"I really like this game but I feel there could be a problem with balance
between campaigns. I left the intro campaign half-finished because I got bored,
it was too easy. Trying the Greek campaign, I find can't complete even the first
scenario. I realize intro campaigns are meant to be easier than the standard
ones but the differential here seems too great." - Tamaal
"Mmmm... the graphics are excellent, the sound is good, the AI is poor
and the movements of sprites are extremely chaotic. I don't recommend this
game." - Isaac_Asimo
"Comment: The graphics are great, and the game is fun... but only up to
a certain point. I learned to advance rapidly through the ages, all the way to
the iron age (the highest level), but as soon as enemies started to attack,
there is no stopping them. You can only fight on one front at a time... if you
try to lead an attacking army out into enemy territory, others attack your city.
If you attempt to switch back to your city to defend it, you will lose whatever
military units you had sent out into the field. Battles are impossible to win,
because the computer can complete 100's of tasks at once... it can bring in all
of it's armed units, repair any damage that you have caused, attack multiple
targets, send priests to convert your units into their units... all at the same
time. Meanwhile, you are extremely handicapped by being able to only accomplish
one task at a time. For example, you can lead an army of 20 assorted military
units, perhaps a few catapults, some cavalrymen, swordsmen, etc., out to attack
an enemy building. If a group of enemy soldiers comes out to attack your army,
your only chance is to individually click on one of your military units, then
click on the enemy for it to attack. Of course, enemies never come alone, so you
would end up clicking and clicking until your head spun, or until your entire
army was wiped out (which usually only takes about 2 minutes). I tried
everything... in one game, I even built an army of priests, backed by catapults,
and sent them out to attempt to convert the enemies. It was fruitless. As soon
as I would convert one enemy unit, an enemy priest would appear and convert it
back, then it would come and destroy my now defenseless priests.
Here's the ONLY way that I was able to win: I built a double wall around my
city, encompassing an area that was rich in gold, stone, and wood; then after I
worked my way to the iron age and expended resources ONLY on those technologies
which I could employ for the defense of my city, I began building a wonder. If
you complete your wonder and it stands for 2000 years (about 15 minutes in
computer time), you win. And, despite the fact that my outer wall was knocked
down in several places and my inner wall was being attacked, I managed to stick
it out and win. But the entire experience left me extremely disappointed. It is
very ungratifying to not be able to conquer any of the enemies. (By the way, the
entire time I played, I kept the settings on "easiest". I would hate
to have played on the "medium", or even the "easy" setting.)
Bottom line: the game is a fun novelty and can be very addicting because you
continue to think of different ways to outsmart the computer opponents... but
none of them work. You will NEVER win this game unless you build a wonder, or go
for an allied victory in a 2 on 1 situation (in that case, the computer will
actually beat itself. You will have a very limited role in it.)
I give this game a rating of 4 1/2 out of 10." - N O Saints Fan
