Pharaoh (computer game)
| Pharaoh | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Studio | Impressions Games | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
November 1999 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Building strategy game | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Mouse & keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Pentium 133 MHz, 32 MB RAM, quad-speed CD-ROM drive, 300 MB free hard disk space | ||
| medium | CD-ROM , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
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| Queen of the Nile: Cleopatra | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Original title | Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile | ||
| Studio | BreakAway Games | ||
| Publisher | Sierra Entertainment | ||
| Erstveröffent- lichung |
2000 | ||
| platform | Windows | ||
| genre | Building strategy game | ||
| Game mode | Single player | ||
| control | Mouse & keyboard | ||
| system advantages preconditions |
Pentium 133 MHz, 32 MB RAM, quad-speed CD-ROM drive, 170 MB free hard disk space | ||
| medium | CD-ROM , download | ||
| language | German | ||
| Age rating |
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Pharaoh is a building game released in November 1999 by Sierra Entertainment . The gameplay is similar to that of the previous Caesar series. From the isometric perspective , the player controls the construction of a settlement. The game is set in ancient Egypt .
Game setup
The game develops within a detailed campaign, in which missions are strung together in terms of difficulty. The missions are linked by a coherent story. At the beginning a collection of simple huts with a cistern is enough. Later, the city becomes more complex as the tasks become more demanding. The growing population needs agriculture for food supply as well as religious and cultural institutions. Occasionally one can choose between two different scenarios during the campaign, mostly between a military scenario and one for building monuments. While you only pay a small amount of money once for most buildings, you have to train workers in various professions (simple workers, carpenters, masons, stonemasons and painters) and the supply of building materials (wood, paint, adobe bricks, various Types of rock).
People in the city
Numerous people move through the city; these are divided into city dwellers with a goal and those without a goal. City dwellers with a destination, for example, are workers on their way to a plantation. Most city dwellers on the street, however, have no destination, but move around the city at random from their place of work. In doing so, they fulfill their duty on their way, for example architects check the fabric of the city buildings and tax collectors collect taxes from residential buildings. Since these routes cannot be actively controlled, skillful planning of the buildings and the road network is essential for the city to function.
Manpower
Every production and service building requires a certain number of workers. After construction, a recruiter moves through the city in order to have access to the city's labor supply when passing inhabited buildings. However, the search radius is limited. If there are no workers in the catchment area of a company, the company is idle. The availability of labor is also checked regularly. The importance of the various trades (military, security, trade, goods production, entertainment) can be specified in a submenu. Any lack of workers will then be withdrawn from the least important companies.
trade
In order to trade with other cities, trade routes must be established. The opening of a trade route requires a one-time payment of a fee, but trade routes can also be interrupted due to the specified events of a scenario. After a trade route has been established, caravans or ships of the trading partner regularly arrive in the city. Each twin city buys and sells only a few types of goods and only a maximum amount per game year. When dealers arrive cannot be controlled. The trading volume cannot be controlled directly either; it is only possible to define up to which maximum storage quantity is purchased and the minimum storage quantity is sold.
war
Warfare plays a subordinate role overall, even if individual scenarios include numerous warlike activities. It is not possible to start wars yourself. In some scenarios, the city is threatened by external enemies and attacked by invading forces. These battles are fought on the playing card. Allies can also request support, in which case troops can be dispatched from the city. In this case, the war goes on without the player knowing, you are only informed of the result of the battle after a while and you get the surviving troops back.
religion
The gods play an important role in the successful development of the city. Depending on the scenario, one to five of the deities Osiris , Ra , Ptah , Seth and Bastet are worshiped in the city. These can be satisfied by the establishment of numerous places of worship and the organization of festivals. Every very dissatisfied or very satisfied deity regularly intervenes in the city according to its meaning implemented in the game. For example, Osiris, the god of the Nile, can trigger destructive floods when dissatisfied, but improve the fertility of farms when satisfied.
