Cleopatra Review

The gameplay is identical to the original, and numerous options for leading your dynasty from Pharaoh serve as proof. If, for some reason, you don't have your previous Pharaoh saved positions, Cleopatra has a mode by which missions can be played in the order that the player desires. This will be a preferred option for those that do not wish to repeat campaigns played in the original. Since this is a direct add-on to the game, Cleopatra features a higher level of difficulty from start to finish. To be more precise, the campaigns are very difficult! The whole thing reminds me of what we had with Commandos and its expansion, Beyond the Call of Duty. The missions are hard in the beginning, when the cities are mere settlements, and still don't resemble the work of a megalomaniac, and they stay that way, even when the player becomes experienced. Each scenario has its special challenges, and features numerous side-missions.

It is imperative that the player is careful at all times. Hailstorms will often kill your slaves/walkers as they wander to the outskirts of the map, which presents a significant loss of the labor force. That is why a movement limitation option is offered to save lives of your workers from a certain death. The pyramids are pretty, but useless. Unless the mission goals require it, I wouldn't suggest the enterprise of building them. The surplus of rocks and laborers is very rare, so the pyramids are not a must-have project. It would be wiser to invest into more useful things, like making the city prettier with different ornaments, boosting the moral of the citizens. While we are on the subject, it's better to have slums on the other part of the town, distancing them from the elite city residences. If you mix them, it will inevitably lead to general dissatisfaction. The food is always needed, so the player has to provide it in enormous quantities. If Oziris isn't angry, the surplus can always be sold, or stockpiled, in case Nile floods the crops. Workers should be paid wages somewhat bigger than the Kingdom offers, but you shouldn't be lenient on the taxes.

New Cleopatra buildings include: Zoo, Lamp Maker, Henna Farms, Paint Maker, and Tomb Painters. In general, new monuments are not so time consuming as in original Pharaoh missions (in dimension they resemble buildings of the New Kingdom). But the basics of the game are the same: build a city as great as possible, with an economic infrastructure that will manufacture goods and provide finances for building monuments.

And What About the Design?

There are a few improvements over the Pharaoh engine-speedier pyramid constructing (if gods are in a good mood). Some missions have a timer, while others require the players to simply survive a certain period. The game's graphic design is pretty much identical to Pharaoh. There are more units: buildings, resources and, of course, monuments added. As for the sound... the same. The developers went with the same choice of themes and music samples. How cheap!

The add-on contains a map editor, giving the more creative minds the chance to create their own campaigns. If it wasn't for the new objects and units, Cleopatra would look as a well-done collection of homegrown campaigns. The editor features a fine help menu, but the rest of the game is apparently lacking a manual? I guess they figure we all have our Pharaoh manuals? I suppose those Impression Games guys did this because Cleopatra is intended for true Pharaoh lovers. The complexity of the game and missions only asserts this.

Even though, compared to Pharaoh, Cleopatra is totally unoriginal; it's a beautiful game that attracts with its looks and dynamics rather than originality. Pharaoh is a game that is played for months, and doesn't grow out of date. Anybody that liked Pharaoh, won't be disappointed with this game. There's no blood and gore, beating, rail-gun frags - just old Egypt and you.