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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.

A worthy successor

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 32 / 32
Date: May 05, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Contrary to what some other reviewers have claimed, Emperor is not the same game as Caesar 3, Pharaoh, and Zeus. Having played all of these games extensively, there are differences both subtle and overt between all four of these games, and none of them is an exact clone of any of the others.

Yes, the foundation for all four games is the same, and knowing how to play one of these games will get you 75% of the way along to learning how to play any of the others. But there's still that 25% that makes each game its own beastie.

Caesar 3 was the first of these games (Caesar and Caesar 2 are sufficiently different that knowing how to play them confers no insight whatsoever in how to play any of the rest of the games), and Pharaoh was a refinement and evolution of C3's gameplay. It wasn't a revolutionary change, but several extra layers of complexity were added, making it much more challenging than C3.

Zeus came along and did a dramatic revamp of the basic game engine. Several elements which were standard in C3 and Pharaoh were either gone or drastically changed in Zeus. In addition, Zeus added features that hadn't been seen in either of the previous games, such as the episode format, adventuring heroes, and the ability to conquer distant cities.

Emperor is seen as a refinement and evolution of what we saw in Zeus, in much the same way that Pharaoh is seen as a refinement and an evolution of what we saw in C3. It is a more complex game than Zeus, in much the same way that Pharoah was a more complex game than C3.

For example, Emperor has a completely new and different way to provide food to your citizens. And it's pretty challenging, too. Gone are the granaries. In their place are mills, which have the same capacity for food (32 units) but which churn out higher (or lower) quality food depending on how many (or how few) different types of food are in its storehouses. The highest level of housing requires the highest quality food -- which requires you to balance 5 different food types in one 32-slot Mill.

Farming is handled in a different way as well, with variable field sizes now allowed, and with the ability to mix crops.

For added complexity, your buildings (and your city) have Feng Shui ratings. If the Feng Shui goes too low, Bad Things(tm) happen. Many die-hard City Building fans have taken this as a challenge, and work to produce only cities which have Feng Shui in "Perfect Harmony." (Me, I just settle for "Auspicious," which is pretty easy to achieve.)

Residential walls have been added, which are different from city walls in that they don't offer protection from enemies, but they do block out low desirability. And the gates for these walls can be configured to allow some walkers to go through them while other walkers treat it as a roadblock. Thus giving you more fine-tuned control over your residential and industrial areas.

All in all, this game is a worthy successor to the City Building series, and any fan of the original series will get much enjoyment out of this game.

"Emperor RotMK" is one of the best games I have ever played.

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: June 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

One day in Wal-Mart I noticed a bin of old computer games for $4.88 each. Looking through it, I saw this game. Having already been familiar with "Zeus: Master of Olympus", one of the game's forbearers, and a fan of this game, I decided to buy it. After all, what did I risk?

I'm here to tell you that I still, months after purchasing it, get great enjoyment out of this game. Whether you want to complete the requirements for a scenario or plow your own course; conquer every city in the Middle Kingdom or set up a trading empire second to none; this is the game for you. It helps if you also like Chinese culture, because you're about to be emersed in it. From Nu Wa being the creator goddess to Xia being the name of first dynasty, you'll learn quite a lot.

In short, this game is worth $4.88. It's worth its original $19.99. In fact, it's worth much more. At $17.88, it's a steal.

nothing beats it for intricacy, interest, intrigue...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 9
Date: July 13, 2005
Author: Amazon User

First, you can't buy this game from the manufacturer anymore but you CAN buy it "used or new" from Amazon online, so it is still a game in play. There are plenty of hint and help sites live and online, as well as online hosted multiplayer games ('though I only play it standalone).

Second, it is the MOST advanced of the fixed-view city building games that started with SimCity, advanced through Caesar, Pharaoh/Cleopatra, and Zeus/Poseidon.

Third, I love the game so much I've worked through all the campaigns at "easy" and have started back through them all at "very hard". I have read books on Chinese history and art because of the interest aroused in me by the different campaign chapter visuals and narratives.

Nothing since has yet come close to Emperor for economic intricacy, interest, and intrigue. NOTE: The first attempt in the MULTI-view city building genre (i.e., zoom out, zoom in, rotate, spin) is Children of the Nile (see separate review) IS outstanding for adding stunning visuals and different challenges, but does not yet offer quite the ARRAY of intricacies in Emperor Rise of the Middle Kingdom. But I'm waiting!

That's the summary. Some of the things I like about Emperor follow.

1. Highest control of "walkers". In the earlier games like Caesar you could go bonkers distributing food etc. to your residents because of the random nature of the characters distributing the food. In Emperor, you have roadblocks AND gates. You can get quite elegant in your layouts and be satisfied in having them WORK.

2. Intensely interesting historical background. Each campaign is a different Chinese era. In the beginning your food types, metal types, etc. are limited. Then your society technology and culture become increasingly sophisticated with the replacement of copper by iron, wood by paper, bronzeware by lacquerware, etc. Chinese history was complex with the evolution of four major types of spiritual / religious regard, and this is also reflected in the game.

