Amazon.com Review

Fans who mastered the original StarCraft's three races and survived its well-crafted story were quickly clamoring for more. A worthy sequel, Brood War delivers further plot twists and bigger battles.

In keeping with StarCraft's groundbreaking design, this expansion pack--which requires the original game--presents you with three sides of a galactic conflict. Scheming Humans, insidious Zerg, and proud Protoss collide again, with stunning new cinematics setting the stage. Old friends and foes and ominous new arrivals give the story a breakneck pace, while a handful of additions to each race's arsenal makes for tense battles.

Some missions require a bit of finesse, breaking the resource-gathering routine while making good use of the new units. Humans now have Valkyrie missile frigates, as well as Medics that automatically try to heal your grunts. New for the Zerg air force is the acid-spewing Devourer; the new Lurker unit provides heavy-duty (under) ground support. Along with the Corsair fighter, the Protoss re-enter the fray with Dark Templar, which can merge to form the devastating Dark Archon. Unfortunately, units old and new still suffer from some weak pathfinding.

Brood War also features stellar new environments and ambient art, as well as more than 100 additional multiplayer maps. Real-time strategy games don't get any more epic or any more satisfying. --Jack Gardiner

Pros:

• New units open up more strategic possibilities
• More of StarCraft's great storytelling
• Missions are challenging and varied

• Unit pathfinding is still a little clumsy and requires careful micromanagement

Reviews (15)

Worth every penny
Brood war is, by far, the best expansion to a strategy game ever made. Unlike those expansions that just add a race like every other, or that add a campaign, Brood War adds both consuming campaigns, and units you'll wonder "how did I do without these guys?!"

Graphics: 5/5 It looks like an upgrade, but it's not!
Controls: 4/5 No upgrade here
Gameplay: 5/5 Units make all the difference
Story: 4/5 Makes little sense, but enough
Tech: 6/5 Amazing Expansions

Overall: 5/5 Buy this, it's worth it

Great game
This is one of the best games ever.With a map editor you can create your own maps.The editor features trigger functions so you can make the ultimate game.Online playing is superior.I play it all the time and my favorite game is WWII Death in Europe.People create maps and share them all over the internet.The controls are easy to master with keys and the mouse.The game is complex and if u read the strategy book that comes with the expansion, you can master the game.I recomend this game to the best gamers out there.It has a very reasonable price.With the added units like corsairs, and devourers.The game is flawless.Buy it today!

One of the Best PC Strategy Game Ever Created
I have played this game ever since it came out and am a veteran player.Each of the three paragraphs will explain different parts of the game so if you are about to just scroll down past this review because it's long, just read the paragraph that most interests you by reading the first few sentences of any of the shown paragraphs because those sentences describe that paragraph.This first paragraph will explain the races and the differences.This game has 3 unique races that are very different.Zerg, Protoss and Terran all have very different units, buildings, statistics, strategies and more.Zerg have weak units, but they are very cheap too build and you can create them very early in the game because you can build units very fast compared to the other races.So Zerg is the best race to rush other players with.Protoss is a very strong and expensive race.They are slower to build than any of the races but they are very good if you are going to play a long game with someone.Terran, which are the humans if you don't know, are in the middle.They are in middle of the stats when you look at the cost difference, strength and how fast they take to build.All the races are good to be, since the game is one of the best of it's kind.

Now this second paragraph is about game play.Starcraft with its expansion pack is a one of a kind.The game loads fast, the controls are straight forward and are simple to use, the graphics are great, with it's dark textures and detailed landscape it has better graphics than all other strategy games for it's time.Even some of the newer games from Westwood Studios do not come near to the graphics of this game.This game has great missions, and the first few for each race also act as a tutorial for new players.Also in between every few mission they have a cinematic movie, which you can watch or skip if you want.The mission-briefing screen depends on which race you are, for the setting is different and the characters (speaking animated portraits) that tell you your mission are different.This game has pretty good music and when you click on a unit they always reply back with some sort of response.

