Caesar III

This game is miles ahead of its predecessor, and sits right atop the pack in the strategy RTS genre. If you like these games, I'd be surprised if you didn't love this one.

Caesar. This name alone is a synonym for leadership, courage and greatness. The men who bore this title reigned over what is arguably one of the greatest empires the world has ever known. Rome brought unprecedented peace and well being to its citizenry, but not without cost! "Barbarians" were enslaved, peoples conquered, taxes paid, government corruption occurred, and eventually the population had to be satiated with increasingly brutal entertainment (sound familiar?). Inevitably the Empire decayed and fell, but its golden age was truly awe-inspiring. Sierra has attempted to bring us a glimpse of the excitement of this era in two previous releases: Caesar and Caesar 2. Frankly, I wasn’t impressed with either release; however both games had enough sales to warrant a third installment – Caesar 3. Is the third time the charm for this series? The answer is a resounding YES!

Overall, Caesar III is a welcome addition to the strategy genre, and an immersive city-management simulator.

Caesar III is een strategische bouwsim van keizerlijk formaat en duidelijk een stap verder dan zijn voorganger. De vroege versie van deze uitgebreide game smaakt zeker naar meer en ik kan niet wachten om mijn eigen Rome vol pompeuze gebouwen, cultuur en beschaving te creëren. Mogen de Goden gunstig op dit spel neerstralen.

All in all, C3 is a marvelous city-building game in the grand SimCity tradition, albeit with a vastly different flavor. If you're judging by Caesar 2, C3 is a major improvement. The beginning and mid-game are outstanding. The flaws in the end game, while not inconsequential, won't prevent the diamond from sparkling through. C3 is a very enjoyable, sometimes captivating, experience.

Impression Software's Caesar III is the latest installment of sequels that have basically spent the last few years refining and perfecting the same idea. As the supreme commander of a Roman city, the task set before you is to expand your city, keep your population happy, and protect it from any invaders who might be impressed with the work you're doing. Although the first two games had their share of problems, it seems like Impressions finally managed to implement everything that they wanted to do in this third installment. Let's take a look at why.

Давно я не играл с таким удовольствием. Мало того, в моем персональном рейтинге среди стратегических игр Caesar III занимает первую строчку. А это что-нибудь, да значит: меня удивить непросто.

Grafika w Caesarze nie imponuje żadnymi "wodotryskami". Jest to po porostu solidnie zrobiona i przyjemna dla oka robota. Jeżeli natomiast chodzi o dźwiękową stronę gry to stoi ona na bardzo wysokim poziomie. Odgłosy trąb, czy miarowe kroki twoich legionów lub dialogi mieszkańców bardzo mile "łechcą" nasze ucho. Wszystko to sprawia, że Caesar 3 jest grą dobrą, a w porywach bardzo dobrą. Każdy fan starożytnej kultury oraz młodzi ekonomi powinni spróbować swoich sił w roli starożytnego władcy.

Drei Dinge nerven mich allerdings: Warum fehlen Zoomstufen? Weshalb muß ich umständlich das Gelände planieren, bevor ich ein Bauwerk draufstellen darf? Und wieso sind meine Truppen so unbequem zu dirigieren? Diese Mankos stehen leider im krassen Gegensatz zu den vorbildlichen Baumenüs und Übersichten. Wer damit leben kann, bekommt ein fesselndes Spiel geboten, das jedes Sim City in den Schatten stellt.

Die immerhin hübsche Grafik ist technisch nicht immer auf dem neusten Stand, die Kämpfe hätte man liebevoller gesalten können und die Warenverteilung etwas einleuchtender. Doch all dies tritt zurück hinter dem Eindruck eines ansonsten rundum gelungenen Spiels. Nicht oft gab es zuvor eine derart stimmige Kombination von Komplexität und spielerischem Vergnügen - und noch nie hat es so viel Spaß gemacht, ein Römer zu sein

Het spel heeft toch wel twee ernstige nadelen: het is veel te moeilijk; voordat je een stad hebt die winst maakt, ben je al een weekje verder en C3 lijkt nog teveel op C2. Niet echt iets voor beginners, maar fans van dit soort spellen moeten dit beslist eens gespeeld hebben.

Overall, Caesar III requires you to think allot. It teaches you how to build, thrive, survive, and please the emperor. Every element combined gives Caesar III a Sim City of Rome Feel. Although the game is fairly hard, it is fun to play. The greatest enjoyment comes from witnessing a fully evolved Roman City. It almost brings a tear to my eye.

It's hard to describe the true breadth of this game. It tends to suck you in, and before you know it, it's 3 AM and your fiancé wants to know when you're coming to bed. Oh, wait---that's just me---your findings may vary. There is something so satisfying about holding the fate of thousands of virtual citizens in my tyrannical hands. Caesar III allows the strategy/sim player to concentrate on the simulation itself. Forget about distracting events going on in the outside world. This game lets you concentrate on building, and that's really what it's all about in the first place. The graphics and sound are top-notch, and the interface is fairly intuitive and easy to navigate.

Caesar III er et voldsomt udfordrende spil, hvor et utal af beslutninger og vurderinger skal foretages undervejs. Det indeholder egentligt ikke noget nyt i forhold til genren - men hvad gør det, når det er så lækkert designet, og gameplayet er så fængslende?

Having played Caesar II (C2) to the point that it was no longer a challenge, I couldn't wait to get my hands on Caesar III (C3). The third installment has not been a disappointment! (The first, which I have not yet played, is actually available for free from Impressions' site at http://www.caesar3.com/.) C3 is an all-round improvement on C2: better graphics, easier city and empire management, much better battle control, and it's also a stronger challenge.

Combat aside, Caesar III is a very good game. The early levels are especially fun, as the problems don't become apparent until later. Giving you more control in certain areas and less control in others would marginally improve things, but Caesar III manages to keep the positives well ahead of the negatives.

Bref comme souvent dans les bons jeux de gestion, lorsqu'on joue à Caesar on ne voit pas le temps passer. Personnellement j'y ai même joué toute une après-midi sans réussir à m'en décoller, tant Caesar 3 est réussi. Si on veut lui chercher des défauts, peut-etre que l'interface pourrait être améliorée, mais elle reste tout à fait utilisable, et tout le reste la fait vite oublier. Un jeu à ne pas rater pour les amateurs de gestion !

Caesar III is one of the oddest gaming experiences I have ever had. I cannot remember when a game's demo interested me more than the actual game. I played and finished the demo of the game when it came out, and was rather keen on playing the full version. The full version was, however, a bit of a disappointment. That's not to say that Caesar III is a bad game-far from it-it just seems to be missing that special something that makes it an awesome piece of entertainment software.