Powermonger
Populous revamped; a masterpiece!
Populous was Bullfrog's first attempt at creating a serious God game, and to a good extend the product was well done and well received. However it lacked polish and it was quite a hurdle to play, with animations that were so, so, and with a production that wasn't necessarily the best around. But with Powermonger the game had changed quite a bit, and it had created quite a fantastic build; beautiful graphically, a whole lot more streamlined in terms of controls and much more fascinating detail wise. Now, the map is still delivered in small chunks, but the amount of detail per chunk is definitely higher, and so it's much more fun to play, a lot more interesting to look at. So, overall, Powermonger gives you the tools and the production value that you want to look at and interact with, though it still is clearly a retro game. Thus, when you feel like going for a God like spin, influencing the lives of your little people, for the good or for the bad, Powermonger is a good choice, much better than Populous, truly a step forward for the genre. So do download it!
Simple - command and conquer.
From Bullfrog, the makers of the fantastic strategy game Populous, comes Powermonger, its spiritual and chronological predecessor that has a very similar idea as the before mentioned game - instead of being a god, you are an army general, but the premise is the same, conquer and then command the entire world! There is even a strong illustration with you, being almost a giant, standing over your map and look the little people down there fighting for your cause, almost as if you WERE a god. There are many realistic elements, such as needing to slaughter sheep to make food for your men, and the combat system is also very interactive. You also have to turn off or on your people's combat ability, so they can know when is the time to fight. As in all strategies, resource management is as important as anything else. The game truly is challenging and addictive, very easy to learn, but very hard to master. The graphics reminisce that of Populous, with similar art and programming in design. They are very good for the year of 1990 and, in my opinion, even ahead of its time. If you like Bullfrog like myself, and are a fan of strategy games, try this one out. You won't regret it.