Now this third and last paragraph will talk about the best part of the game, multiplayer mode.Battle.Net, which is Blizzards official online multiplayer battle network where you can play against hundreds of thousands of other players who are online, is a great system.You can play MANY different types of maps with up to eight people in one game.There are different types of maps, some are 'User Map Settings, Melee, Team melee, Capture the Flag, etc.'There are more types but I will just continue.When you install the game it also comes with a map editor.This map editor allows you to customize maps, and even create your own maps.You can change the name and stats of units, change the mission briefings, create triggers and timers and scoreboards and teams and change the terrain plus more.You create an almost actual RPG like game or any other type of game if you put hard work into it.I usually play user map setting maps that are the maps created by other players because they are more fun than the regular melee.This game is the only current strategy game to enable you to completely change and upload your own maps to the server for others to play.I myself have created a map called "God vs. Satan" which is a VERY popular map right now and others have made probably over 10 other upgrades to the map which is probably more than any other map.I play online all the time under the nickname punwod and you can message me or anyone on Battle.Net by typing "/w NICKNAME".I hope you enjoy this game and this review!=)

GReat Game
The best game I've played in 13 years.Five great stars and Two thumbs up

Great expansion set!!
This is a great expansion set! Some expansion sets, like the warcraftbeyond the dark portal just added some new maps, but the gives newmissions, maps, and best of all, six new units. The new units heavilystrenghen the zerg and Protoss, But the humans did not get good new units(exept the medics). This only costs 9.99 now, and it is a great expansionset! ... Read more

Amazon.com Product Description

Zeus: Master of Olympus is the sixth game in the award-winning Impressions City Building Series, which has sold over two million copies worldwide. Zeus: Master of Olympus, set in a mythological ancient Greece, serves up a world filled with the likes of Hercules, Athena, Ares, Medusa, the Minotaur, and many others. Players build and rule Greek city-states while summoning heroes and gods to protect their land from monsters and other Greek cities. Easy to learn, and quick to get in and out of, Zeus promises to be one of the most fun city-building games of 2000. ... Read more

Reviews (52)

A challenge for beginners
I first saw the ad for Zeus in an Archaeology Magazine and was curious.So I bought it and found it was real fun but also a challenge.It took me weeks to pass some levels. I took my copy to Venezuela and my sister loved it so I gave it to her and bought another one.Then I bought Great Empires 2 and that had Zeus so I gave my second copy to my niece. So I'mon my 3rd copy of Zeus.It's a game you can't get enough of.

good, But doesnt Master Pharaoh.
Granted i like this game a lot. But some interface controls and other aspects of city building dont master Pharaoh. Like when you wish to trade with a city in zeus you must build a seperate trading post for every city on the world map, which reaches a large number by the end of the game.In pHaroah all you must do is build one dock or just leave you tradable product in the storage yard Also food distrubution doest beat out pharaoh. In Zeus you must create a different store for every product, and it is hard to suply every neighberhood with all it needs. In Pharaoh There is one Food distribution center that sells everything. Another Falt of Zeus Is the difficulty. By the first hour of playing i had a flourishing city. This is fun, but it gets old after a while.Monument Building is easier in zeus, but there arnt as many monumentz s to build, so once you have built all the temples to the olympian gods, you get bored.The last reason Pharaoh masters Zeus is that there is not as much to do as ther is to in pharoah. The adventures can be easily mastered, and after that you have little to do, It lacks a campaign as good as pharoahs. I suggest you purchase pharaoh over zeus, even though both are good games. Pharoah is the greatest i think, city building game in the market as of now.

Zeus Master of Olympus: The Greatest Computer Game Ever!
This Zeus game is awesome!I bought it at Staples for ten bucks and I am very pleased with this game. Your role in Zeus is a Greek city leader.You can trade and fight with other cities, start colonies and receive tribute, build sancturaries to The Gods, call upon heros, like Hercules, to defeat monsters, like the Hydra or Cyclops.You can even make up your own name or choose real Greek names from a Male or Female Roster.ZEUS MASTER OF OLYMPUS IS THE GREATEST COMPUTER GAME EVER!!!

