Rating: 
Summary: Obsessed Oldster
Review: I'm a 46-year-old who doesn't play computer games. Well, not until now. I have always been fascinated with ancient Egypt and bought this game on a whim. Now I can't stop thinking about it. I LOVE it! (Who wouldn't like a game where, if you're doing well, you're told: "People love you" and "People idolize you as a god." I sure don't get that in my "regular" life!)Pharaoh is one of the city-building games and has many scenarios, from very simple, pre-dynastic villages with crude huts to huge pharaonic cities with temples, pyramids and myriad industries, for you to play. You will build housing for the incoming immigrants and provide them with food, water and work. You'll have to deal with fire, disease, foreign invaders, and poor Nile inundations. Keeping the gods appeased and frequently checking with your overseers can alleviate some of these disasters. While I'm playing, I forget about eating and sleeping and work and chores. When I'm not playing, I'm humming the little songs and envisioning the cities and thinking about how I can improve my game. Wow! (I do have one concern, however. I have read that the game comes with a big manual but mine didn't have one. I want a manual! But I still love the game even without it....)
Rating:
Summary: Rule the Sands
Review: Become the next ruler of Egypt with the city-building strategy game "Pharaoh". If you enjoyed such games like "Ceasar", "Civilization" or "SimCity" then Sierra's "Pharaoh" would be down your alley. Manage small Egyptian settlements into thriving populated cities. Provide your citizens with a wide range of civic needs including water, food, entertainment and access to religious facilities. Earn the approval of the gods by building lavish temples and organize festivals in their names or face their divine wrath. You must also protect your people with a strong military force and provide aid to the kingdom when needed. Manage your cities' resources and workforce wisely to ensure the prosperity of the empire and your legacy. "Pharaoh" is an all-around better strategy game than "Ceasar" and "Simcity". It offers the same engaging gameplay with interesting new features and in-depth control of city services and facilities. Players become more involved in the management of the city and should place some elements like satisfying the gods and distribution of workers as top priority. The gameplay is simple and often quite addicting. If you're more interested open-ended simulation, there is always the "Sandbox Mode" that allows the player to let his imagination go wild without the boundaries of scenario objectives. The game's landscapes and building details are very appealing. Overall, with its easy-to-learn gameplay and hands-on management style, "Pharaoh" earns an "A-".
Rating:
Summary: Brilliant Game
Review: Pharoah is the best historical strategy game that I have ever played, a perfect blending of all the necessary elements. The dedication to Egyptain history is laudable (although there are a few anachronisms), and the campaigns are well-written and satisfying. When you complete them you might be interested in the expansion pack Cleopatra, which gives you even wider-ranging possibilities and more historical detail.
Rating:
Summary: Well thought out
Review: First, after watching a set of shows on Egypt - specifically the era covered in this game - I'm really happy with the level of historical 'accuracy' and the way the culture is distinct. I also like the way the games get harder as you advance in time. The usual setup. More things are added, more things to balance, more expert workers to support on the backs of the peasants to make for a better life for everyone. But, it's placed in historical context, so it makes sense. The game interface is good and easy to pick up - the increasing difficulty makes asimilation easier. Two things are slightly frustrating: 1 - It's hard to get things to go where you want. a - Sometimes you have to micromange what goes where a little too much for results. It's really easy to end up with storage yards full of pottery, that then has to be redistributed to the citizens, but since each bazaar has only one delivery person, and they are often so busy getting food, the city never really develops. Of course, you can build more storage yards and more bazaars, but they require more people who require more bazaars... You get the idea. There is a lot of optimization. b - There are limited ranges of effect for the various specialty buildings - temples, libraries, etc. This means that unless you plan way ahead, it's easy to strangle growth in an area since there is no where to put the new service that the area needs to evolve to nicer housing without tearing down housing to create a place to put the new building. And of course, tearing down housing costs you workers (see (a) above). I often finding myself deciding if I want the people to be healthy and not pay taxes or pay taxes and die of plague. Or, even worse, have the Gods curse my city (full of healthy taxpayers) because of insufficient respect. Argh! 2 - There is too little water. You need to have farms (with granaries, work camps and storage yards) and docks (with storage yards) on the river, as well as housing (houses need to be near wells). And of course, there's fishing, clay pits (for bricks and pottery), reed gathering and hunting. By the time you get done putting everything by the river that needs to be near the river, there's no river left! If you have rock quarries for building pyramids, the workers will live in lousy housing, and will make everyone unhappy. Of course, the limited resources and problems in building nice cities are historically accurate, so even the stuff I don't like makes sense.
