New this time around, the developers have added a multiplayer component to the game. In open play, players attempt to build the most bad-ass city they can with no specific objective or time limit. However, it must be said, that Impressions did a good job of refining the gameplay with this installment.įor those of you unfamiliar with Impressions city building series, it is based in ancient times (Rome, Egypt, Greece, and now China), and players attempt to attain certain goals when building their cities in the single player campaign. One has to wonder how many twists on the same basic game design can be made before fans of the genre grow tired of the same thing with different graphics. Allied players can also work together to complete great wonders of engineering, such as the Great Wall and the Grand Canal.įirst there was Caesar, then Pharaoh, then Zeus, and now Emperor. Multiplayer games feature spies and diplomacy, and players can raise armies and send them to invade a rival or assist and ally.
Like the earlier games though, the focus is on developing a complete, balanced infrastructure for an ancient Chinese capital that will endure any challenge that history holds.Įmperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom is built on a new graphics engine for greater visual detail in all areas of gameplay. The game also features elements of martial defense and combat as well, with realistic wartime hazards such as siege engines, collateral damage, and flammable structures. Players have new options in manipulating trade and commodity prices, under a system designed to allow participation in trade wars.
City improvements produce appropriate commodities such as rice, silk, tea, jade, and many others. Cultures develop along the four ancient philosophies of ancestor worship, Confucianism, Daoism, and Buddhism. Players begin under the Xia reign of 2100 B.C., then progress three thousand years through the Shang, Zhou, Qin, Han, Sui/Tang, and Song dynasties.
This release was developed by BreakAway Games, the studio that created the Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile expansion for Pharaoh.Īs in earlier Sierra releases under the Impressions label, this building game is infused with history and culture. Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom takes players behind the Great Wall to nurture a metropolis that will stand the tests of time. The historically themed city-building made popular in Impressions games such as Caesar III and Zeus: Master of Olympus moves from the Mediterranean to the Far East with this release set in ancient China.
0 kommentar(er)
