Populous: The Beginning

"A fairly Decent Stradegy/World Simulation Game"

The game, created by bullfrog, is a fairly interesting title. Instead of controlling hordes of demons, or futuristic Robots, you simply place as a group of natives and thier magic using Shaman on a question to become "A god". During this quest you travel from world to world inside the great solarsystem in search for "Mana" to enhance your spells. While doing this you encounted the other three tribes and thier shamans, also on quests for Godhood. You start out with a fairly weak inventory of spells and buildings. You get fireball and a hut, actually. AS you advance, you get such spells as Earthquake, Volcano, and the Angel of death. And such buildings as Balloon factories, Spy training huts, Boat houses, and Firewarrior training buildings. Each level becomes progressively different in it's tactics, and you must Steal spells from your enemy, or from statues sitting about the world, to increase your chances of winning. Also, stradegy must be used, for some stages will prevent the use of magic, or of certain types of buildings, and you must find ways to work around this. All in all, the game is fun to play, it is divirting, and is a fun way to waste away an afternoon.

Reviewer's Score: 7/10, Originally Posted: 11/01/99, Updated 07/05/02