3. In the "Qin" campaign it is SO COOL that you get to build the Terracotta Army monument and tomb of the first Qin emperor. There are monuments and great works in all the scenarios, including the Great Wall and Grand Canal.

4. Intricacies include handling multiple food types to satisfy your common and your elite residents. Also, the placement of different buildings should correspond with good "feng shui" (wood, water, fire, earth, metal) for optimum city benefits. This at first drives you batty but then you begin to catch on. NOTE: Even today the Chinese still use feng shui in planning and design, and it's become popular in the west... not that Emperor is a course on it - it's just interesting how the designers wove it in!

5. Intricacies also include dealing with other cities as allies, enemies, trade partners. You can FIGHT them with your army, you can SABOTAGE them with your spies... but there will be armies and spies in YOUR city too, with different ways to detect / thwart them... Sometimes you keep on trading with another city all while you sabotage/fight each other. Hey, it's business... Machiavelli would have understood! NOTE: At the "easy" level it's quite... easy... to avoid having to play military stuff, if that's not your thing. At the "very hard" level having an army alone isn't enough... spies and walls and the help of the Ancestors are a must!

Great fun while you learn about China

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 10
Date: January 12, 2003
Author: Amazon User

In the tradition of Caesar, Pharoh and other city-building strategy games, we finally have one set in one of the largest kingdoms the world has seen - China!

Fans of the previous city-building sims will feel right at home here. You start out by building a road, and putting little house lots alongside it. Soon you're placing wells, firehouses, and more advanced structures.

You're learning about Chinese history and culture as you play, wokring with shrines, help shops, mills, and more. You build up your trade and commerce, and fortify your city against attacks. The graphics are great, and you really get involved in the success of your town.

There are even Feng Shui aspects to the game - placing your buildings in auspicious areas of the town help your prosperity!

A fun new addition to the city-strategy series, and a non-violent way to spend countless hours. Recommended!

As a side note, I read the other reviews that said people were having issues. I'm running XP and haven't had any problems at all with the software.

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!

The best by far

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 15
Date: April 28, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Absolutely stunning! I've played all of the others in the range and this one beats them all.

The graphics are brilliant - extremely detailed and realistic without any blocky appearance.

The idea is not just plain-old conquer-rule style. The game includes all aspects of building and ruling a city - trade, politics, tax regulation, providing different foods and materials, luxuries such as ceramics, carved jade, bronzeware,hemp,etc. And obviously to add to this military. There are many different attack/ defense modes to enable in your troops and different ways to attack other cities and the tribute that you would want from that city (money, food, etc)

Relating to review one where so called "dumb walkers" are mentioned. If you were good enough at planning a city and where rodes should go then you wouldn't have a problem. In my opinion it makes for a realistic small challenge. And as for the Gods; you can always check their status which is written above their name to see if you need to pay homage or not. And they DO have a purpose - apart from other things they can bless different work areas in your industry, agriculture, etc to improve production, which at times could be vital.

there are differrent play modes - single player campaigns in which you are taken through chinese history, achieving objectives along the way. Multiplayer mode in which you can take you city online and interact with real live players. Open-play mode in which you choose an era in chinese history and build a city to your delight without any limits.

To conclude: don't even thing twice - just get! rest assured you won't be sorry.

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.

Rise of Total Addiction

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 7
Date: February 09, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I started off with Pharoah. Then for Christmas I get the Acropolis Pack, Caesar III... and Emperor. After playing all of these, I must say that Emperor is by far the best. You can see the evolution of the quality of Sierra's city-builders series as it progresses.
The main difference is the amount of player control in diplomacy and empire-wide relations. The Feng Shui bit is an added challenge that can get frustrating at times, but is an extra element of interest.
My one complaint with Emperor (as with Pharoah) is the fact that the monuments take years and years to build, while the months' penalty methodically erodes your score.
Other than that, though... this is a great game! Buy it at your own risk, however: I completely lose track of time every time I play!

No game beats Emporor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom !

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: April 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is certainly the best game Sierra ever made. In fact, I think this game is the best game that any company ever made. If my house suddenly catches on fire, and I could only grab one thing before jumping out the window, I would grab Emperor. My parents say I'm addicted to it, it's like a drug, I can't stop playing. They had to hide it a lot to stop me from playing.

Emporor would have been very hard unless you have cheats, which I do have. While playing, if you go to Ctrl + C, you can enter cheats. Try Typing in "Shutime" with the capital S. You automatically get $5000. Or "Gimme Goods" which gives you anything you want in your Warehouse or mill. There are also a bunch of funny cheats. If you type in "SpawnMugger" or "SpawnBandit", Muggers and Bandits will appear. Once, I made like 50 muggers, and sent my army to destroy them. Man, Muggers are strong! they killed almost half my army!

Its fun to get Heroes in your city. When I had Sun Tzu in my city, I sent him along with my huge army to conquer every city on the map, and guess what? I did conquer all of them. I usually conquer the Nomads first. I don't like Nomads, they suck.

But anyway, if you like this review, buy the @#$& game!
Trust me, you will like it.

Oh, and go to emperor.heavengames.com for cheats!

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