Terriffic
If you are in to Greek mytholagy and you like computer games this is the game for you.You can worship gods upgrade housing and create a strong military.

Zeus reveiw
I LOVE this game. I must say, as a young ...gamer, its easy to understand,the concept of running an anciant civizilation is awsome, and the twist with the gods not only make it interesting but educational. Like I dident ever know that Demeter was the goddess of fertaility and fufillment. How cool is that?
They will so love the game and you will get hours of 'Hey mom, did you know that ____ was the god/goddess of ___________?' or 'Dad, check out this city, see? My cities team even won the yearly Olympian games! Isent that awsome?!'
In conclusion get the game, it will bring he/she hours of enjoyment, and you a life time of 'Hey mom' and 'Dad, check it out!' and these sentances wont end with "'Can I have it?! PLLEEEEEEASE??'". :) Happy gaming!! ... Read more

Product Description

The ultimate combination of strategy, fantasy role-playing, and combat. Enter a mystical, magical world of fantasy and fury, where you command a teeming conglomeration of elves, vampires, skeletons, fire-breathing dragons, and other fantastical creatures in a fierce battle against the evil Lord Balkoth. Includes: Legends of Urak Quest Pack. ... Read more

Reviews (43)

Good game, not the finest
I remember getting this game a while back when I was younger.The game was difficult to master, which I attributed to my young age, but I loved to play it because of the nice atmosphere it gave; beautiful, fantasy surrounding, pleasant music, pretty landscape (the 3D terrain had an enhancing effect over other strategy RPGs I had played on the PC before).Overall, I enjoyed the game a lot.
Moving back to the present day, I had lost my copy and was itching to play it again, having all but forgotten what the game was like.My girlfriend and I had gotten hooked on Age of Wonders, and I wanted to investigate similar games for her.
I ordered LoM SE on Amazon not too long after.After installing and playing the game for a bit, I was a little dissapointed.I was still the game that I remember, but it seemed deficient in ways I hadn't noticed before.
For example, the graphics did not age well.I can go back and play much older games from my childhood such as Quest for Glory I & II (SCI engine) and still marvel at how beautiful the graphics are despite only 16 available colors and a screen resolution of 320x240.This is double edged, because while I feel that LoM has pretty graphics, they still seem to work out poorly in the long run.
Secondly, I still find the gameplay to be difficult.I'm not a kid anymore, and I have since mastered other fantasy RPGs, but the system in LoM seems a bit awkward and difficult to master.I couldn't play it for more than a half hour.
Overall, I think it's a good game.Even though it's not my cup of tea anymore, I can see that lots of other people really love it, so if you like the genre then I give it a good recommendation.The price tag is very cheap, and it's well worth a grab.

One Of the Best Games I've Ever Played!
As I said above this is a really great game, even though the graphics are not 3-D. I would suggest that if you like 1 minute killing games like halo, then this game would probably not be very enjoying. But if you like Dungeons and Dragons type games, then this is the game for you!If you are a first timer, I have a few tips. Let's say you have a high leveled Thief, Warrior, or Mage. Then you should put that unit in either the Barracks, the Mage Tower or the Theves Guild. Then you wait a couple of turns, and after that look back at the "make unit" and you will see a unit that you can make at a higher level!This is also different from normal Lords of magic because you can customize and create a party. To do that you choose a faith,(Life,Air,Order,Death,Chaos,Water,Fire, or Earth,) and click on custom you should see a setup.The object of the game is to kill the evil mage death lord, Balkoth. But if you are balkoth than you have to kill all the other faiths. (You Must kill balkoth first to be death!) The big deal about faiths is that you like some other faiths, and others you hate. This game has a very, very good AI reation system, making it able to parley, or fight.(Parley means to barter over units,artifacts,buildings and spells.) Oh! And speaking of fighting, you can autocalc, which means the computer calculates the battle. (I like to use this when i'm not sure of the outcome of the battle.) Also I like to save before I fight a high Leveled area.Well, I hope you buy this game, it is a real winner!

