic AI. This is a common problem in all games and alas I have to say that this one is no better than average (though it is not the worst offender by a long shot). It is all too easy to find your citizens starving within easy reach of grain or being bored right next to a really interesting gladiator fight because they have difficulty coping with the twisty roads in your city that lead to their goal. Admittedly the manual warns you about this problem, suggesting you stick to straight roads wherever possible, but it is annoying to find that your ideas are having to conform to what a computer finds easiest to cope with.
Once you are past the two first scenarios you are told to build a city in one of two provinces--usually a more and a less dangerous one representing the risk of barbarian attack. Now I can hear you say, let me at those Goths--I really only got this game so I would have the chance to chop up baddies. I have to warn the more blood thirsty among you that this is not really going to be your cup of tea. For starters, the combat system is pretty poor. You can end up selecting your legion and clicking on an opponent only to find he has moved by the time you get there and you have to chase him around the map. Also, armies and fortifications are so expensive that you will need to spend a long time building up a city before you can afford much of a military.
Clearly, this is not a game for everyone. If you want a simple city building simulation to while away a few hours, dig out a copy of Sim City and set it to easy mode. If you want to grind your enemies under your chariot wheels, buy Age of Empires. But if you want a game that will challenge you for hours and allow you to really impress your mates with a gorgeous final result, this is the game for you.