Population development
So that people can move into the city, building sites must be created for residential buildings. Immigrants can build new huts in these areas and expand them over time. The unemployment rate, the tax rate, the wage level and the reputation of the city in Egypt affect whether people immigrate or leave the city. How the residential buildings develop then depends on the satisfaction of numerous needs.
- needs
For the simplest huts no needs have to be met. However, the more needs of the residents are met, the higher a house rises. This increases the number of residents per house and also the tax revenue per resident. At a certain level, the residents become scribes. These are no longer available as workers, but pay significantly more taxes than workers. The ascent of the apartment takes place automatically and without material costs as soon as the needs are met. However, residential buildings also decline very quickly as soon as a need is no longer met. People have needs for goods such as food and dishes and immaterial needs such as regular access to religion or education. All needs are met by service providers. The supply of goods is also organized by bazaar traders, provided the necessary goods are available in the city's warehouses. All service providers belong to the city dwellers without a destination, so they move randomly through the city from their office. But also the attractiveness of the area is of growing importance for the development of apartments. Since, for example, access to an embalming house is required from a certain level, but this reduces the attractiveness in the immediate vicinity, the development up to the most luxurious properties becomes an increasingly complex planning of buildings and streets.
reception
The game received mostly good to very good ratings (based on 26 collected ratings at MobyGames ).
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GameStar writes, "Compared to Caesar 3, the streets are much livelier, but the inconspicuous Pharaoh graphics are still more like the dry Sim City 3000 than a bustling settler 3." Compared to Caesar 3, the complexity is also due to the construction of monuments still increased. That is why the game is particularly recommended for "building game fans who don't mind the boring look and the very complex missions".
PC Games compares Pharao with a new chocolate bar, it offers “Modern design, 20% more taste, but otherwise everything as usual.” And “Not only graphics, controls and menus are 1: 1 taken over from Caesar 3, but also many buildings as well Most of the sound files. "But there are also interesting innovations such as the construction of monuments, and the battle mode is much more demanding than in the previous Impressions title Caesar 3. That is not all spectacular," but Pharaoh provides entertaining urban planning in front of a historically accurate backdrop always. "
Gamespot's Ron Dulin also judges that Pharaoh is bringing Caesar 3 to Egypt and adds some welcome features. “However, Pharaoh is neither a successor nor an extension of Caesar III; Although many game mechanics are identical, the strategy is noticeably different so that Pharaoh fits his setting. ”In the campaign, functions and options are being introduced gradually, this keeps it interesting and“ the end result is a game with a lot of longevity. ”See the game pretty much like Caesar 3 in Egypt, "but the monuments also bring some visual stimulation." In many ways the game is not too different from its predecessor, but the new elements make it much more satisfying. Overall, the author concludes, "Pharaoh is cozy, but addicting, and immensely complex, but incredibly easy to play."
IGN's Trent C. Ward thinks Pharaoh is filled to the brim with "addicting game mechanics, lush and beautiful graphics, and tremendous depth." The combination of entertainment and historical accuracy constantly amazed him. And the mixture of "addicting game mechanics and excellent mission design" captivated him like seldom anything during his activity as a game reviewer. Overall, Pharaoh is "" A fantastic example of the genre.
Eurogamer judges, "Pharaoh is a deep, engaging, good-looking (more or less) historically accurate, educational, entertaining and downright addicting game." But due to the terribly poorly functioning movement system of the city dwellers, it is only recommended to the most loyal followers of the genre. Having no control over the movement of residents is "frustrating at best". That means, "Pharaoh will take over your life, and then frustration will make you foam with anger and tear your hair as soon as something goes wrong ..." Anyone who can deal with these problems should buy the game immediately, everyone else by no means.
