Wortenga!!! (Populous 3 - The Beginning (PC))

Member Name: 150983

Product:	Populous 3 - The Beginning (PC)
Date:	25/07/01 (485 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: the game, read above

Disadvantages: none

If you want to know what this title refers to, I know it may sound strange but all will be revealed later on in this opinion.

Introduction
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Populous was one of the first series of games that changed the face of gaming, the first one involved a strategy slash action and this, the third version is no different. This game can be more classed as ‘prequel’ rather than a sequel as it goes a bit further back in time.

The Story
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You play a Shaman who is a leader of a primitive tribe who is hell bent on becoming a god. The basic idea of the game is to kill the rest of the tribes and conquer each world to be victorious. To become powerful and be able to conquer the enemy tribes, you need to be able to master your knowledge on magic and power. You also need to build up a strong army of soldiers including the swordsmen.

The Game
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The game is packed full of worlds, each of the worlds represent a level and after conquering each level, you move onto the next level. The installation is fairly simple. There is a screen which shows all the worlds and a stone like bar is situated at the bottom, as each level is completed, the stone bar fills up with the planets until you fill all the gaps. There are 25 levels in all and as each one progresses, each level gets more complicated making the game in keeping with the player’s needs as it maintains interest. Like other strategy games, there is a map which shows a scaled version of the world being played to enable easier navigation. To progress onto each level, there are various artefacts such as the totem poles and stone heads that need to be worshipped at by a selection of followers in order to gain such things as spells and land bridges. The is on each level a vault of knowledge where only the Shaman can worship, here she can gain access to a knowledge of a new spell making her more powerful to the enemy giving her tribe an advantage.

>What spells can be cast?
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There are many spells 26 in fact that can be cast as long as you obtain the knowledge of them. These can include the Convert spell, this spell can convert wild men to your tribe thus gaining more people. There are also spells that work to combat the enemy including the meteor shower that can be selected to rain down on enemy ground and set fire to whatever is in the vacinity as well as my favourite, the Angel of death which is a great spell to obtain. Be sure to know though that all these spells need to be charged with mana (the life energy to say) and the better the spell, the more mana it needs and the longer it will take to load again. The title is taken from a sound that is made when a Shaman casts a certain spell, the spelling is representative of what it sounds like (I think its probably spelt like that anyway!)

What else can or needs to be done?
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As well as having a good source of spells and so forth, there also needs to be a good supply of the basics such as wood in order to build things such as the houses in order to increase the tribes popularity. The game although now old in comparison to other newer titles, can also be played online which is a great interactive experience.

Key Commands
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In order to control the game easily there are various keys on the keyboard which can control various options these include the following.

Esc – Menu (only whilst in the game)
F1 – Encyclopaedia
F8 – Quick Load
F9 – Quick Save
- and _ key to Zoom Out
+ and = key to Zoom In.
Enter – World View
Space Bar – Skip Flyby (kind of like a break or intro)
S – Status
P – Pause
There are many other key commands that are available to make the game that bit easier.

Tips and Cheats
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Although I myself have never used any cheats to complete
this game myself, I will post them here if you feel the need for aid. As well as some handy tips to get the better edge.

Tips
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*First establish a good foundation to a great tribe with the woodcutters and such in an attempt not to go low on shortages in the near future.
*Make sure you have an almost equal amount of soldiers as each of them are valuable in battle. Including the bow men.
*Keep a good grouping of soldiers in different parts of your settlement in order to prevent those areas from attack.
*Make sure you get a good set of spells and always be one up on the other tribes by obtaining these spells through the stone heads for example.
*Enjoy the game.

Cheats
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During the game, press Tab+F11 to bring up the message screen. Then type byrne and press Enter to activate the cheat mode.
Now enter one of the following commands...with the following results =

Tab+F1 Free mana
Tab+F2 Free spells
Tab+F3 All spells
Tab+F4 All buildings
Tab+F5 Refill mana

System Requirements
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Win '95/'98
Pentium 133 or higher
100 MB Free Hard Disk Space
16 MB RAM
4x CD-ROM or faster
Mouse Keyboard
Modem (for online gaming)

Conclusion
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I got this game about a year ago and paid a bargain price of £3, I had been wanting to get this game for ages and since having all the settlers 3 games and add-ons, I was hooked on strategy type games such as Populous. I did finally complete this exciting game but it did take much patience to master the game and gain a better advantage to the enemy but this game never made me loose any interest in it! I truly enjoyed the time I spent playing this game but don’t think I will start again as it took quite a while. This game does require some skill and a love for this type of genre but it is a great game to play.

I can’t believe how old this game an
d the series is when I played this instalment. The game is rather original when you consider this, the third series was released in 1998. The graphics are astounding for that period of time and still I can see this game putting up a good fight against the recent similar titles as the graphics are still of a high standard as well as the game it self. Populous is a very addictive game and I would strongly recommend it as well as my all time favourite of this genre, Settlers 3. Buy it now for a really low price at many places!

Summary: