Caesar and Caesar II were, for some strange reason, my favorite games when I was younger. These building and war strategy based games are great for people who love Sid Meier's Civilization or Sim Building series, Microprose's Age of Empires or Age of Kings series and games of similar types.
From what I remember, the biggest step down of Caesar from Caesar II is the graphics. My copy also lacks sound, which I find a plus. One of the most annoying parts of Caesar II was the sound.
I found I turned off my computer speakers so I didn't have to listen to the words "Plebs are needed" in complete monotone anymore. The game play was very similar between Caesar and Caesar II.
The basic aim of this game is to successfully build and rule the Roman Empire as Emperor. The game is composed of three basic screens. One is the city building screen. On this screen, you are shown a map of your capital city, which you are required to build and maintain. You have to pay attention to everything from housing and keeping your citizens happy to protecting your workers and Denarii (the money used in this game). The second main screen is the Providence screen. This screen shows the entire providence
you rule over. This screen gives you control over placement of troops and resources as well as connections to neighboring cities and providences not under your control. The third screen shows contains advisors and options for city management: everything from taxes to allocation of goods and workers. You can also check your game progress here.
As you play the game, if you meet certain roles, you are promoted to higher ruling positions, the top being Emperor. If playing the campaign version of the game, as you are promoted you may be given control over more than one province, or moving on the next province after you successfully rule one.
I, personally, have never gotten promoted while playing this game. This game is a difficult because you must manage two seemingly separate areas: the Province and the Capitol. What you do in one area effects what happens in the other, so if you ignore on, as I usually do, you are bound to fail. If you are able to find a balance, and manage to keep your somewhat fickle citizens happy, you might just do well with this game.
