Previous Next

Play God or the Devil and mash lots of people

A very Divine Being needs followers, otherwise how do they get their power? Simply going around saying "I'm God, I am" won't do. You have to have some faithful people that believe in you and some to spread The Word.

This is your situation in Populous. You are a deity with a few followers trying to scratch out a living on virgin soil. The canvas on which you paint things consists of a 'Book of Worlds', which contains deserts, fields and ice regions; the map which shows a close up of a section of the current worlds and on which you control events; and the control icons. You must move across the land, building or lowering ground levels to allow enough clear space for your followers to build settlements, from mud huts through houses to castles; the large the settlement, the more powerful your people.

Unfortunately, another deity is trying to spread *his* population across the land. The world isn't big enough for two races, so you must try and stop him from spreading whilst building up your own territory. This can be done by turning your leader into a knight and sending him on a raid, or using 'divine intervention' to cripple the opposition, both of which require a certain amount of Manna.

Your Manna level is shown on a bar at the top of the screen, showing the choice of interventions open to you.

The game is won when you have managed to keep your people alive and destroyed all the opposing population and settlements.

This is one hell of a weird game! The idea of playing God may seem a bit strange to some people and, indeed, playing Populous is a strange experience... but an enjoyable one.

The first thing that strikes you is the incredibly atmospheric sound, with ethereal music and heartbeats all over the place, but you soon get involved in the complexities of the game, building cities, constructing land masses, electing leaders and crippling your opponent!

The graphics are also of a very high standard, nicely depicting the land shapes and buildings; in fact, everything about the game is so neatly constructed and put together - like the arsonist knight and the LED blinking in time with the heartbeat - all of which help to make it an experience well worth £25.

Try it and see.

I haven't seen such an original game since The Sentinel. How do you make a game about playing God? I'll tell you how - you spend ages developing the concept and constructing a system, design superb graphics that work incredibly well, add wonderfully atmospheric sound to create an eerie feel and you put it in a package called Populous.

And that's just what Electronic Arts have done! Even though the actual concept of building a population and spreading across the world is quite simple, going about the task is a different matter altogether.

Once you've managed to conquer the realm, you'll want to do it again and again... It probably won't appeal to everyone, but I can't for the life of me see why. It's brilliant!

Presentation 99%
Loads of options, easy to understand layout and icons, and a myriad of little touches.

Graphics 92%
Superbly solid scenery with well-drawn features and easily identifiable icons.

Sound 88%
Choice of music or sound FX, both of which are subtle and amazingly atmospheric - perfect for the game.

Hookability 89%
All the icons and options could be initially confusing and the complexities may take a while to grasp.

Lastability 93%
Once you get into it, it's an overwhelming experience.

Overall 94%
An amazingly original and superbly constructed strategy game.