Immortal Cities - Children Of The Nile (PC)

Advantages: Compelling new time period; challenging gameplay; engrossing pyramid construction
Disadvantages: The graphics engine is a bit old; numerous slowdowns

...Rather than try to reinvent the wheel with its follow-up to the Roman city-building classic Caesar III, Impressions Studios takes us farther back in time to the burning sands of the Nile River delta. Pharaoh is a more primitive, but also more grandiose, strategic experience. The result is, admittedly, much like Caesar III, but different enough to grab and hold your attention even if you're already a master builder from the later time period. Pharaoh is heavily steeped in Caesar's legacy. The maps, graphics, layout, and basic strategy have been moved over intact from Caesar III. You zone housing, buildings, and roads and hope they attract immigrants, and then tweak them to maximize efficiency. You must control taxation, create neighborhoods and businesses, fight battles, and accomplish all this at a frantic real-time pace. Still, fans... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful

Advantages: easy to play, hard to get bored
Disadvantages: poor graphics, can be frustrating

...I first got this game free when i bought a PC. There were no instructions and i though it was going to be a very boring game. Oh how wrong i was! O.K. the graphic aren't great and the sound isn't too hot either but the game play is excellent. The family missions are a great introduction to the game, which is like a cross between a city building game, a strategy game and a war game. You will have to build houses and monuments, collect resources, trade with other cities, and build armies. To be honest the army building on this game is not great and at some points i always thought it would be better if they had left the armies out completely. The city building and trading is great fun however, and farming on the nile is always a pleasure!!... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average somewhat helpful

Advantages: Very playable, un complicated
Disadvantages: In-game graphics

...Having played many game's like this before (Caesar, Populous II) I thought that marrying this game style with Egyptian culture couldn't fail. The aim is to build up a city by attracting travellers to your land, housing them and kepping them happy while at the same time appeasing the gods and bring in the harvest after the Nile floods. I bought this game in January 2000 and are still re-playing it now. Progress is made by completing scenarios in various areas of upper and lower Egypt, building Tombs and defending your city against raiding Persians to advance. It is very enjoyable to see your city develop from small beginnings and keeping everything working can become very addictive. T he graphics may appear simplistist, but they are functional and what it lacks in-game, is certainly made up for in the cut-scenes with some beautiful... Read review

Ciao members have rated this review on average helpful