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An Absorbing Game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 12
Date: March 19, 2002
Author: Amazon User

I had previously purchased Caesar and Pharaoh/Cleopatra games put out by Sierra, so I was expecting much the same with Zeus. I was in for a surprise. Although the game has a similar software engine playing the game is much different. In Caesar and Pharaoh, one had to satisfy population, culture and prosperity levels before winning the game and moving on to the next scenario. Usually, my level of prosperity never got high enough to win and I would get bored. The solution was to use the cheats to go to the next level.

Happily, with Zeus this has changed. Each game has several different goals that you can win without spending months attempting to fulfill. For example, in order to summon the hero Jason to kill Thalos, one needs a required number of horses, food and wine. The goals can be reached without protracted effort so you will not wait and wait for Jason to show up.

I found Zeus much more fun that the other city building games by Sierra. Also valuable was the tutorial that allows you to walk through the scenarios and provide an idea how to better place buildings. An educational side to the game is the chance to explore Greek mythology that may spur many players to read up on these fascinating stories.

An improved City Builder

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 12 / 14
Date: November 04, 2000
Author: Amazon User

I love city builder games and the great thing about Sierra is that they get better and better with each new game. Some of the annoying things about Caesar III and Pharaoh have been addressed. Your townspeople are much smarter and you are better able to direct them. You are also able to section areas off so that you have more control. Overall I think game play has been made much more user friendly. I was worried initially because some of the art work is not as good as previous games but once you start playing the graphics are just as good. The people still say amusing little things when you click on them. Perhaps sillier then the other games. The gods and monsters are very amusing and add a new element to the game. One of my favorite things is that some of the sound effects are actually in "surround sound" very neat! Their are little extras as well in the graphics if you are observant. My favorite is the firewatchman up on the lookout tower. His cape is on fire. :)

Not as serious as maybe "Pharaoh", but just as fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 8
Date: August 10, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Zeus is more than Pharaoh moved to Greece. The entire game has been changed to fit ancient Greek culture in the Heroic Age. Another change is the introduction of mythic characters directly into the player's city building. Add a streamlined interface, and you get probably the best city-building game to date. In this game, one starts an adventure covering an historical city-state's development over time. Each adventure is made up of "episodes". The episodes all have certain goals to reach: population, political/military/economic power, religous goals. These mini-games link together, so that what is accomplished in the previous one continues on to through the rest. Depending on victory conditions, and how well you did last game, each episode can run 15min - 2hours. Although somewhat cartoonish (not that this is a bad thing), there are historical bases for how the game plays. Unlike Pharaoh where one takes orders from on high or gives them to the entire country, in Zeus your city-state is an entity unto itself-you answer to no one. Unless, your city is taken by another independent city-state. Thus diplomacy is an important facet of city development. Another historical "engine" is the role of religion. Here the gods have very human personalities: they hold grudges and try to get you to worship them promising blessings on your community. Again, very Greek in the relationship and "ethos" of religion. The raising and employment of your military forces is also quite historical. In Zeus there are four basic types: "Rabble", "Hoplites", "Cavalry" and "Triremes" (navy). Rabble closely model "Peltastoi"-Peltasts light infantrymen who did basically throw rocks as depicted in the game; they are defensive troops only. Hoplites are the guys depicted on vases. They formed the famous Phalanx and did come from the wealthier classes; Cavalry are mounted Hoplites in game terms. Both can be used (as can the navy) to raid/attack your rivals. As in actual Greek cities, whether to mobilize your forces for offensive or defensive operations is a weighty decision. These are citizen-soldiers, so while mobilized their civilian jobs are not being done. If you choose to defend your city every time it's being attacked, the result can be economic disaster, even if you win militarily. Overall, this is a great game, and probably a better history lesson than most folks realize...

WOW!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: December 28, 2000
Author: Amazon User

Lets get this straight, You are playing in a city building game and get to build shrines for gods, Conquor rivals, Form an army and get attacked by the god's OR their pets. WOW! This game rocks this planet. When i first saw an advertisement in a magazine, i went haywire! I love greek mythology and all that other stuff about greek culture, and then this game comes out with all this stuff i love!AWESOME! The game is supurb and it reminds me of pharoah, which is a very good game, dont get me wrong, but Zeus is a lot better, believe me, anyone will agree.

First, the good points: You get to conquor your annoying rivals who keep demanding stuff!(What a way to get even), Then build shrines for the gods and get to be attacked by the gods pets, or even get protected by the god you worship's pet.It is a very good learning experince also.

Bad points: You cant get off your computer. Believe me, i tried, UH-UH, didnt work. You dont eat(i lost 5 pounds on the zeus diet!) you dont use the bathroom( i made a little mess,oops!) and you dont get to spend quality time with your family (Big Deal?)

This game is awesome, and i recommend on buying it now! I did and look at how much fun im having!

Ultimately enjoyable!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 9
Date: January 18, 2001
Author: Amazon User

I've been a fan of simulation games for a decade and this is by far the best one I've played. I've had the game for nearly a month and I simply can't stop myself from sitting down at the computer and playing "just a little bit more."

What's so great about this game is that even though it is in many ways a classic city-building game, it allows you to interact with it on multiple levels, has a wonderful sense of humor, and is excellent in presenting well-timed goals and objectives that make the game flow beautifully (while giving the player a sense of accomplishment).

