Caesar III

Caesar III is a city-building game released on September 30, 1998 for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra On-Line. It is the third installment of the Caesar series of games and is part of Sierra's City Building series. Players take on the role of a Roman governor, tasked with building up a grand Roman city, in which they must ensure their citizens have their needs met, that their city is safe and profitable, while meeting various goals set for them and dealing with various disasters, angry gods and hostile enemies.

Caesar III
Developer(s)Impressions Games
Publisher(s)Sierra Studios
Producer(s)Eric Ouellette
Designer(s)David Lester
Programmer(s)Simon Bradbury
Artist(s)Darrin Horbal
Composer(s)Robert L. Euvino[1]
SeriesCity Building
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows, Mac OS
ReleaseSeptember 30, 1998[2]
1999 (Mac)
Genre(s)City-building
Mode(s)Single-player

Gameplay

The game is played through a two dimensional isometric perspective, set to a fixed magnification level that can be rotated, but only by ninety degrees either clockwise or counter-clockwise. Players use an interface system to design a city, including buttons for different aspects of building such as Housing, Religion and Security, amongst others; for some, an additional menu is provided of buildings available to the player. While some construction work, like building a road, simply require the left mouse button being held down and then released when the layout is right, most structures are of a fixed size and simply need to be put down where space is available; some obstacles (man-made or natural) can be cleared away, but others cannot except in the game's editor (see "Editor" below). Additional buttons for viewing messages (recent or old), undoing recent building work, and moving to any trouble spots that have begun to occur (such as an invasion), are also provided, while the interface also includes a mini-map of the current region being built in. Various options, including being able to tune how fast the game is going and what difficulty it can be played at, are also accessible in drop-down menus.

To assist further with city building, players have access to an "Empire Map", which can be used to set up trade with other select Roman cities (depending on the campaign) and keep tabs on incoming invasions. Players are also provided with a series of advisers who can help with them with various aspects of city life, including a general overview adviser who can give a quick summary of each aspects, with any problems needing attention highlighted in red text (i.e. How much unemployment there is). In-game overlays can be accessed that can highlight various elements, such as access to a service or problems, while messages about any issues or matters are provided, with important ones opened automatically, whilst some significant events, such as city milestones or messages from the Roman Emperor, receive a short video clip to them. The game's background music notably changes according to the situation of the city's size, or if an invasion is happening. All aspects of city life featured in Caesar III, from homes to religion, to trade and to warfare, are designed carefully to closely reflect that of actual Roman cities, in terms of the goods and services available during their time as well as the way of life that Roman citizens had.

After the initial tutorial players are offered a choice at the beginning of every campaign. The player can choose to play a military campaign which involves invasions, or a peaceful one without. The peaceful campaigns come with their own set of challenges ranging from earthquakes to fires and more.

Editor

A few weeks after the game was released, Sierra made an Editor available on their website. The editor allows players to produce their own scenarios from over twenty city locations, as well as choosing the identity of invaders (with new inclusions such as the Huns, Seleucids, Macedonians and Jews), the available buildings, and everything that would appear on the map itself. The Caesar III page on Sierra's website is now down, but the Editor is still available for free download from GameSpot and the HeavenGames fan site, and was also distributed with later releases of the game.

Reception

Sales

Caesar III was a commercial success.[3][4] It shipped 150,000 copies in its first month of release, at which time it was on track to top the sales of Caesar II.[5] In the United States, the game took 10th place on PC Data's weekly computer game sales rankings for October 18–24, 1998.[6] It was absent from the top 10 the following week,[7] but ultimately claimed ninth place for the month of October as a whole.[8] According to PC Data, sales of Caesar III surpassed 93,000 units in the United States alone by February 1999.[9] In the German market, Caesar III had spent 10 weeks on Media Control's computer game sales charts by early 1999, with placements of sixth and ninth for the first and second halves of January, respectively.[10] Late that year, the Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland (VUD) gave Caesar III a "Gold" award for its commercial performance through September 1999,[11] indicating sales of at least 100,000 units across Germany, Austria and Switzerland.[12]

Caesar III's global sales had surpassed 400,000 copies by January 1999.[13][14] That April, Sierra's Jim Veevaert announced that the overall Caesar series, including Caesar III, had sold "well over one million units" globally.[15] According to designer David Lester, around 2.5 million copies of Caesar III were ultimately sold worldwide.[16]

