Sure they added some new things like Ancestors (pretty much like gods), the Chinese zodiac signs, new ways of dealing with farming, and multiplayer options for the first time as well as the obligatory improvements to interface. But there isn't really anything here that we haven't already gone through in ancient Rome, Egypt, or Greece.
Definitely one of the best city-builders of all time and a must-have for every fan of the genre. It's a shame that these days we don't have such games made anymore.
This game is the pinnacle of this type of city-building genre of its time. They took all the best from their predecessors (Greece and Egypt) and removed all the worst (for example, an extremely unsuccessful decision in terms of recruiting workers in Egypt). It's not that this game doesn't have its flaws, but in my opinion they were so minor that by themselves they would still give me a reason to give this game 10/10. It is a pity that they did not give some interesting plot. The barbarian tribe is a "gag" so that it would not be completely boring after an hours of game-play and to justify a diverse army. It's not a plot.
All in all, even if you haven't played it in the past , it's still performs well even now. In any case, at least just to get acquainted with this genre.
The best city-building sim I've ever played, hands down, and i'm a huge fan of the genre. It's not without it's issues: there are a number of bugs, combat is poorly implemented, and there's often an issue of getting data about your city in a clear and timely manner to prevent disaster. Nonetheless this game is crazy fun; it's one of the few games where after clocking it on normal difficulty I play through again on hard, and then yet again on very hard. It isn't as lengthy as Pharaoh, but the game mechanics have been subtly tweaked and re-balanced for a more engaging and challenging game.
A fine jewel that any city builder fan will enjoy. With a fairly complex yet enjoyable management system, it has a lot of resource types (forget about the classic gold, food, stone, wood) and citizen needs that allow different strategic approaches depending on the landscape characteristics. It even has multiplayer and a militar system, though these feel very outdated.
Emperor is a decade old game, a part of a well established franchise. It has a nice interface and graphics on today standards. If you want to read about how great this game is, or what positives it has, then find another review. I want to save my time and just write down my concerns.
I already played zeus, cleopatra and other city builders years ago, so I started the game on medium which is just good for some pleasure time. I did not encounter anything disturbing during the first half an hour, but then my buildings started to collapse. I built 2x3 houses per block surrounded by road, each 3 blocks have an inspector's tower. My problem is that the inspectors randomly change path at every crossroad, which I have a lot. So, there are situations when some of the buildings just being ignored for a time, and catch on fire or collapse. Just watched as my inspector took a wrong turn and leaving my house at the end of the road to collapse. He simply gone to the road where the immigrants come from. Overall, pathfinding is so much randomized that it brakes the game. I need to watch my buildings constantly and demolish those which are being ignored by the inspectors. This should be much more controlled and less random.
SummaryYou are transported back in time to when emperors reigned and China was the greatest and most resplendent power on earth. Epic in scope, Emperor spans seven dynasties and more than 3,000 years of Chinese history: from China's pre-imperial Xia dynasty circa 2100 BCE to the Mongol invasion of the Middle Kingdom under Genghis Khan in 1211 C...