MY OPINION

I found Populous: The Beginning to be a lighthearted, challenging and visually stunning strategy game. The game scores big points on presentation by using a fully 3D world that is wrapped around an actual globe, instead of using the usual flat map. The music isn’t very inspiring, with a faint soundtrack in the background which only gets going when you enter combat. I also found the sound effects a little bit dull.

However, Populous: The Beginning poses quite a challenge. A lot of the missions are very puzzle-orientated, which is quite to my liking. I found that I could, on occasions, get deep into this game and not want to stop.

The manual is an utter joke. Tiny pamphlets may be sufficient for action games, but any company producing a strategy title should know better than to scrimp on the manual.

SCREENSHOTS

From humble beginnings, you must manage your resources carefully, build your settlements wisely and trade prosperously. You need to develop a thriving economy and a powerful military that will eventually dominate all races and restore your chosen God to favour.

MY OPPINION

I found this game extremely enjoyable. It is quite easy to pick up and is very hard to put down once you get into it. The graphics are excellent and the ambient sound effects bring the game to life. I found the game quite easy at first, but it soon became very challenging, requiring a lot of thought on each mission. I would highly recommend this game to anyone who enjoys the challenge of Empire-building. I found the reference section in the Settlers manual to be extremely helpful because it gives info on the various Gods and useful tips on all the trades and tradesmen.

Theocracy takes place on two levels – tactical and strategic. The tactical game involves constructing buildings and units, gathering resources and fighting off invaders. The strategic game takes place on a map of the whole of Ancient Mexico, split into a number of different territories. You start the game with just a single province, a small army and a few dozen untrained workers to serve you, but from this point you can essentially do whatever you want. Soldiers gain experience as they fight in battles and there are a wide range of magical weapons, shields and other items which you can discover during the game and give to your best troops.

MY OPINION

Theocracy is an interesting and challenging game which manages to mix the turn-based and real time strategy genre to come up with something almost unique. The Aztec setting is unusual as well and makes a welcome change from the traditional medieval European setting of most semi-historical strategy games. I especially like the ability to have up to 50,000 units on the screen without any slowdown. Unfortunately, once you get your troops into battle, things can become a little chaotic. There is no way to slow down or pause the action while you give orders and formations tend to be difficult to manoeuvre in the heat of battle.

The graphics in Theocracy are quite impressive. The units are highly detailed and the maps are well set out. The sound effects are fairly good, from the cutting of wood and ambient sounds of the forest to the clamour of battle. I did find however, that after several hours of play, the sounds became somewhat repetitive. The music is good, but as there are only a limited number of different soundtracks, this soon became repetitive too.

Theocracy comes with a well laid out manual which I often found myself having to refer to. To sum up, you really do need to play Theocracy for yourself in order to fully appreciate it. The sheer scale of the game and the wealth of options and strategies available more than makes up for any minor niggles.

MY OPINION

Imperium Galactica II is a totally excellent game for anyone who likes the challenge of intergalactic battles. It has faster spacecraft and more powerful weapons than the original game. The mind-blowing 3D space battles enable you to swoop down from a view of the entire galaxy to zoom in on your tanks annihilating an enemy colony on the planet’s surface.

Early in Imperium Galactica II, battles involve dozens of fighters and a few destroyers or corvettes. Midway through the game, battles become more involving and exciting. You have large capital ship technology as well as beam weapons. The strategy in this part of the game is largely based on attacking and defending against powerful torpedoes. Later in the game however, when every race is attacking each other with battle ships and mobile bases strategy strangely becomes minimal. I found this quite frustrating, as there is no reason to move – your ships will fire with more accuracy if they remain stationary. There is no reason to zig-zag, because more advanced torpedoes track their targets easily.

The graphics in this game are first class. Both the space view mode and the planet surface mode are beautifully detailed. There is seasonal rain on the planet view and the space view is glittered with nebulae and galaxy dust. The battleships are wonderfully detailed and the explosions are visually realistic. The sound effects are excellent, with great booming explosions when you blow your enemy from the sky, however the combat chatter can become somewhat repetitive as it is the same for all units. Furthermore, the chatter is often inaccurate. I found the soundtrack a little boring, however that did not detract from my overall enjoyment of this game.

Imperium Galactica II has a high quality manual with over 120 pages of clearly laid out information on glossy galactic designed paper. To sum up, this game is one of the best sci-fi strategy games I have ever played.

SCREENSHOTS

The Amazons are a warrior race, both close to nature, and at the same time extremely intelligent. The cunning goddess, Q’nqüra, just loves mead. The Amazons, therefore, are no strangers to beekeeping (and do these bees buzz!) and mead making. The magical properties of mead can help you wipe opponents off the face of the Earth. The magic gong is a terrifying weapon which is capable of bringing down the stoutest tower walls. A thief helps you scout outside your own territory and steal the weapons and gold you need from unsuspecting foes.

MY OPINION

Quest of the Amazons is an excellent addition to Settlers III. There are two campaigns to choose from. You can either play as the Amazons, or against them. The missions are very challenging, each requiring great amounts of thought. I often found myself having to play some of the missions once to devise a strategy, then again to actually put it into practice. Quest of the Amazons is of roughly the same difficulty level as the original mission CD add-on for Settlers III.

The Amazons have their own soundtrack which enhances the feel of the game. The new Settlers III Level-Editor enables you to design your own maps. There are distinct sets of Amazon buildings, characters and spells to add to the excitement. There is no seperate manual for this game, as the game requires you to have the full version of Settlers III installed on your hard drive.

