Caesar II

Nice to play if you know what you are doing

I always turn back to this game no matter how many years pass

Part city builder, part strategy game, and a little bit of problem-solving built in, Caesar II is a true classic.

This game was my introduction to the city-building genre, and it also helped in developing my interest in classical antiquity. Fast forward decades later, and this game is still fun to play, but there are some irritating factors that one should know about before diving in. Pros: + Province management is hands down the best feature in this game, as you are allowed to place your roads, walls, and cohort forts as you see fit. You also have to pay attention to barbarian villages, as they can rise up and send armies to burn down your infrastructure and sack your city. You have to carefully study the province map to plan out your attack and defense strategies. You also need to think about which new province to govern, as a province that has multiple Romanized neighbors means fewer hostile borders. + The Emperor himself is an interesting element in this game, as he's extremely irritable and demands much. You can pay bribes to appease him, but that can potentially backfire as well if you're not careful. + You pay yourself a salary, and you can take the profits to future missions. Cons: - Battles are extremely cumbersome. Imagine a very primitive Total War with 1995 graphics. I recommend auto-calculating. - City building gets repetitive once you figure it out. - There are some annoying bugs that limit your city design strategies, such as service buildings no longer dispatching workers, businesses nosediving in profit, and towns and trade posts suddenly claiming that they don't have road access. I suspect the game has hidden limits, as these problems don't appear until you hit about 14-15k in population. Not a big deal in the main campaign, but once you're Emperor and aspire for the "Ultimate Challenge", these bugs become a major nuisance. Overall, this is worth playing if you're a fan of Roman history. I hope this game gets a remake, as a game that combines Caesar II's provincial mode with Caesar III's city-building experience would be amazing.

great city builder and provincial campaign mode makes building Rome fun.