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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.
Safety and satisfaction. Stellar support 24/7 and full refunds up to 30 days.
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: April 24, 2012

nopaint

Games: 115 Reviews: 1

One Heaven of a Game

This is my first review ever. I never reviewed anything else, for anyone else. That said, you can easily guess that, if I'm writing this, it must mean something. Oh and it means. I bought my first computer in 1998 (fantastic overpowered PII 350mhz), and the only contact I had with games so far was in my Sega Megadrive. However, my cousins had an IBM computer for years, and a Spectrum which I discovered later, and my contact with a computer was very very brief and crude. Well, I was just a kid, and computers were something I always loved. So, when I first experienced Populous: The Beginning, it was a fantastic and brave new world: -It was a strategy game. I never had played a strategy game before. -The interface was very nice and easy. Seriously, not too many buttons, not intrusive, easy to work with. The game controlled like anything else I had experienced so far. -The maps are always a sphere, which changes completly the relation you have with the map, and it really gives the feeling of being a god (a commander can't rotate a world to look at whats happening at something 3000000000 km can he?) - The graphics... oh... those are top notch. Fantastic textures that still look good, and funny, cute animated sprites for characters, make a unique blend. -You have LOTS of powers at your disposal: how fun can it be to whipe an entire village with a tornado just because you feel like it?... And that's not the only thing you can do. -The difficulty scales in a fantastic way through the campaign, never being too easy nor too hard on you, which leads to some epic satisfaction after beating a level. Oh... I hope I said everything. I wasn't counting on this to be so long... well, buy it. Really. GOG deserves it, and you will be hooked up for a long time with this title!


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Posted on: February 9, 2013

branzyme

Verified owner

Games: 8 Reviews: 1

Easy to get into

This and Roller Coaster Tycoon were among the first real PC games I played. I had an amazing time playing this game as a child, and it still surprisingly holds up very well to this day.


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Posted on: December 25, 2013

vladikus

Games: 288 Reviews: 2

The Best Game I've Ever Played

I wish Bullfrog was still around because they consistently made the most enjoyable and creative games I've played in my life. I haven't bought the GOG version of Populous: TB because I still have the CD, but this is a must have for anyone who loves god-sim games, terraforming, and strategy that does admittedly involve some race to hit hotkeys to start building, but also a well placed spell at the right time. The core game has some pretty challenging scenarios, but once you beat the game, you have to really challenge yourself with the Populous: Age of Chaos mod (Google it for download). Absolutely great game, highly recommended.


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Posted on: July 5, 2014

EnderScrolls

Verified owner

Games: 42 Reviews: 1

Bril!

This game is amazing! I played it on ps1 and have made it so far and then i found it on gog and dungeon keeper as well, but it seems to not want to work even though dungeon keeper worked and it had the same requirements. this is still brilliant and i am hoping this works on another pc or laptop.


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Posted on: February 14, 2014

dannydlm

Games: 31 Reviews: 1

Since i was a kid

i've been playing this game for what seems an age xD, it was the game that introduced me to gaming, the game that without a doubt has had the most influence on my life, and too this day i still hop on the mess around in the infamous last World, to lay waste to my enemys. if you like God-sims this is definitely the game for you, but take your time with it, explore the game and dont use cheats if you get stuck on World 15 ;)


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