Immediately after I began playing the game, I became a bit frustrated by the interface. A click on the various build icons would not always be registered. I would think that I was laying out a length of road only to find that I had just created a block of housing. It took two clicks to ensure that I had the proper build tool selected. Once I got past this annoyance, though, I began to enjoy playing the game.

The designers passed on a lot of things that would have added a nice touch to the game. For example, you can hold festivals to give your people a break from work and appease the gods. However, when festival time rolls around, you are given a simple text message telling you that people are flocking to your festival square. Your festival square itself remains deserted and lifeless.

Gamers should be aware that games of Pharaoh will take a little patience - it takes time to get an economy up and running. You'll have to resist the temptation to try and build everything at once, or you'll bleed your treasury dry. Also, it takes some time to build monuments such as the pyramids, so be prepared to do some waiting at times.

In The End, This Game Hath Been Rated: 84%. If you enjoyed Caesar III, you'll probably like Pharaoh, although don't expect all that much new. If you haven't, but the thought of planning, ruling, and defending an ancient city is appealing to you, Pharaoh is definitely worth a look. Those of you who bristle at the thought of having to manage an economy, taking care of both the guns and butter, should probably pass on Pharaoh.

System Requirements:  P133; 32 MB RAM, 16-bit Video Card, 4x CD-ROM, 300 MB Hard Drive Space, Mouse.

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