This was one of the first games I purchased for myself, and it was money well spent. At its core, Caesar III is a city builder. You begin by creating the most housing plots for people to move to, and then you provide water, and a farm to grow some food, and before you know it you have a sprawling city with wealthy citizens demanding three kinds of food and imported wines! The genius of the game is how your city comes alive as you expand. You'll see your citizens walk through the streets as they go about their job. Click on them, and they'll tell you how their doing. And these people aren't just decoration either. If you build a prefecture, to keep an eye on fire hazards and crime, it doesn't provide an automatic effect around. Instead, it will produce a prefect who walks the streets. Buildings he walks past are safe from fire. If his route doesn't take him past a particular building, watch out! Unfortunately, these walkers are the games biggest weakness. They are governed entirely by the computer, and controlling them through how you build your roads can be difficult, and often results in unusual cities. (It's tempting to put everything on one long street!) But the walkers are governed by rules, and as you get to know them the possibilities for your cities open up. When you have a thriving metropolis, bustling with people going about their business, it's very rewarding. Caesar III offers plenty of variety. As you progress through the campaign, you get a choice of military or peaceful missions to complete. Reading other reviews, it seems to peaceful missions are more popular, but it's worth trying them both. With a bit of defensive planning, fighting invaders isn't too difficult, and the requirements for your city are easier to achieve. The graphics hold up surprisingly well, with enough detail to be clear. Combined with the sounds and music, it's easy to get lost in the fantasy of being a Roman governor. This is a marvelous game, well worth the money.