Girl-power at it’s very best. Quest of the Amazons is different – Quest of the Amazons is brilliant!

SCREENSHOTS

MY OPINION

I thoroughly enjoyed playing Sim City 3000. As an owner of almost all the previous Sim titles, I found this particular one to be very easy to get into. Beginners may find the running of the city a bit confusing at first, and the many different buttons may be a bit hard to get to grips with.

Whilst waiting for the year to turn over so I could receive the taxes paid by my residents, I found myself watching all the fascinating little ’sims’ going about their daily duties. The sound effects are incredibly realistic, further enhancing the gaming experience. You can sit for hours listening to frustrated drivers honking their horns as they sit aimlessly in a traffic jam. You can even hear the ’sims’ talking and shouting at each other.

I found life as a mayor to be quite exciting, although frustrating at times. Every tiny detail has to be considered: How can you get water and electricity to all your sims? Where does all the garbage go? Should you hire a crossing guard on 34th Street? For anyone who is not familiar with the Sim City series, the manual is vital in helping you to understand and get to grips with the many options available to you as mayor of a coastal town or a sprawling metropolis!

SCREENSHOTS

MY OPINION

The Sims is a FUN game from start to finish. It has something for players of all ages. When you create your Sims, you can be as outrageous or as wicked as you choose – modelling them on teachers, workmates, friends or family members. One of the things I like the most about this game is that the Sims seem to adopt a personality of their own. If you leave them alone, even for a few minutes, your Sims will do all sorts of things – they’ll dance to the radio’s music, flop down in front of the TV or strike up a conversation – and they do it all with expressive animation which makes them almost seem like real people. TV watching Sims will lean forward and gaze intently at the screen or laugh out loud, and conversing Sims will gesticulate appropriately as they chat, tell jokes, insult each other and more.

The graphics in this game are absolutely first class. Everything is bright and colourful and highly detailed. The sounds are also excellent. Every item in the home makes a sound – music from the radio, TV, phones ringing, flushing toilets, running taps and many more. The Sims all speak in their own language, which is highly entertaining.

The Sims comes with an extremely comprehensive manual, although it is not necessary to study this in order to enjoy the game. You can simple load up The Sims and get into it right away. There is no ultimate goal to this game – simply hours of endless fun, laughter and entertainment for all.

SCREENSHOTS

MY OPINION

Theme Park World is in-depth, challenging and very time-consuming. There is so much to do, and so many things that need attention. Not only do you have to design exciting rides for your customers, you have to provide a range of shops selling all manner of food, drinks and other goodies in order to make a profit. I especially enjoyed designing and building rollercoasters and rides, and then being able to experience the thrill from a customer’s view-point.

On the downside, I feel there are just too many details to manage once your park becomes large and successful. The initial planning and building for each park is the game’s best point because you have time to watch your visitor’s reactions, but once your park becomes large and popular, it becomes a chaotic mix of advisor messages and rides needing repaired. There is no longer any time to just sit back and enjoy what you have created, which I think, takes much of the pleasure out of the game.

The graphics are bright and colourful and the sounds help to convey the ethos of a real-life theme park – people screaming, children laughing, background sounds from the various rides and there is specific music for each of the four themes.

Theme Park World has a very clear and informative manual which, coupled with the hints from the advisor, soon get you well into this game. All in all, I think Theme Park World is a fun challenge.

SCREENSHOTS

MY OPINION

Rollercoaster Tycoon pays great attention to detail. The wonderful graphics make watching the rides genuinely enjoyable. I felt that I could even relate to some of the people in my park. They all have unique nausea and intensity tolerance. Whilst the teenagers in your park may want to go on the scariest white-knuckle rides in your possession, others might settle for something more relaxing like the miniature railway or the boat hire. The sound effects almost make you feel like you’re really there! The old-style music from the merry-go-round, the perfectly timed screams from rollercoaster passengers, the giggles from the younger children as they leave a ride, and of course, the sweet sound of terrified visitors being sick, following their ‘experience’ on one of your rollercoasters.

I have found myself playing Rollercoaster Tycoon for many hours at a time. It really is very addictive. At first, the manual helped me a lot. It has lots of in-depth advice on how to use each button and command but laterally, I found the manual unnecessary.

Playing Rollercoaster Tycoon has given much fun and laughter, even to my friends who would not normally play this type of computer game.

SCREENSHOTS

To amass your fortune, you are required to move passengers and goods such as mail and bulk items via railway to locations where they are in demand. You need to create chains of supply and demand, linking related industries together by rail e.g: coal mines to steel mills and on to car factories, and you pocket your cash as your trains arrive.

There are hurdles along the way, such as lack of money, outstanding bank loans and high interest payments. Your Board of Directors can throw you out of a job at any time if they think you are underperforming.

MY OPINION

Railroad Tycoon II is an extremely absorbing and challenging game. The graphics are excellent, with every tiny detail included, such as the smoke from the chimneys of the houses, and the unique markings on each of the engines and carriages. The sound effects from the engines and the industries bring the game to life, and there is the reassuring sound of your money rolling in whenever a train arrives. There is a good soundtrack which is best suited to 1900 Western America.

I found myself being constantly challenged by Railroad Tycoon II. Once you have completed a campaign, there are more campaigns at varying difficulty levels. On top of that, there are around 15 scenarios from all over the world, each with their own objectives. If that’s not enough, there is a scenario editor, allowing you to create your own maps with your own custom events and disasters. I found the manual to be quite useful, with tutorials to help. An excellent game.

SCREENSHOTS