Rating:
Summary: an amazing must have...
Review: i'm not big on unqualified approval but i have to say that, though i've always been partial to city building games like Caesar 2, this is HANDS DOWN the best i have ever played... it's so much more intricate than all of the others before it as well as the others that were made at the same time (after playing pharaoh i thought problematic caesar 3 was a waste of money...) the only problems i've had is that importing can be kind of slow... some of the monuments take days to build.. .. literally.. and it's because you have to import one of the component materials.. and sometimes the population age can really mess up your workforce.. .. but only if you build in one huge spurt (which is my problem, i guess, not the game's..) in either case i just ordered the expansion pack.. and i'm worried that this series is going to ruin my life.. i haven't done my homework for weeks.. :) and work on my thesis is falling behind schedual.. .. try telling your graduate advisor that you couldn't finish on time because of a video game..
Rating:
Summary: Deserves more than a five
Review: This game is the most incredable city building game of all time. Not only is the re-play-ability great(due to the fact that there are over 50 missions) It is easier to control. It has great interfaace control, letting you keep tabs on you city as it grows to become a necroplolis of egypt. Making money is challenging but thats what makes it extroidenarely satifing when you have made a great city. I have many cities that are flourishing, so it isnt difficult , just challenging, which puts it over games like zeus, and ceaser III. Food ditribution andmonument building also put it in the top tier of games. I havent stopped playing any of my cities beacause there are always promblems to be solved, battles to be fought, blocks to be built.I would purchase this game as quickly as possible. Pharaoh is one of the greatest overall games of all time, so hurry up and buy a copie, 6.99 is a great cost for how mant hours and years this game will get you
Rating:
Summary: Excellent City building game
Review: Pharoah was a Christmas gift to me in 1999. I wore out a copy the first year I had it, and even now, over two years later, it's still my favorite of the strategy/city building games. There's so much to it that it can take a year or more to get used to it all. The depth of the game is what I think I like the best. I played Caesar 3 for a while, but there was a lack of depth to it, all farms would yield the same amount of food, there was no massive project to keep you busy, the gods were all the same, and you didn't have a lot of choice over whether you had a peaceful or warring scenario. Pharoah changes that. Your farms will yield various amounts of food or goods based on the floodplain, the meadow, irrigation, or other things affecting them. Sometimes you run out of room in a storage yard or granary, and the workers in the field will stand there and be drowned. Sure, it's a little extreme, I don't expect the average citizen to allow themselves to be drowned, but it does give the "you snooze, you lose" feeling. If you can't store it, you lose it. The gods are much improved over Caesar 3. Each god has a personality, and they have a pecking order now. There's a patron god for each scenario, and 0-4 local gods. The patron deity needs more attention than the lesser gods, and all gods can help or harm your city. You can get double crops, full storage yards, festivals thrown for other gods and other things if they are happy, and plagues, destroyed farms, and lowered kingdom ratings if you piss them off. The monuments are another thing I like. You can't just meet the basic requirements; sometimes you have to build a monument as well, which takes time, supplies, and a lot of labor. It takes time to put a monument together, which is nice and annoying, if you need the time to finish up your city it's not a big deal, but if you've met all the other requirements in the scenario, the monument building can take a while. All in all Pharoah is a great game. My only complaint is when I start a new family and I have to go through the first few levels, which are like an in-game tutorial. If you've played Caesar 3 before, or played Pharaoh before it can get old.
Rating:
Summary: Better than sim city
Review: This game is a bit like sim city, where you build and controll a city as the mayor, or god, because you can cause fires and tornados and stuff, but its better because you have an objective. Its cool because it's based on real facts about Eqypt, and I like it especially so because I've been to eqypt and seen the real pyramids at Giza, and gone a cruise down the Nile.
Rating:
Summary: Oldie but a Goodie
Review: Check the date on my review - 3 years old and this game is still fun to play. That's saying something. Pharaoh is basically SimCity set in Ancient Eygpt (or if you're really picky, it's Casear3 with new graphics). Not only does it take the great classic city-building game and place it in a compelling setting, but it also adds some much needed depth to this type of game, like huge monuments and pyramids for you to build. Games of this type all do the same thing - you layout streets and houses, little people move in, and you gradually add services and extras to make them happier, more wealthy. You make sure every neighborhood has a policeman and a firewatch, a market, someplace to worship, and some entertainment. Pharoah improves over Simcity by actually showing you your citizens as they walk from place to place. The streets are packed with people as they go about their business. You must also create jobs and establish industries, thus creating goods for you to sell or your citizens to use. It is a basic game that is fun for anyone of any age. Pharoah adds some extra features which allow it to rise above the others - Monuments, and Nile farming. The Nile works on an annual cycle of flooding its banks, so any aggriculture must be very well planned because your farmers must grow food for the entire year. Monuments are just what you expect from ancient Eygpt - pyramids, the Sphinx, Obelisx, and various Temple complexs. They are huge, and you can watch as your workers build them brick by brick, dragging the stones from quarries, up the wooded ramps, to atop the pyramids. Wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: This one's definately a keeper!
Review: As I moved closer to age 40, I began looking for games that were comprised of more than just shoot-em-up as fast as you can and keep-your-heart-racing-until-your-chest-explodes! During the last few years I've played SimCity 2000 & 3000, Civilization II, Civilization Call to Power, Settlers III, Caesar II and Caesar III. Above all, my absolute favorites are Caesar III and Pharaoh (and soon to add Cleopatra Expansion pack). Not only does one have the option of designing a beautiful city, but to succeed must learn to make things work as well, solving problems along the way to make the city run smoothly and properly. Living conditions play a major role in how the game goes along. If they deteriorate, people are going to physically leave, moving out of the city before the player's eyes. Of course, an exodus like this can cause major problems in providing employment to much needed services. If people have no food or taxes too high they are likely to resort to crime or even rioting. The "god" effects (though optional--can be turned off) are absolutely astounding! Keep them happy and the rewards are great--anger them and suffer their wrath! Other features such as fires and collapsing buildings can be frustrating at first, but once one learns how to handle them soon become a thing of the past. That's all part of "learning" how to build the best city one can--after all, fires and falling down buildings have always been a reality. The player learns to depend on trade for revenues to keep the city functioning, and it's fun to watch the donkey caravans stopping at storage yards to buy and sell goods. If city-building isn't a player's strong point and military is, that option is included as well. Along the military path winning criteria for each mission varies greatly from the more peaceful missions. Monuments are less grand, thus less time- and resource-consuming to build. Culture and Prosperity rating requirements are lower, giving the player the time and resources needed to concentrate on keeping their city safe rather than the epitomy of Egyptian society. (After all, at times just keeping a city is more useful to Pharaoh than if it contains the highest level of entertainment attainable.) Since there is no "set" path one has to take in the game (you can inter-weave peaceful missions with military ones), and the fact a scenario editor is available from Impressions by downloading (and will be included in the new Cleopatra expansion), this game has great re-playability. There are also several websites available where one can download fan-made scenarios and get help for just about any predicament one would find themselves in. I've been playing this game since I finally got mine in January or February, and I really can't see myself giving it up any time soon. :o)
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