In 2018, Pharao was voted fourth among the best building games of all time by the editors of the game magazine GameStar .
particularities
In the course of the campaign, tombs including powerful masts and pyramids must be built. The construction process is shown in stages, with workers laying the foundation and then building the pyramid row by row from two different types of stone. This gives the player a for Tycoon unusually realistic impression of the construction of the pyramid.
At the same time, the player can also experience some basic features of Egyptian history, although historical authenticity cannot really be mentioned here.
The game is accompanied by a manual of over 200 pages which, in addition to the game mechanisms, also goes into detail on Egyptian history .
Queen of the Nile: Cleopatra (Add-on)
In October 2000, Queen of the Nile: Cleopatra was an add-on for Pharaoh . It included four new campaigns with a total of 15 new missions. The new campaigns follow on from the main game and include scenarios from the New Kingdom , for example Valley of the Kings and Ramses II , to the Hellenistic period with Alexander the Great and Cleopatra VII. Numerous new monuments such as rock tombs or the lighthouse of Alexandria can also be used be erected. In some cases, new materials are introduced for their construction, such as marble or paint, as well as production chains for their manufacture. In contrast to the missions in the original game, some of the new missions have a time limit within which the objectives must be achieved. In addition, plagues can now occur, for example swarms of locusts that destroy the harvest.
reception
The expansion tended to receive slightly lower ratings than the main game (based on 20 ratings on MobyGames).
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Many reviewers agree that the expansion brings a lot of new material without fundamentally changing the principle of the game. Even the much higher level of difficulty would not change that. In addition, the expansion would not fix some of the weaknesses typical of the main game.
The GameStar concludes: “Cleopatra goes one better with the already most complex building game”, especially with regard to the level of difficulty. Only the "feeble-minded" without Pharaoh-solved - no Cleopatra campaign "hook" is really annoying.
Also PC Games thinks no one "is seriously expect a completely new game experience of Cleopatra." All the more is the ideal extension Mission fodder for since Caesar 3 savvy urban planners. Because “The orders are very difficult and the time-consuming and resource-consuming monuments present even experienced players with challenging economic and logistical problems." -Mode."
IGN's Trent C. Ward also says he enjoyed his time doing the enlargement. But if he had to "describe it in one word, that word would be difficult". But anyone who “sauntered through the first game” could appreciate the challenge. And although there are numerous innovations, some things have disappointingly not changed at all. In contrast to the “loving textbook of the original”, there is no manual at all, the soundtrack is the same, and with the exception of the new monuments, “it looks pretty much the same as the first time”.
Ron Dulin from Gamespot thinks that the developer has not only added a few little things, but "more of about everything". This makes Pharaoh a “more complex and interesting game without disturbing the fine balance of the original” and “everyone who loved or at least liked the original will be completely satisfied with this weighty addition.” However, the less important problems of Pharaoh has not been resolved. The expansion begins at the same level of difficulty as the previous one and quickly becomes much more difficult. Still, "Most of the new challenges in Cleopatra are welcome and serve not only to expand the game, but also to improve it." However, an "endemic problem with Pharaoh (and the Caesar games before)" is the random one Movement of most citizens through the city, still not resolved. But overall you get everything you could expect from an extension, "Cleopatra is more difficult and complex than Pharaoh, but it is also new and fresh."
Web links
Pharaoh at MobyGames (English)
Individual evidence
- ↑ a b c d e Pharaoh Reviews at MobyGames. Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).
- ^ A b Trent C. Ward: Test of Pharaoh. In: IGN . Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Ron Dulin: Gamespot test by Pharao. Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Eurogamer test by Pharaoh. Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ Maurice Weber: The 10 best building games of all time - built to last. Retrieved January 24, 2020 .
- ↑ a b c d e Cleopatra Reviews at MobyGames. Retrieved January 23, 2020 .
- ^ A b Trent C. Ward: Test of Pharaoh: Cleopatra. In: IGN . Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).
- ↑ a b Ron Dulin: Gamespot test by Pharao. Retrieved January 23, 2020 (English).