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Populous™: The Beginning

in library

4.5/5

( 334 Reviews )

4.5

334 Reviews

English
5.995.99
Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
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Populous™: The Beginning
Description
Includes Populous the Beginning and the Undiscovered Worlds expansion. Shaman, the path is laid before you. Your destiny is to become a god! But it will not be easy. Not for you, and not for your followers. To become a deity, you must conquer all 25 planets of the system and defeat every other trib...
User reviews

4.5/5

( 334 Reviews )

4.5

334 Reviews

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Product details
1998, Bullfrog Productions, ...
System requirements
Windows 10, 1.8 GHz, 2 GB RAM, 3D graphics card compatible with DirectX 9.0c, 2 GB HDD...
Time to beat
23.5 hMain
30 h Main + Sides
32.5 h Completionist
26.5 h All Styles
Description
Includes Populous the Beginning and the Undiscovered Worlds expansion.

Shaman, the path is laid before you. Your destiny is to become a god! But it will not be easy. Not for you, and not for your followers. To become a deity, you must conquer all 25 planets of the system and defeat every other tribe and their shamans. The ultimate struggle will be a difficult one, as you build mystical cities, unleash devastating spells, harness volcanoes and tornadoes, and shape the face of the planet at your will. Remember, your apotheosis awaits!

In the third part of the Populous series, you control your shaman and the tribe of her followers in a difficult quest to conquer all 25 planets of a star system and ascend to godhood. For the first time in the series, the world is presented in true 3d, which at the time amazed both the players and the gaming press.The level of control you exert over your followers also takes you to a new level: you can order individuals or groups to perform certain tasks like gathering resources, constructing buildings, or attacking your enemies.

Populous: The Beginning takes a slightly different approach from the previous installments of the series but this is not, by any means, a bad thing as it kept the series fresh and innovative. It was a bold move for Bullfrog but the proof exists in the fact that, after all these years Populous 3 is still a great strategy god-game.

© 1998, 2012 Electronic Arts Inc.

Goodies
manual reference card
System requirements
Minimum system requirements:

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY

ACCEPTANCE OF END USER LICENSE AGREEMENT REQUIRED TO PLAY

Why buy on GOG.COM?
DRM FREE. No activation or online connection required to play.
Safety and satisfaction. Stellar support 24/7 and full refunds up to 30 days.
Time to beat
23.5 hMain
30 h Main + Sides
32.5 h Completionist
26.5 h All Styles
Game details
Works on:
Windows (10, 11)
Release date:
{{'1998-11-30T00:00:00+02:00' | date: 'longDate' : ' +0200 ' }}
Size:
394 MB

Game features

Languages
English
audio
text
GOG Preservation Program
We make games live forever! Since 2008 we enhance good old games ourselves, to guarantee convenience and compatibility with modern systems. Even if the original developers of the game do not support it anymore.
  1. This game will work on current and future most popular Windows PC configurations. DRM-free.
  2. This is the best version of this game you can buy on any PC platform.
  3. We are the only platform to provide tech support for the games we sell. If some issues with the game appear, our Tech Support will help you solve them.
What improvements we made to this game:
Update (13 November 2024)
  • Updated DXWrapper to the latest version, ensuring smoother performance and compatibility
  • Validated stability
  • Verified compatibility with Windows 10 and 11
  • Added Cloud Saves support
Internal Hotfix (06 July 2021)
  • Rolled back accidental wrapper downgrade
I Internal Hotfix (02 July 2021)
  • Fixed possible DEP-related crashes
Internal Hotfix (16 July 2019)
  • Fixed a typo in registry keys that could cause problems pre-Win10
Update (15 July 2019)
  • Added Windows 10 compatibility to the game
Buy series (3)
Buy all games in the series. If you already own a game from the series, it won’t be added to your cart.
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User reviews

Posted on: November 15, 2014

SamothIo

Verified owner

Games: 251 Reviews: 1

Excellent game (with a compat. issues)

The game, perfect. It may take a while to install and solve some issues though (more on that a few lines below). If you have played Simcity, you might enjoy playing a RTS that has some of the destructive spells that Simcity has (volcanoes, for example); they're obviously not that OP (overpowered), but you get a game with simple mechanics for an RTS, an interesting layout (the 360º world) and that unique touch that resembles Age Of Mythology (which came long after this game), having a unit which can change the terrain layout and destroy buildings from distance. You may find the AI a little odd, being it mostly scripted, but you will enjoy multiplayer (I didn't test it, but I assume it works). But on other important matters, you're gonna have a bad time looking for fixes to run this game in modern operative systems if you don't know how/where to look. If you do come across the right guides (hint: there are a few patches and you must mess/undo some compatibility options in proprieties) it will be very rewarding. I don't quite remember what I did to make it work (could have been downloading a .dll and a patch or two). I do remember unchecking the compatibility options that are default in this gog pack and adding -allres to the end of my shortcut (and checking "run as admin", which is a must do for most programs with issues) This version comes with the expansion "Undiscovered Worlds", and for hardcore players I recommend playing the "Age Of Conquer" fan expansion (it may mess your install, tho; play it after you've finished the game and it's expansion). Sorry for bad english, I'm argentina.


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Posted on: April 18, 2012

Keymonk

Verified owner

Games: 176 Reviews: 2

Great, great game

This is probably one of my favourite games ever. The atmosphere, the brilliantly simple setting and the music... everything about this game was excellent. The gameplay was amazing, molding the earth to suit your plans, converting your enemies and the wildmen. Even as a small child, I knew this game was something special, even when I didn't understand how to play it properly or what was going on - even then I could tell it was a fantastic piece of art immediately.


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Posted on: May 18, 2012

ejdallas44

Verified owner

Games: 136 Reviews: 3

Such a fun game

Loved playing this on multi-player LAN competitively with my brother when I was younger.


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Posted on: December 18, 2021

anemanja

Verified owner

Games: 133 Reviews: 7

One of the best RTS ever

Only handful of units, buildings and magic. And possibilities to play (almost) all levels are limited only with the player imagination.


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