Zeus: Master of Olympus

The Good
The graphics were very good, and being able to rotate the world view came in handy. The tutorials are excellent, each one building upon the last. The gameplay is reasonably open-ended (for those who enjoy combat, there are plenty of other cities to conquer. For those that prefer diplomacy, you can bribe and sweet talk your way into friendly relationships with other cities; even fighting is optional, as you can simply bribe enemy armies to leave you in peace). The people's voiced opinions of you can be quite entertaining. Building the temples (gathering the marble, bronze, sculpture etc) is good The game tells you in advance how hard or easy certain adventures are Adventures can take a long time to complete, giving far more time to enjoy the game You can reschedule labor if you're short on people but need certain industries well-staffed (Example: tell everyone to work on the farms producing food, then tell them to get to the granaries and unload that food and get it sent around to the houses). The monuments you get for different things (conquering, winning the Olympic games etc) are good

The Bad
When you conquer a city, it pays you an annual tribute. It would have been much better if you could have selected the kind of tribute you wanted (I often end up having extra fleece or olives dumped on me when I've got too much as it is!)

The Bottom Line
Although not normally a fan of city building games, I was surprised at how much I loved this one. Simple, easy, open-ended enough (Sandbox mode is available right from the start) and even a little bit educational. If you like city building games, you'll love this one. If you don't, try it anyway; you may be as surprised as I was.