In addition to the game play itself, one thing that I find keeps me coming back is the time it takes to play the game...it's really up to you. (Aside: so many other games have bored me to tears because they took too long to get going and you had to commit yourself to such a large amount of time to feel like you're making headway.) Zeus handles the time quotient eloquently: It gives you a handful of "adventures" to choose from. Each adventure has a story line with emphasis on a specific aspect of the game, such as trade or interacting with the gods. The adventure is then further broken down into smaller "chapters," each with its own set of goals. The beauty of this breakdown is that allows you to sit down at your computer for a half an hour to an hour and complete a chapter, so you feel like you've accomplished something in the game. You can also sit down and attempt an entire adventure (or whatever fraction thereof) if you have the better part of the day to do it.

Another note: The music and sound effects in this game are very pleasent and even though they're repetitive, they're not annoying.

Challenging and fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 11
Date: November 12, 2000
Author: Amazon User

A lot like Sierra's "Pharaoh", this is a challenging and entertaining city-building game. I thought at first that the introduction of interactive gods would be, well, a little silly, but it works fine and actually adds a new dimension to the game. I might wish for a few more scenarios, since I'm sure to go through them all fairly quickly; perhaps there will be an expansion like "Pharaoh"'s "Cleopatra". Addictive fun.

Excellent City Simulation

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: July 09, 2001
Author: Amazon User

Impressions Studios is the developer responsible for this game as well as Pharoah, Cleopatra, and Caesar 3 before it. These "City-Building Simulations" allow you to build and govern fantastic cities. Unlike the Sim City series, these games allow you much greater control over your domain. You don't merely zone for housing and lay roads; you control what your citizens eat and drink, where they live, and how they work. Your city comes alive as each citizen walks the streets, going to and from work or perhaps to the theater to take in a show.

Zeus is loaded with improvements over earlier games in the City-Building series. Even if you haven't played any of those games, you will still benefit from the more streamlined operations that Zeus features. For example, buildings are now a more uniform size, making it easier to place them. The number of buildings has also been reduced. Although this may not seem like a "feature", it does simplify the game and allows players to concentrate on other tasks. Commonly-used tools such as the shovel are now placed on the main taskbar. And your walkers -- those hardy citizens whose job it is to deliver goods and services -- are smarter than ever before. Even the buildings received an AI update to help you manage trade and city services.

This is a challenging game with a lot of replayability, but it isn't too complicated for new players to enjoy. Zeus comes with a lengthy, multi-mission tutorial that gradually introduces the relevant concepts to novice players. The games includes a half-dozen scenarios, each with multiple missions, that progress in difficulty and offer various levels of challenge. Zeus is clearly Impressions' best work to date.

Zeus Master of Olympus: The Greatest Computer Game Ever!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 5
Date: March 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This Zeus game is awesome! I bought it at Staples for ten bucks and I am very pleased with this game. Your role in Zeus is a Greek city leader. You can trade and fight with other cities, start colonies and receive tribute, build sancturaries to The Gods, call upon heros, like Hercules, to defeat monsters, like the Hydra or Cyclops. You can even make up your own name or choose real Greek names from a Male or Female Roster. ZEUS MASTER OF OLYMPUS IS THE GREATEST COMPUTER GAME EVER!!!

Don't Kill My City Cerberus.....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 5 / 6
Date: January 21, 2002
Author: Amazon User

Ever since me and one of my friends started playing Pharaoh, we got hooked on the Impresions Games. I bought the Great Empire Seris with Pharaoh, Cleopatra, and Caeser III. And of course that wonderful bonus CD! I turned the bonus disk and saw a new game...Zeus. I downloaded it and played. I never had enough time to finish the demo. I played and played until I won! THat was only a small part of a level, called an adventure in the Zeus game. It was so fun. I went to the wed site and nearly screamed. The expansion, Posidon was already going to be out in a month.
At christmas, my friend who (thank you!) introduced me to the city building games got Zeus. We played together, her older sister trying to take over the computer to add in cheats, stopping playing to look at the cool graphics, laughing at what some people said. Pizza was ordered that night and we brought the food to the computer, the adults didn't mind. Its so cool. You can conquer people who tick you off, or raid their cities to tick them off. You battle monsters from famous greek myths. They are huge, they glow, some have powers (like the Kraken) and they like to destroy your city! Get hero's like my personal fav., Oddyseus. Build huge cities without going bankrupt, trade with other cities, scream when the angry gods come, laugh at the things people say, like Aphrodite saying "worship me!" Its cool. Best of all, you can chose your adventure, instead of doing whatever comes next, the episodes come in an order though.
Its so fun, even I can't believe it. Compared to all my other games, Zeus is the best.
Loser other games!

The best Of them all

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: December 11, 2000
Author: Amazon User

This is the third major game in the seirra series about building cities. In Ceaser you built rome. In Phoahor you built eygpt. Here you build Greece. This one tops them all. THe first thing you will notice is that the game graphics look much diffrent. I think this is much better.Some would say it is childish but infact it is easier to use and understand. This game has everything. here are the most interseting parts of the game compaired to its preisecers. First is the heros. You got a monster problem. Build a heros hall and meet the requirments and get him to take out the moster. One of the other things is cultural venese. Not only do you need them to keep people happy but you can take place in the games. If you win the olympics you get to host them next time. Also it is much easier to understand the rest of the world and fighting them. Along with trading. If you are a fan of the series than this is a must have. If you haven't played them before this is a good place to start.

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