Critical reviews

According to the editors of Computer Games Strategy Plus, Caesar III "was well received by gamers and critics alike",[22] IGN rated it 8.7/10. GameSpot commented: "Despite the small problems, building a thriving city in Caesar 3 is fun".[23]

Caesar III won Macworld's 1999 "Best World-Building Simulation" prize. The magazine's Christopher Breen called it "delightfully entertaining".[21] Although Computer Games Strategy Plus and the Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences nominated Caesar III in their "Strategy Game of the Year" categories, the wins went to Railroad Tycoon II and Sid Meier's Alpha Centauri, respectively.[24][22] Similarly, the game was a runner-up behind StarCraft for PC Gamer US's award for the best real-time strategy title of 1998. That magazine's editors wrote that the game "did a terrific job of immersing the player in a richly detailed world of empire-building, commerce and micro-management."[25]

See also

References
  1. Lord Tigger. "An Interview with Robert Euvino". HeavenGames. Archived from the original on 4 March 2015. Retrieved 17 August 2012.
  2. "New Releases". GameSpot. September 30, 1998. Archived from the original on June 18, 2000. Retrieved December 6, 2019.
  3. Fudge, James (February 3, 1999). "Caesar III Sales Figures". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on February 9, 2005.
  4. Hill, Steve (August 1999). "First Encounter; Pharaoh". PC Zone (79): 53.
  5. Miller, Chuck (November 16, 1998). "Sierra Makes Assignment Editor Available to Caesar III Fans". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on April 28, 2005.
  6. Staff (November 4, 1998). "Best Selling PC Games". IGN. Archived from the original on March 11, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  7. Staff (November 11, 1998). "Best Selling PC Games". IGN. Archived from the original on November 17, 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  8. Feldman, Curt (November 13, 1998). "Top-Selling PC Games for October". GameSpot. Archived from the original on April 11, 2000.
  9. Bates, Jason (February 4, 1999). "Gamers Hail Caesar!". IGN. Archived from the original on August 17, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  10. "CD-ROM Spiele über DM 55,--; Stand 2. Hälfte Januar 1999" (in German). Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. Archived from the original on February 9, 1999. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  11. "VUD - Sales-Awards September '99" (Press release) (in German). Paderborn: Verband der Unterhaltungssoftware Deutschland. November 2, 1999. Archived from the original on May 26, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  12. Horn, Andre (January 14, 2004). "VUD-Gold-Awards 2003". GamePro Germany (in German). Archived from the original on July 18, 2018.
  13. Dultz, Marc (January 14, 1999). "Pharaoh and Civil War Generals 3". CNET Gamecenter. Archived from the original on October 12, 1999.
  14. Mullen, Micheal (January 13, 1999). "Two Sierra Titles Due". GameSpot. Archived from the original on March 1, 2000. Retrieved June 20, 2019.
  15. Fudge, James (April 30, 1999). "Impressions & Sierra Support Caesar III Olympic Games". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on April 28, 2005.
  16. "Real Business Case Study: David Lester - Company Formation MadeSimple". www.companiesmadesimple.com.
  17. Carter, Tim (January 1, 1999). "Caesar III". Computer Gaming World. Archived from the original on August 16, 2000.
  18. Ricketts, Ed (Christmas 1998). "Hale". PC Gamer UK (64). Archived from the original on August 25, 2002.
  19. Hill, Steve. "Caesar III". PC Zone. Archived from the original on January 18, 2007.
  20. Lechowich, Richard A. (October 27, 1998). "Caesar III". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on March 6, 2005.
  21. Breen, Christopher (December 1999). "1999 Macworld Game Hall Of Fame". Macworld. Archived from the original on June 11, 2001.
  22. Staff (February 11, 1999). "The Best of 1998". Computer Games Strategy Plus. Archived from the original on 2005-02-03. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  23. Review on Gamespot
  24. "Second Interactive Achievement Awards; Personal Computer". Academy of Interactive Arts & Sciences. Archived from the original on 1999-11-04. Retrieved 2018-11-16.
  25. Staff (March 1999). "The Fifth Annual PC Gamer Awards". PC Gamer US. 6 (3): 64, 67, 70–73, 76–78, 84, 86, 87.
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