...without being overwhelming. I've been gaming since I was three. I love this game more than any I've played before or since. I learned this game when it came out--I was ten. I've played it on and off ever since, then my laptop died and I got a PS4 and played other things for a while. I picked it back up a couple years ago, at over thirty, and I'm still occasionaly learning new things about it. There are three entire anthropological eras to play in; the potential timeline spans a millenium, each with more advanced crafts and resources and relgions available, allowing for a lot of restriction or flexibility as desired. The level of micromanagement hits a sweet spot, especially compared to the rest of the Impressions games, as the most modern one (outside of Caesar sequels and the Pharaoh remake). I like having total control over trade in a way some of the others don't, the graphics are intricate and much less dated, the soundtrack changed me as a person. The educational aspects are awesome. The feng shui system is an absolute marvel, and you learn it by feel. The info overlays are easy to parse. Its a well-rounded, well-balanced city building simulation. If I had a criticism, it's that the scenario chapters have to be played from the beginning (instead of "let me start at mission level 3"), but even then it's because unlike any other game I've played the cities carry through between chapters, even when you build new ones, instead of the game handing you their idea of how it should have been done last time and undoing all your work. (It also forces you to think forward, instead of scrambling to force together the winstate just to clear it.) TL;DR a stunningly balanced city building experience with an underrepresented cultural flair. The music has been the backgound soundtrack to my brain for over 20 years.
