If you're into SimCity2000 and other games in the simulation category you are bound to get addicted to this game. If you're not, give it a chance anyway because this really is a good game.
Caesar II combines the elements of strategy, war and city-building. When the game starts it is the year 300 B.C. and all you see is some empty land and a river. Your object is to build a Roman City from scratch and if you are good enough, fight with nearby cities and eventually conquer Rome. Do you think this sounds easy ? Well, it's not. This is not a game that you finish in 20 minutes. If you want to conquer Rome, get ready for some really hard work. You have to think strategically and plan every move you make as you start to build your city.

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There are a lot of things to keep in mind when creating an entirely new city. One fundamental thing in Caesar II is to make sure that the inhabitants like you. In order to achieve this you have to provide that everyone has access to water, food, medical care, entertainment and so on. You also have to build up an army to make sure that your people are protected and safe in case a nearby city starts a war against you. An efficient army is of course also essential if you want to expand and overtake other cities. It is somewhat difficult to fight a war without an army, isn't it ?
So what happens if you don't fulfill the needs of your people ? Gradually they will dislike you more and more. At a certain piont there will probably be riots and because of this a you get a chain-reaction where the crucial land value decreases which has the effect that people start moving out and if it goes to far the city won't progress anymore. This is kind of depressing and we definitely don't want this to happen so be sure to keep you people happy.

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As usual with these kind of games there are a lot to learn and many things to keep in mind. For example, there is not just one type of entertainment but three and there are several different kinds markets and so on. It takes a while to find out how these different things work and how they are done the right way. But this is not a bad thing !!! This is one of the things that makes Caesar II so interesting and challenging.
The graphics in Caesar II is superb and it enhances the feel for the game. You have some really good animations and the landscape and your city is rendered in 3D graphics. The sound and the background music is fine, not annoying at all.

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Caesar II is a game that can be played in several different ways. In the beginning you can concentrate on building your city. When your rank gets higher you have the possibility to trade and fight with nearby cities. If you don't want to fight by yourself you can have the computer fighting for you. The game offers a variety of options for the user.
This is simply an excellent game. The exiting gameplay where many different things can happen combined with great graphics makes it one of the best games of this genre. Download the demo and try for yourself. Don't be surprised if you get stuck by the computer for a couple of weeks.
The demo is limited to 10 years of gameplay or 1000 people. It's also savedisabled and you are not able to combat in the demo version. But you most certainly get the feel of the game in this demo and it's definitely worth the downloading time.

Reviewed by Anders Demner