- Platform: IBM PC Compatible
- Release Date: 1995
- Genre: Simulation
- Style: Construction/Building Sim
- Similar Games: Caesar (IBM PC Compatible), Caesar III (IBM PC Compatible), SimCity 2000 [OS/2] (IBM PC Compatible)
Game Description
Just as Rome wasn't built in a day, building a Roman empire in Caesar II will likely require more time as well. As the governor of a Roman province, the player's task is to build a city that will be the talk of the Roman Empire. If building the capital city is a successful endeavor, the player will begin to move up the ranks of the military and, possibly, become the next Caesar.In simulation fashion, the city will consist of housing, markets, industry, security, sanitation, education, and places of worship. Entertainment raises nearby property values and most buildings need to be connected by roads so the plebes you govern will have access. Additionally, every building must be supplied with water, thus requiring the planning of reservoirs, fountains, and aqueducts.
However, the road to greatness is paved with stones of annoyance. Since the city is vulnerable to attack by barbarians and other enemies, creation of fighting Legions will need to be a priority. Fires, disease, and riots can break out and spread. While all this is going on, your coffers must remain full of denarii (the Roman monetary unit) in order to continue to expand and conquer the entire realm.
~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Roots & Influences
Caesar II is a sequel to the popular world-building simulation Caesar. The History of Rome sets the stage for this empire building simulation.~ Michael L. House, All Game Guide
Review: Overall
Think about how much more a player might enjoy SimCity if there was more strategy in that game than just building a city and keeping it running. What if there was some sort of combat engine, requiring the player to repel hostile attacks? How about an additional module to allow the player to set up trade routes with other simulated cities, thereby affecting the output of the original city's factories? Such is the challenge offered by Caesar II, a much more "complete" experience than that provided by SimCity.Caesar II consists of three distinct modules, creating a game that can be played in one of two ways. For the player who is only interested in building at the City Level, the "City Building Only" option will allow him to found and construct a city worthy of being the gem of the Roman Empire. Graphics of ancient Roman structures appear as the player builds housing for his residents, reservoirs and aqueducts to supply water and a system of roads to facilitate travel. Other endeavors include building markets for the selling of goods, industries to supply goods to the markets, security facilities for sim-safety and temples and shrines in which to hold the monetary unit of the game, denarii.
If successful in building up his population, the player might consider constructing educational facilities, bathhouses and hospitals for sanitation and entertainment locales like theaters, arenas and circuses. Additional buildings increase property values which in turn cause nearby residences to upgrade themselves, attracting a larger population and earning the province's Governor more denarii.
Playing the "Full Game" adds the other two modules to game play. At the Province Level, the player is charged with conquering a number of European provinces one-by-one by setting up trade routes with small villages and building industries such as farms, mines and many other resource-creators. Building a working city at the City Level is also required in the full game mode. Further, if hostile forces are encountered at Province Level, a combat module automatically kicks in which allows the player to either fight the battle automatically using the statistics of each military force or to actually line up his forces in battle formation and fight the opposing force in real-time. If the player is successful in satisfying the four performance criteria in a particular province, he receives a promotion and is given the opportunity to conquer a new province containing all-new challenges.
Whether you call it SimCity with real-time combat and trade or Civilization with city-building responsibilities and without a research tree, Caesar II is a fantastic game. Since its release in 1995, I picked up this product many times at various software retailers and examined the features listed on the back of the box. I did not purchase it until I found it at a bargain-bin price of $10 in mid-1998. I wish I had bought it sooner because it's extremely good.
~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Review: Enjoyment
If you spent a lot of time enjoying SimCity or Civilization, expect to spend as much time, if not more, playing Caesar II. There are so many challenges when playing at the Province Level, the feel of the game stays new.~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Review: Graphics
The Windows 95 graphics will display at the level of resolution that is already set in Win95, although a message appears on the screen indicating that the game has been "optimized" for play at 256 colors. The advantage the Win95 version has over the DOS version is that multiple windows can be arranged on the screen at one time, so the "toggling" action required for switching views in the DOS version is not necessary in Win95.~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Review: Sound
Sound effects accompany the construction of all structures, and running water and barking dogs can often be heard in the background. There are also several musical passages that play depending upon the game view that the player is in at the time.~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Review: Replay Value
There is an immense amount of replay value in {*Caesar II} for a number of different reasons. In addition to the two game modes mentioned above, five skill settings are available, with Province and City maps generated on a random basis.~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Review: Documentation
The manual contains 118 pages of instructions, a good index, and a section providing playing tips. However, there are a fair number of building maneuvers that can only be figured out via actual construction, and I think that a little additional information regarding the size of structures and their zones of influence would have been helpful.~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
Production Credits
ORIGINAL DOS CREDITS Design: David Lester, Chris Foster; Programming & Additional Design: Simon Bradbury; Production: Chris Foster; Art Direction: Chris Beatrice; Graphics & Animation: Heidi Mann, Scot Forbes, Andrea Muzeroll, Chris Beatrice; Sound & Music: Jason P. Rinaldi, Jeremy A. Bell; Speech Recording & Production: Poly Lang, Multimedia Ltd.; Translation and Re-Recording: Coktel Vision; Voice Talent (English): Chris Wilkinson, Mike Broadbent Jones, Krysia Campbell, Raymond Greenoaken; Video Compression: Steve Sarafino; Documentation & Research: Todd Capute, Jennifer Hawthorne; Director of Technology: David Mitton; Quality Assurance Manager: Steve Serafino; Lead Tester: Edward Pugsley; Quality Assurance: Ken Ford, Michael Lescault, Joe McGuire; Additional Testing: Chris Bamford, Louis Ely, Jeffrey Fiske, Gregor Koomey, Larry Mangum, Philip Conrad; Based on CAESAR by: David Lester, Simon Bradbury; WINDOWS 95 VERSION; Production: Chris Foster, Glenn Oliver; Programming: Thanh Pham; Graphics & Animation: Scot Forbes; Sound and Music: Keith Zizza; Director of Technology: Tom Gross; Quality Assurance Manager: Steve Grammont; Quality Assurance: Edward Pugsley
~ James W. Brumbaugh, All Game Guide
