User Reviews (1 - 11 of 44)

Show these reviews first:

Highest Rated
Lowest Rated Newest
Oldest Most Helpful
Least Helpful

It's A Pretty Decent Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 54 / 55
Date: September 12, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I want to start this review with a disclaimer: I don't know a lot about game programming, so if you want a technical analysis of the game, this isn't the review for you. I do know that I like it though.

I would say that this game is on a par with Sierra's other city building games-Caesar III, Pharoah, Cleopatra, Zeus, and Poseidon-but with one new feature: you can play it online with your friends. If not for that feature, I probably would've only given this game 4 stars. The graphics are pretty cool but I've been having a hard time with the toolbar. The icons all look the same to me. The warehouse icon looks like a trading post icon that looks like a mill icon, etc. I suppose I'll get used to it. I remember not liking that about Zeus at first either, but that one eventually became my favorite.

The other interesting thing about this game (I say interesting because I'm not sure I like it yet) is that feng shui is very important to your people. In the other games, if you could place a building in a certain spot you got a green footprint, if you couldn't, you got a red footprint. In this game you get red, green, and YELLOW footprints. If you get a yellow footprint over the spot you want to place a building on, you can still put it there if you want, but it decreases your feng shui rating. And the less harmonious your feng shui, the less your people like you. So you really have to think a lot when you're building your city.

I'm not sure that this game is Sierra's best city building game yet, but it's still fun to play and I would recommend buying it. I would also recommend getting Acropolis, which is Zeus and it's expansion pack Poseidon in the same package.

Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdon

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 6
Date: September 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have only played the demo which I downloaded and found it absolutely fascinating. I want the whole thing! It is nearly as much fun as Zeua, Pharaoh, Cleopatra and Posiden all in one! I love it!

Long Live the Emperor...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 3 / 5
Date: September 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

My first game of this series was Zeus, then I got Pharaoh and Cleopatra and then it came Poseidon for Zeus. If you liked them, you will enjoy this version set in ancient China. Graphics are better than Zeus and it comes with a mission editor. It's very addictive, can't wait for the expansion.

Good Game, May Get Better With Updates

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 28 / 29
Date: September 17, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I downloaded the demo of this game, and thoroughly enjoyed playing it, so I went out and bought the full version. Having played all the games in Sierra's city-building series, this one takes its style after Zeus/Posiedon and raises the bar a bit. The interface is easy and intuitive, so users familiar with the other games will recognize it immediately and total newcomers will quickly adapt.

My only complaint is that I found there was a conflict between this game and Pharaoh/Cleopatra from the Great Empires II collection. Emperor uninstalled Pharaoh/Cleo before it would install, and vice versa when I tried to reinstall Pharoah/Cleo. I checked Sierra's forum, and apparently they are working on this issue now and hopefully it will be fixed with an update.

The campaign editor works like the one in Zeus/Posiedon, but seems a bit buggy on my screen. (Maximizing it helped, but it still ran pretty slow.)

The online campaigns are what sets this game apart, and I was able to play online without any problems. I'd say this game is worth buying, just keep your eye out for updates from Sierra.

Great follow-up for Pharaoh and Zeus

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 12
Date: October 11, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom is a great follow up if you have been playing the city-builders series of Sierra/Impressions Games. I have been playing Pharaoh for sleepless months and when I acquired Emperor, I sure will miss sleeping... again.

Graphics have improved since Zeus and gameplay is a lot challenging. I recommend you buy this game along with Great Empires Collection 2. All games are excellent.

Can't wait to see the expansion.

Beautiful but Pedantic

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 5 / 12
Date: October 13, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I have been a long time fan of the Settler series of games where you build your city and economy to conquer the world and it is perhaps because of my fondness for Settlers that I have reservations about Emporer.
Coming from the Settlers series, I do not find the commands instinctive or easy to learn. There are far more necessary elements to make your city run smoothly and it can get a bit complicated. The tutorial is awful. It loads at the beginning of the tutorial campaign but to continue you must close it and unless you've read far enough into the text, it isn't obvious how to bring the tutorial instructions back up. While it attempts to try to break the necessary learning into managable chunks, the pictures provided on where you are suggested to put houses, mills, warehouses, etc. are small and frustratingly limited. The result is that when you move on to the next section of the tutorial you can find out that you have made some significant design errors in the previous section which will prevent you from easily completing the next section. As there are many sections to the tutorial, the problems can increase greatly as you progress.
The city designs are grid oriented, everything deals with a standard square. I personally prefer the more organic layout of the Settlers series than this enforced grid pattern but that is a matter of personal taste.
There are many beautiful elements to Emporer which is primarily the reason I haven't given up on it entirely. At New Years, if you have the necessary supplies, you can permit your people to have a celebration which is fun to watch! I really enjoyed watching the New Years' dragon parade around the city.
I'd suggest that you download the demo and give the game a try before deciding to purchase it. Some will find it wonderful, others may find it beautiful but pedantic.

Patience is the watchword

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: November 07, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Forget the critics. The demo is remarkable for its flexibility and its breadth. Sure, it takes a while to understand what all is going to happen, but that is part of the delight. Who wants to know everything at the start. The learning is the fun and you can easily repeat the process as many times as you wish -- each time becoming more competent.

The scenery is fantastic and the operational challenges presented to the "governor" are ten times more fun than Caesar III. You can become so engrossed in watching what's happening on the screen you can forget that your job is to govern and to watch the economic/political interply. Operationally, you get much more flexibility than Caesar III offered. Industries can come and go as times change without penalty.

I loved the demo and can't wait to get the full game!

I should qualify the 1-star

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 4 / 15
Date: November 10, 2002
Author: Amazon User

The demo version of the game is very good but be forewarned when buying the retail version: I and many other customers have had problems installing and/or playing this game! The Emperor website has a forum where users can share their experiences and many, including myself, have vented about our inability to run the game based on the minimum system requirements. Be warned: if you have the minimum system requirements for Emperor, that may still not be enough. I have more than adequate resources to run the game, but the intro movie is the only thing that will play, then my monitor goes blank and its lights all begin blinking. There do not appear to be any patches in development to address user concerns at this time. I am not the only user who has experienced this frustrating problem. I'm returning my copy of the game and will try something else.

Emperor is great, good fun!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 2 / 4
Date: December 14, 2002
Author: Amazon User

What could be better than creating and then controlling the world in a purely innocent way, and learning a good deal about ancient China at the same time? I am an avid adventure gamer and this sim/strategy game has captivated my attention since it was released. I find no other game all that interesting, though I have played a few during the interim. If you like the city-building series, you cannot miss this one.

Good game once you get it started

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 3 / 3
Date: December 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

This is a very good game. The graphics are suburb! This is one of the better simulation games that I have used. I really enjoyed the "Chinese" music and the paintings during the loading of the game. There is one minor problem with this software. After you have loaded the software and you try to play it, sometimes the "Autorun" or the "Emperor.exe" does not start running. It is really hit or miss trying to get this game to start running. Sometimes it starts whenever you click the icon or the start menu on the first try. Other times it acts like it starts but then shuts down. Once the game starts, it is excellent. I highly recommend this game. I am sure that Sierra is working on this problem. They have given us great customer support in the past.

Review Page: 1 2 3 4 5 Next 

Actions