If you're a fan of the old Impression Games city builders (Caesar 3, Pharaoh, Zeus and Emperor), then this game will be right up your alley. The developers have managed to keep the old-school feel of the gameplay while also modernising its more tedious elements. - The puzzle aspect is still there in all its glory - The walker system has been given much more control (finally) - The UI is easy to use, low foot-print and very intuitive The game also looks and sounds great: - The buildings making up your city are very detailed, colourful and distinct - The environments have a green, tan and brown colour pallet that you will be happy to build over - The OST is thematic without feeling too repetitive after listening to it over and over again I have a few caveats that I hope will be addressed soon: 1) The game is not challenging enough * You don't have to manage problems like fires, crimes, war, and the wrath of the gods * It's impossible to enter a fail-state, you can only block yourself from winning * Land fertility doesn't really seem to matter as you can just use irrigation to paint the entire map green 2) Your cities can feel a little bit sterile: * Not enough ambient sounds to make your city feel more alive * They did not implement character banter, you cannot talk to your citizens to hear their opinions about the city or the current situation 3) It could do with more content: * There is only one campaign composed of 16 levels, 5-6 of which are tutorials * No random map generator / open-ended play * No scenarios / missions Despite my concerns, this game is absolutely worth it for the asking price. For the amount of quality content that is available at launch, the price asked by the developers is very generous. I'm certain that most (if not all) of the caveats I have mentioned will be addressed post-launch, either with updates or DLC/Expansions. I can't wait to play more of it :)
