Caesar 3

1 more product image	Platform: Windows 98, Windows 95 Vivendi Universal, CD-ROM Customer Rating: 87 reviews   Recommend Our Price: $19.99 (Price details) Availability: Usually ships in 1-2 business days. Ships from and sold by NothingButSoftware.

As a provincial governor charged with spreading the glory of Rome your mission is clear; build cities, foster trade and industry, make money.

Caesar III is a city building and management simulation that transports players back to ancient Rome, letting them live the life of a provincial governor. It's your job to create an environment that will attract citizens, keep those people fed and supplied with fresh water, and defend the city walls from jealous and greedy enemies. As if that's not enough, you also have to meet the demands of your caesar or face... dismissal.

We were eased into the career mode with a series of easy tutorials that gave us a good feel for the basic game mechanics. After that the challenges were legion, but the rewards for good city planning and wise financial management were worth the effort. It is satisfying to create a self-sufficient and profitable city that can fend off enemy attacks and produce productive, educated citizens.

Cities really come to life, thanks to the game's detailed graphics. Fountains, statues, and gardens can be used to pretty things up, and all the familiar Roman landmarks like the Colosseum and Hippodrome will eventually end up dominating the landscape. We whiled away many hours with Caesar III's City Construction Kit, which lets players build a city without the goals of career mode hanging over their heads. Any fans of the SimCity titles should enjoy Caesar III, and its unique setting and fun gameplay should attract even those who didn't like that related series of games. — T. Byrl Baker

Pros:

• Roman theme makes for some challenging historical considerations
• You have to both build a city and defend it from invaders

• Demands from the caesar can be unfair (and sometimes impossible to meet)

Players of Caesar 3 are immersed in a city set in the age of the ancient Roman Empire. Players place buildings on previously empty terrain and construct a city. These buildings come to life, and the city begins to evolve. As the city grows, it encounters various problems that must be overcome. Players have specific objectives to achieve, although many players will choose not to use these and will be content to design their idea of the perfect city.

The game is structured as a career, beginning with a training mission, then progresses through a series of ever-tougher real assignments. Each mission/assignment consists of a province and set objectives. Achieving these objectives will result in promotion and an offer of a tougher assignment, which can be turned down if the player is having too much fun to accept at that time.

The career progression introduces elements of the game step by step, thereby teaching players how to play without forcing them to play through a tutorial.

There is also an option where players ignore the career progression and simply play the full game with no promotion involved.

Title: Caesar 3
Sales Rank: 2430 in Software
Publisher: Vivendi Universal
Platform: Windows 98, Windows 95, CD-ROM
Recommended Age: From 5 years to 20 years
Package Dimensions: 4.13 x 3.54 x 0.79 inches, 1.14 pounds

• PC Gamer (1-year)

• Caesar IV
• Pharaoh
• Pharaoh Gold
• Zeus: Master of Olympus
• Pharaoh (Jewel Case)