DO YOU DARE TO FACE DEATH FOR THE FATE OF THE WORLD?
I first encountered Lords of Magic as a demo and immediately fell in love with this engaging, difficult, sometimes maddening but eminently addictive game.Even in the relatively spartan demo game LOM's strong points were irrisistible:the classic theme of pure good vs. pure evil, the picturesque maps, the enchanting and absolutely gorgeous music (probably the best of any game I've encountered), the multifaceted tactical combat system, and last but not least the game's superb replayability.

Naturally, when I got my hands on the full game I was hopelessly spellbound.My wife might say "hexed"!Be warned:if you do buy this game, be aware you will be investing not only hard-earned cash (though not much--the price is a steal), but huge pockets of your time.This is not only because LOM is great fun, but because it's exceptionally difficult as well.Beating this game is not easy.Be prepared to take your lumps and go through a lot of frustration (albeit fun frustration!) before you finally win the day.

The game itself is strategy-based, and runs on turns during which each of the eight paths--called "faiths"--that populate the world of Urak make their moves.Though the turn system is convenient and offers your character many choices of action, each turn does take a while.Healing and resource accumulation are based on the passage of time, so after a tough battle you will have to sit passively through a few turns to recuperate.Moreover, the map of Urak over which your character moves is pretty big, and it can take several turns just to get from A to B, during which time you may be attacked by wandering monsters or see one of your fortresses sacked by raiding parties.To put it mildy, LOM is not for the impatient!

LOM follows a straightforward fantasy formula:the world of Urak is being overrun by the armies of Death itself, led by Balkoth the Destroyer, a diabolical necromancer who commands huge armies both living and dead and a powerful arsenal of black magic.You the player must choose a champion from one of eight different faiths (Order, Water, Air, Chaos, Fire, Earth, Life, or for those who have beaten the game at some point possibly even Death)and take on Balkoth and his seemingly limitless hordes on as either a Warrior, Mage, or Thief.(I personally usually choose to be a Warrior of Order, since that allows me to fulfill a lifelong dream of being a Paladin or Knight.) Each class of character is different from faith to faith, so the possible characterizations are many and varied.Whichever type of hero you choose, your character starts out weak and unknown and must slowly, painstakingly build himself up in terms of experience, magic, artifacts, fame, money, and military might.This means liberating besieged dungeons and forts and defeating enemy troops or marauding monsters, or bartering with friendly neighbors (of which there aren't many).Battle resolution is fun and plays in real time so there's a lot of variety.Battles do feature a "pause" option if you want to reconsider things and there's also an "autocalculate" button if you want the computer to determine the battle's outcome for you, though it seems the computer often underestimates the player's strength.If things go badly, the "restart" option lets you give it another go, and you may want to save your game often. If--and I do mean if--you meet and defeat Balkoth head-to-head, you win!

Lords of Magic probably isn't for everyone.The slow pace will aggravate those more inclined towards fast arcade-style games, and the fact that you may have to play for several days on end is an understandable turn-off for others.Moreover, the game can get repetitious at times, as you're likely to have to conquer and reconquer the same territory several times and spend an awful lot of game time simply convalescing.And then there's the simple fact that LOM is a very difficult game.Merely staying alive can be a problem, especially if you're ambitious, and actually killing Balkoth may seem like an impossible dream after you've just given your 53rd character the last rites.

But you can win, if you've got the time, patience, and energy it takes.If you do, then I heartily recommend Lords of Magic to you. When you finally finally kill the Arch-Demon of Death, it will all be worth it!

