Pharaoh

• Platform: IBM PC Compatible
• Release Date: November 06, 1999
• Genre: Simulation
• Style: Construction/Building Sim
• Similar Games: Sid Meier's Civilization II (IBM PC Compatible), Caesar III (IBM PC Compatible), Civilization: Call to Power -- Enhanced Version [DVD-ROM] (IBM PC Compatible)

Game Description

Pharaoh takes gamers back in time to roughly 3200-1350 BC. Set in Egypt, you are the ruler of a village who dreams of uniting all of the settlements in the region. Visions of a united Egypt with sprawling cities floods your imagination. This is what you want but do you have the ability to accomplish it?

Pharaoh's primary mode of play is set up like a campaign. It is divided into time periods that each contain a group of missions. Before each mission the objectives are described and must be met before the next mission, and eventually next time period, can begin. Missions are not exact duplicates of events that took place in Egyptian history but they are influenced strongly by history.

During missions it is likely contact with others will be made. Other cities and sometimes even Pharaoh will ask for your services. Services may include someone asking you for some food or military assistance. At any time it is also possible to be invaded and completely wiped out. While you may not instigate a war, some people may attack you simply because they wish to expand. Dealing with foreign affairs is one of just many aspects that will be encountered. Attempting to become one of the greatest families in history will require players to tackle every aspect one could imagine as well.

One of the most important areas is learning about the Nile river. The river is the primary source of water for your people and their agriculture. Learning what the Nile's flooding patterns are can make or break a civilization. Along with agriculture there are also industrial, militaristic, and religious functions to be tackled. Develop a working infrastructure, provide your people with jobs, and keep them pleased at all times. In order to truly place your name in history so that your family name will always be remembered you will also have construct monuments. Build such items as the Great Pyramids, the Sphinx, and the temples of Luxor.

Instead of playing through a complete campaign players may also choose to play one of the 12 custom built scenarios. Pharaoh contains five difficulty settings so that it can be as challenging as you wish it to be.

ADDENDUM: On March 3, 2000, Impressions Games made the Pharaoh Enhancement Pack available for a free download via the Internet. This add-on pack includes 20 new missions, a mission editor and the new version update among other features. To find the enhancement pack, point your browser to www.pharaoh1.com/dl_updates.shtml.

Roots & Influences

Pharaoh's roots are found in past games developed by Impressions Games. Most notably is the Caesar series where a similar style of gameplay can be found. The theme of the game is based on actual Egyptian history.

Games with some similarities that Pharaoh will most likely remind the game player of include: Sid Meier's Civilization II, Populous, and SimCity.

Review: Overall

Ancient Egyptian civilization is one of the most interesting eras of human history. Known best for constructing such enormous monuments as the Great Pyramids and the Sphinx, the ancient Egyptians also worshipped numerous gods, studied the Nile River to enhance their agriculture, and practiced mummification. Aspects such as these are what make ancient Egypt the perfect setting for a world-building game. Pharaoh does not make any dramatic advances to the genre, but it does take elements from other successful games, blend them perfectly with ancient Egypt, and provide an addictive and challenging game experience.

Pharaoh is best compared to games such as Civilization II and SimCity. While Civilization II has a very basic city management system, if you were to go inside of one of its cities it would probably look a lot like Pharaoh. Turning villages into bustling cities is what users will be doing throughout the game, something not unlike SimCity. If you gave SimCity an ancient Egyptian theme, add more detailed functions, you get Pharaoh.

At the start of every game players will need to perform basics such as building houses in order to attract immigrants, setting up a road system that maximizes efficiency, and making sure enough food is being produced. Placing items is very simple: click on a menu, choose what you wish to build, and click on the action screen to place it. Every mission has its own goals that need to be completed, but in most cases you will need to perform many of the same functions as a previous mission in order to complete every new goal. Goals may be as massive as constructing a particular monument, or something as basic as reaching a particular population number. At the start of the game all of the items required to build are not available so don't expect to be building pyramids right off the bat. In fact, you will not even build a monument until the second time period.

How you develop a village location of buildings is extremely important because individual commands cannot be given to each worker. Instead, the people roam the streets, randomly choosing which direction to go at each intersection. For example, a bazaar should be placed near a granary so that it stays stocked with food. However, you will also want it near housing so that the people will be sure to receive food. No one wants to live near an industrial building though, and if you do place housing in an industrial area then the living conditions will be poor. So how do you get the bazaar workers to go to the housing areas? Roadblocks.

Roadblocks are essential to guiding people to where they need to go. It is very possible that people will never get food if you cannot get a bazaar worker to walk past housing. Therefore, you need to place roadblocks strategically in order to keep some workers on particular paths while not isolating others. One particular group you do not want to isolate is the firemen, since doing so may cause parts of your city to burn to the ground.

One constant reminder that you are in ancient Egypt is religion. Gods need to be kept pleased so that benefits are received rather than punishment. To please the gods players will need to build temples, shrines, and hold festivals. Get a god upset and quite a few things can go wrong. Upset Bast, Goddess of the Home, and many of your people will likely be infected with a plague. On the other hand, please Osiris, a god who controls the Nile, and your agriculture will stay strong.

Pharaoh is a great game and will keep any fan of this genre busy for many hours. The game is certainly long, and addictive enough to force you to lose track of time.

Review: Enjoyment

Menu systems are easy to use and although gameplay is slow, it is very addictive.

Review: Graphics

Many small details adorn each building and the characters are all animated well.

Review: Sound

The music fits the theme of the game and sets the atmosphere. Voices are used throughout the game: menus are read completely by a narrator, cut-scenes are described by the narrator as well, and clicking on a citizen in your village will result in them speaking to you.

Review: Replay Value

As previously mentioned, the addictive gameplay will have you hooked.

Review: Documentation

While the game manual is 270 pages, there are enough help menus in the game so you will not need to read the whole manual at one time. Instead it can be used as a reference guide when you first get started.

Production Credits

This entry is from Wikipedia, the leading user-contributed encyclopedia. It may not have been reviewed by professional editors (see full disclaimer)

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