Caesar and Pharaoh, meet Zeus (Zoombinis Maths Journey (PC))

Member Name: Stalin

Product:	Zoombinis Maths Journey (PC)
Date:	29/08/01 (108 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Basic gameplay tweaked to perfection, Other game elements expanded and improved, Less bewildering for casual gamers, Story based with more focussed objectives

Disadvantages: Cutesy presentation, Still essentially the same as previous games

Impressions struck gold with the first game in their 'City Builder' series, Caesar III, an intricate and detailed game in which you constructed and managed a city from scratch in ancient Rome. Although hugely playable, it mainly appealed to hard-core strategy enthusiasts due to the amount of micro-management and dull manipulation of figures. The sequel, Pharaoh, streamlined the game somewhat and removed many of the irritations of the first, although it received something of a lukewarm reception, being hailed as 'Caesar in Egypt', since the gameplay was essentially the same as the first game. Now, we have a third, Zeus - Master of Olympus. Unsurprisingly, this one is set in ancient Greece. Surprisingly, it has changed considerably from its predecessor.

DECIET AND DECEPTION

If you have never played either Caesar or Pharaoh, when you first see Zeus you could be fooled into thinking that it is a completely different game from what it actually is. Browsing the blurb on the box, you can see plenty of descriptions of gods, monsters and heroes, but very little information about building cities - which is, after all, the heart of the game. the opening FMV (which incidentally is excellent) depicts a scene from Greek mythology in which Zeus creates mount Olympus. In fact, the first time you realise what the game is is when you are dumped into an isometric cityscape. This facade does show you, however, that the focus of the game has shifted.

Impressions obviously realised that they could reach a larger audience by removing many of the more tedious gameplay elements, which they have done. The basis of the game is still the same - attracting people to your cities and then building industries to provide them with more resources, which in turn makes them upgrade their homes which in turn improves their capacity, increasing the number of people coming to your city. Creating a complex city infrastructure, made of various industries linking
together sounds like a difficult task, requiring fine balancing and management. Well, it isn't as bad as it was in previous games, although it is still necessary to consult a few statistics. On the whole, though, you just need to put up the right buildings, and things will sort themselves out. This may sound simplistic, and it is. But, various other areas of the gameplay have been extended considerably, which more than compensates for this.

MY GOD!

The game is now much more story-focused. There are various campaigns in which you build and develop a single city over a series of separate missions and follow a plot line. Each mission begins with a briefing, describing the current situation around Greece, and giving you your objectives. The stories involve not only other cities and leaders, but also the gods, monsters and heroes. Gods were in previous Impressions games before, of course, but how they behave in Zeus is quite different. Worshipping a specific god involves building a sanctuary, a huge project requiring a lot of time and resources. Once complete, that god actually appears on your streets, providing various services such as protection from invasions or increased food production. Similarly, monsters (Cyclops, Medusa etc) can appear in your city, wreaking havoc. The only way to rid yourself of these is to attract a hero to your city (Jason, Hercules etc). These heroes will only appear if your city is up to certain standards (having a certain number of soldiers, wine stock and so on). This interaction with the mythological world is very interesting, and very accurate, with all the correct gods present and correct. It provides a nice change from simple dull city building.

Other areas of the game have also been enhanced, particularly interaction with the rest of the world. In addition to standard trading, you can also give gifts, attempt raids or even try to capture a city (more on this later). Captured cities pay regular tribute in
the form of goods. You can also construct colonies in other parts of Greece to try and spread your influence. This is not as exciting as it sounds, since you can only build colonies when the story dictates. Diplomacy is still sadly lacking, although by fulfilling favours for other leaders you can improve your reputation.

CHARGE!

Combat has always been the low point of previous games, and it is still not fantastic. Getting soldiers is much easier, however. You can call your citizens to arms at any time to defend your city. Moving them around is simple enough, but telling them to attack is tough. You just have to tell them to move near the enemy and hope they attack. Attackers also seem to be able to ravage your city with alarming ease, and once they start it is tough to stop them, as they tend to run away. Luckily, there is an auto-defend option, so you don't need to muck about in this kind of thing.

If you want to invade another city, you need real soldiers. These are obtained by attracting the very highest class of citizens to your city and providing them with various luxuries. Actually initiating the invasion is much better than defending against one. You simply send the soldiers you want, and the victor is calculated on probabilities. If you ask me, all the combat should be done this way, or else the whole combat system re-designed, as it is too fiddly as it is.

THIS WAS A NICKELODEON PRODUCTION

As I have mentioned, the gameplay has been simplified in order to make the game more mainstream. For the same reason (I am guessing) the graphics have been changed from the dull and functional to the colourful and cartoonish. All of the gods, monsters and heroes and very much caricatured, looking like characters from comics or cartoons. In fact, the graphics verge on the (gulp) cute! This put me off at first, but you soon realise that all this is merely superficial. And in all honesty, the graphics are an improvement on th
ose in pharaoh.

Sound and music match the graphics. All the pre-mission briefings are narrated in a rather over-the-top dramatic tone. When you click a citizen to find out what they think of the city, they too adopt a similar tone. Sound effects are of the loud and punchy variety, with dramatic music accompanying. I turn this off!

PHARAOH 1.5

Although Zeus has taken steps to change and provide more variety for all gamers, the core gameplay is basically the same as the previous two games. If you didn't like those two, you probably won't like this one. Although, if it was the complexity that put you off, Zeus may be worth a try. For hard-core strategy players, there are enough gameplay tweaks in place to make this a worthy purchase. If for some reason you have never played an Impressions City Builder, you should certainly give this one a try. I personally enjoyed playing Zeus, even though I played pharaoh to death. Then again, I know other people who feel the opposite. It might not be worth paying £35 for, but I have seen it in some places for £20. If you see it at this price, you should certainly snap it up.

Summary: