PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service         04/09/93        11:17 PM

                     WHAT THE HAIL, CAESAR
        SimCity in the Province of Roman Empire Builders
                         by Alan Emrich
     Well, Caesar has been released (and he is running around
  loose in the provinces). The question that many Prodigy
  users want to know is "Has Impressions finally released a
  'must buy' game?" The answer, naturally, is "That depends."
  For fans of SimCity who would have liked more game with
  their urban development (and who are tired of playing with
  the same old city tiles), the answer is "yes," if they are
  up to the extra challenges.
               What Have the Romans Really Done For Us? [NEXT]
 
     In Caesar, the player assumes the role of a provincial
  governor with allegiance to Rome. Randomly assigned to one
  of 50 provinces, one must attend to matters on three scales.
  Primarily, players spend their time and money building the
  provincial capital a la SimCity. On the next higher scale,
  one must interconnect the villages of the provinces by roads
  to the provincial capital and defend the province from the
  scourge of barbarian invasions by raising and marching
  legions off to battle. On the highest level, one can also
  build an imperial highway leading off a map edge toward
  Rome, where they have a "talent" for taking annual tribute.
       The Latest Thing in Urban Development: Plumbing! [NEXT]
 
     At its urban planning level, Caesar bears plenty of
  resemblances and differences. In the similarity department,
  one must still build plenty of roads and housing. In lieu of
  electricity, however, it is important of have water nearby
  (no water, no growth). Water is so important that there are
  three different sources (shoddy wells, okay reservoirs and
  far reaching fountains). While there are no fire departments
  to build, a fund for plebes to prevent fires, maintain roads
  and buildings must be maintained at all times. Instead of
  parks and waterfront property, there are many other ways to
  raise property values.
                                   Beware the Ides Marx [NEXT]
 
     Revenue is the name of the game in Caesar. While the tax
  model used could be attacked by both liberal and
  conservative economists, it does have a way of working in
  game terms. However, since taxes are collected annually, it
  would be good to know what time of year it as. Caesar, like 
  SimCity, runs in real time. However, I never seem to know
  just how much longer I have to wait until the tax collectors
  take to the streets and shake down the populace for their
  annual tax "sacrifice." Players can even test their own
  corruption by defining the personal annual salary (just like
  Congress without burning all that midnight oil).

Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved.
PRODIGY(R) interactive personal service         04/09/93        11:18 PM

                                     Pillars of Success [NEXT]
 
     Unlike SimCity, Caesar is a game. There are four graphs,
  in the guise of pillars, that measure one's success as
  governor. They rate a player's performance for prosperity
  (largely a positive cash flow), peace (suppressing riots and
  barbarian incursions), culture (how well connected the
  populace is to religious sights, entertainment centers,
  schools, hospitals and the like) and empire (which rates
  your network of provincial roads -- a very expensive
  proposition). When the average rating of these four criteria
  is high enough, the player is given the chance for promotion
  to a new province. Naturally, the assignments get tougher.
                                  Tribute to Complexity [NEXT]
 
     With Caesar's diversity in play elements comes an
  increase in complexity. Keeping track of one's
  administrative duties -- maintaining water supply, property
  values, worker productivity and the like -- can quickly have
  a player plucking the leaves out of his laurels. However,
  with patience, and a glance or two at the impressive 130+
  manual, most of the games algorithmic mysteries can be
  sorted out. Every question I came up with I could find an
  adequate explanation for in the manual. There was even
  enough tutorial provided to get a decent quick-start into
  the game.
                            Good Impressions on Prodigy [NEXT]
 
     For those who want more information about Caesar or who
  own the game and have a question about playing it, the
  publisher, Impressions, is doing sterling customer support
  work right here on Prodigy. Check out the War/Strategy Topic
  of the Game Center. Impressions' Prodigy ID is: BCFP34A. 
  
     Computer Gaming World magazine can be reached on the Game
  Club bulletin board at EXPT40B. Please do not send private
  E-mail. Thank you.
  
  
 











Copyright 1993 Prodigy Services Company. All Rights Reserved.