It seems as though the game developers at Impressions refuse to allow strategy gamers one productive weekend. Although, if you call building the city of Atlantis on your computer for hours on end productive, good for you-and please, seek help. I can, however, tell you that building the city of Atlantis is certainly fun-a characteristic that Impressions pumps into every one of their titles along with a healthy dose of charm. Poseidon, the new addon for Zeus: Master of Olympus, is imbued with charm from the moment you start it up. As a baritone voice shouts out, "Welcome to Poseidon", you can't help but feel a bit giddy at the prospect of once again constructing the perfect metropolis…
Poseidon takes Zeus' colorful representation of Greek mythology even further, allowing you to construct the enigmatic city of Atlantis. Through six campaigns, players take part in the rise and climactic fall of the city, even taking on multiple roles in the struggle. The campaigns are well done, and like Zeus, allow you to foster multiple cities through a series of episodes. You will also be able to trade with multiple cities on the world map, just like in Zeus. I'll spare readers of this review a full description of the gameplay. If you are in need of it, I'll point you to my review of Zeus. Those seasoned Zeus players still reading will be happy-or perhaps disappointed-to know that the Poseidon expansion does not change the gameplay mechanics in the least. It does, however, contain quite a few features that distinguish the Atlanteans from their coastal brethren.
The most significant of these is the switch from entertainment to science. Instead of a wide variety of "unsavory" pleasure spots, the Atlanteans choose to spend their time toiling away in the arts of astronomy, philosophy, and research. Therefore, the entertainment rating is replaced with a science rating. You'll need to construct Bibliothekes for the scholars and universities to train budding astronomers and curators to man the city's observatories and museums, respectively. In effect, this system creates something new to focus on without bogging players down. The Atlanteans do need entertainment, however, and this comes in the form of a new Hippodrome. You have complete control over the design of the track, and this allows for some nice scenery as you make the track zip around homes or farms. Because there is no entertainment rating, the main benefit of the hippodrome being that it makes your city that much more appealing (not to mention the income from ticket sales).
The husbandry and industry categories have received a few additions in Poseidon. You can now hunt deer with a hunting lodge, raise cattle in a corral, and build lodges for growing orange trees. All three of these allow for new sources of food to bring to your granaries. Three new resources-timber, black marble, and orichalc, a red ore found only near Atlantis-are all needed to build a host of new pyramids and shrines to the gods. Of course they can also be traded, with orichalc being particularly valuable. Orichalc can also be loaded onto frigates and towers, giving them the ability to shoot fire at enemies. Complementing this new military feature are new troops-Atlantean archers and chariot riders. Like Zeus and all the other City Building games, combat is never a focus of the campaigns, but rather an interesting diversion. The use of fire in combat, however, adds a novel twist. Last but not least, the new monsters. A key element in Zeus was the use of heroes to combat monsters threatening your city. In Poseidon, the Chimera, Echidna, Sphinx, and the ones I hate the most, Harpies, must all be dealt with. Of course the gods, including Queen Hera, can all interact with your city. Some old favorites have new effects on your city as well.
Since we're dealing with an expansion pack, the quality of the graphics has not changed, but all the additions in Poseidon show the same careful attention to detail. Everything from the horses racing in the hippodrome to the crystal spinning atop the observatory conveys a real sense of wonder. Especially noteworthy are the elephants that pull goods to and from the warehouses. There are also a number of new beautification structures, including a large sundial. I would have liked to see some changes, however, to the already existing architecture. It would have been great, for example, if the Atlantean homes looked different than those in Zeus. The new additions, however, do a sufficient job of making the Atlantean cities look unique. Keeping with this sense of wonder, the new music is quite rhythmic and beautiful. One theme in particular lulled me show much I thought I was going to fall asleep on my keyboard, despite the engaging gameplay. Nevertheless, I thoroughly enjoyed the new sights and sounds.
Perhaps the most significant addition for hardcore fans is the adventure editor. Using some pretty intuitive tools (and a healthy dose of spare time), players can create their own challenges. Everything from the world map to individual cities can be created or edited, and there is an almost limitless selection of objectives that can be assigned for players. You can even edit text files to script the missions and create your own briefings. I didn't delve into this in too much detail, but it is apparent that any idea you have can be brought to fruition.
In the end Poseidon, like Cleopatra, is a worthy addition to a fabulous game. If you love Zeus, there is absolutely no reason why you should not pick this up. Not to mention the fact that I have seen it for as low as 15 bucks (which is an absolute steal). Those of you that have not experienced Zeus will therefore want to pick up both of them. The sheer amount of gameplay the new campaigns provide, coupled with the obvious appeal of building Atlantis, makes for an outstanding experience for any strategy gamer.
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Reviewed by Anthony
Micari
