Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom Review

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(More customer reviews)I want to start this review with a disclaimer: I don't know a lot about game programming, so if you want a technical analysis of the game, this isn't the review for you. I do know that I like it though.

I would say that this game is on a par with Sierra's other city building games-Caesar III, Pharoah, Cleopatra, Zeus, and Poseidon-but with one new feature: you can play it online with your friends. If not for that feature, I probably would've only given this game 4 stars. The graphics are pretty cool but I've been having a hard time with the toolbar. The icons all look the same to me. The warehouse icon looks like a trading post icon that looks like a mill icon, etc. I suppose I'll get used to it. I remember not liking that about Zeus at first either, but that one eventually became my favorite.

The other interesting thing about this game (I say interesting because I'm not sure I like it yet) is that feng shui is very important to your people. In the other games, if you could place a building in a certain spot you got a green footprint, if you couldn't, you got a red footprint. In this game you get red, green, and YELLOW footprints. If you get a yellow footprint over the spot you want to place a building on, you can still put it there if you want, but it decreases your feng shui rating. And the less harmonious your feng shui, the less your people like you. So you really have to think a lot when you're building your city.

I'm not sure that this game is Sierra's best city building game yet, but it's still fun to play and I would recommend buying it. I would also recommend getting Acropolis, which is Zeus and it's expansion pack Poseidon in the same package.

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In Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom, you are transported back in time to when emperors reigned and China was the greatest and most resplendent power on Earth. Epic in scope, Emperor spans seven dynasties and more than 3,000 years of Chinese history--from China's preimperial Xia dynasty circa 2100 B.C. to the Mongol invasion of the Middle Kingdom under Genghis Khan in A.D. 1211.
As emperor, you will build housing to attract immigrants to your new city. Then the city's workers and farmers, administrators and soldiers will be yours to command, and you will have the work force you need to build a provincial city into a great metropolis. At your bidding, legions of workers will toil to erect walls strong enough to keep the barbarians at bay. Under your banner, armies will march forth to do battle with the enemy. Trade and commerce will flourish, and an army of tax collectors will collect the taxes due. Schools and clinics, palaces and gardens will embellish the city you have built and proclaim your benevolence to the world.

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Great Empires Collection Review

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(More customer reviews)My favorite type of game is simulation, and when I saw this one, I got it. I comes with three great Sims. Caesar, Pharaoh and the Pharaoh expansion. All three games are great, and here is a little info of each.
First Caesar III, the sequal to Caesar II. Rule a Roman empire! Obey the gods and you recieve blessings, don't and face certain doom. Treat your plebs, build houses, forts, walls, granarys, and water systems. Fight distant enemies with your legions. Gain a good reputation and achieve emperor status. Will your empire crumble are succeed. You decide, be an emperor the the gods will loke up to!
Pharaoh is the game coming after Caesar III. It has the same game fell as Caesar, but instead of Rome you control Egypt. Train Egyption armies to fight enemies. Get food by fishing, growing reeds in the Nile and sending hunters to fetch food. Obey the gods, and build monuments that will stand for ages. Manufacture goods to ship across and the lands and make money.
Finally, the expansion extends the gameplay for Pharaoh a lot farther. You can make more goods like paint and oil and also construct larger monments like tombs and pyrimids.
Overall, I like these games a lot, but the reason I gave 4 stars is because the more things you make, the slower the game gets. Sometimes, you can make so many buildings that it runs out of memory and the game freezes. But if you like sims, get this!

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Caesar III Review

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(More customer reviews)The best way to visualize _Caesar III_ is to think of SimCity: the player creates urban environments, then attempts to profitably adjust to the influx of people, random (and not-so-random) events, and Imperial demands. You build and govern a city for awhile as part of a campaign; when you achieve the given objectives, you move up to a more challenging and involved assignment.
It's very attractive visually; the user interface is pretty good; the hotkeys make sense. The only thing that chapped me a little was the documentation: it was classic Sierra documentation, one of those books that looks and feels great until you actually need it to look up information. For example: when setting up trade routes for the first time, I experienced a shipwreck. Ok, very well, I thought, let's figure out what happens now since it seems to be blocking my harbour. I looked in many pertinent sections of the manual; not a word on shipwrecks. I just had to wait and hope it went away after awhile. Even though the manual has an actual index--rare enough with game documentation or strategy guides--it could have been better. Also lacking was an in-book reference for the tutorial; all reference for it is in-game. That's fine except that one reason you have a manual is so you can take it away from your computer and read up.
Very good game. Fine graphics. Ok manual. Superb dollar value--it has dropped in price to the point where you can hardly lose.

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Build rule and defendProduct InformationAs a provincial governor charged with spreading the glory of Rome your missionis clear; build cities foster trade and industry make money. How youaccomplish this entirely up to you. Gain wealth and power make a career out ofpleasing the emperor battle Barbarians and repel invaders or concentrate onbuilding the next Eternal City. Fail and you'll end up as lunch for the lions.Prove your strength of mind and spirit and you just may be crowned Caesar!Product FeaturesBuild rule and defend on one screen - no more switching between city province and battle screens.Use the City Construction Kit to build the perfect city or climb the ladder of Roman politics with a career.Now your citizens can give you a glimpse into the life of the common man - talk to them for clues about how to improve your city.Appease 5 gods with temples and festivals. Each god has its own sphere of influence; Please Ceres and your crops will thrive. But dishonor Neptune and watch your trade ships sink into the sea.Various new structures and challenges arise throughout your governor's career for tremendous depth of play and replay-ability.A truly intuitive helpful interface let's you jump right in and startbuilding.Additional FeaturesPlayers of Caesar III are immersed in a city simulation set inthe age of the ancient Roman Empire. Players place buildings on previouslyempty terrain and construct a city. These buildings come to life and thecity begins to evolve. As the city grows it encounters various problemswhich must be overcome. Players have specific objectives to achieve althoughmany players will not use these but rather will content themselves indesigning their idea of the perfect city.The game is structured as a career beginning with

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