Populous
| Developer: Bullfrog | Graphics: |
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| Publisher: Electronic Arts | Sound: |
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| Year: 1989 | Difficulty: |
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| Genre: Strategy | Lastability: |
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| Number of players: 2 by modem | Rating: |
9/10 | |
The goal of the game is to become a god. To achieve this, you must lead your civilisation from the humble beginnings of tents made from animal hides to fortified castles, which most often involves simply flattening the terrain so your followers have enough space to build and expand.
When there are enough of them, it’s your job to direct them to wipe out enemy tribes (each one protected by a different deity). Bear in mind that the more followers you have, the more your power increases, granting you an ever-growing collection of cataclysms to unleash upon your foes (earthquakes, tidal waves, volcanoes, and so on).
The difficulty ramps up gradually, and across 500 levels, there’s more than enough to keep you busy!
Fortunately, decent scores will allow you to skip a few of them, as you’ll quickly find yourself repeating the same strategies. After a while, though, the computer will get so strong that you’ll probably need a second pair of arms just to finish the game.
Two expansions followed in 1989: The Promised Lands and The Final Frontier; then a map editor in 1991, along with a sequel: Populous 2: Trials of the Olympian Gods. Finally, in 1998, the third instalment, Populous: The Beginning, was released on PlayStation and PC.
Note: If you find yourself stuck on the title screen (the cursor refusing to move), restart the Amiga, and when the title screen reappears, click one of the buttons at the bottom right of the screen before the game demo kicks in. You’ve got less than ten seconds. A prolonged black screen will follow. Frenetically click both mouse buttons while reciting prayers to Molyneux for two to three minutes (yes, really!). Apparently, rolling your head on the keyboard while tapping your feet speeds up the process.
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