Fire is good
I have had this game for a year, but I have still not beat it. It is tough, but it is a fun tough that you get addicted to. You start the game by picking a class for your champion-Warrior, Mage, or Thief. Next you pick a faith, all with different strengths and weaknesses. You have to fight monsters in caves to build up your experience, and then take your Great Temple. That is just the very beginning. The graphics for this game are not the best considering the games that are out now like Halo and the Matrix, but the gameplay is what keeps me coming back to my computer. I have always liked strategy games and fiction; this game combines the two. I like the turn-based playing system because you don't have to worry about being attacked while your trying to do something like in Age of Empires. Resource gathering and troop producing is more realistic in this game than in any other one I've played. The special Quest are great. This is a game you do not want to use cheats on, because they make the game dumb. I give it 5 stars, the gameplay overshadowing the poor graphics.

so sweet!!
Ilove the graphics,music,the so-so battle,and the nonstop carecters.the fact that u get to be the bad guy(balkoth)after u defeat him the first time is not original but after u play as him everone else just stinks.the weapons are beutifully graphic and magic divercity is unparelel.also that u can command fallowers to mine for u and be trained up to worriors.this is the m,ost realistic medival game i ever played!u even have too summon mages to teach u spells from your library.after u play this game u will know what a pro is and forget the word con from your vocab. ... Read more

Features

• Build bustling city-states set in historical and mythological Greece with an advanced city-building system
• Exploit the gods to harness their powers and maximize the benefit to your city
• Summon Perseus, Hercules, and others to battle monsters and accomplish other heroic tasks
• Wage wars against neighboring cities, or become allies and combine arms against other rivals
• PC: Windows 95/98/ME/XP

Amazon.com Review

Challenging gamers to create one of the greatest empires in history, the third installment of the Caesar city building series proves once again that sometimes it's more fun to build a better past than a better future.

You can open Caesar III's City Construction Kit and build a Roman city to your specification, or choose the Career Mode and face challenges assigned to you by Caesar himself. With success comes promotion and wealth, but failure will make you a feature on the lions' lunch menu. Increasing the game's lifespan is a particularly nice touch allowing you to choose either "peaceful" or "dangerous" assignments to match your mood or preferred play style.

As you build colonies on the roads that lead to Rome you must encourage immigration and keep citizens happy. More than just bread and circuses, you balance trade, industry, city planning and deity worship, all while keeping in Caesar's good graces and fending off barbarian hordes. A plethora of animated visual cues show your success, as plebians and patricians noisily bustle about in a rich and lively recreation of Roman times. The tutorial levels might be a little simple, but the solid manual and fantastic in-game help should keep aspiring megalomaniacs crying"vene, vidi, vici" for hours on end. --Jack Gardiner ... Read more

Reviews (20)

Caeser 3 is Awesome!
I think this game is the most fun game that I have ever played.
I suggest that you try playing this game, and if you enjoy it, buy it! I am going to buy this game immediatly. Thank you Amazon.com, this game is great!

This is my most favorite computer game ever!
This is a really fun game! I got it because I like Ancient civilizations and I thought that it would be fun to play a game based on Ancient Rome. I was not disappointed! I even learned about some gods I hadn't know of before, and the game was fun toboot. It starts out on something of a tutorial, were you are the governor of a city and to be promoted to a better city, you have to meet certain requirements, such as prosperity and peace ratings. Sometimes you are required to give Caesar an urgent shipment of olive oil or wine, and if you don't, he gets mad at you. The graphics for this game are fun and pretty good quality. The only problem with this game is that level 8 is almost impossible to pass, so I have never made it to the end of this game. But it is fun just to play anyway. All and all, I would recommend this game to anyone.

Do it entirely yourself.
The sim people here are as stupid as sim people everywhere and they'll complain no matter what you do.I find it best to set up a province myself and not play one of the pre-designed settings because they just don't seem to go as well. One of the coolest aspects of the game is the wolves -- I've done so well in cities before that I'll connect the mainland to other areas which has wolves and just watch the wolves attack.Its pretty funny and the little skeletons are cute.But human enemies attacking can be serious so be prepared!

the caesar 3 world
when playing caesar 3 you jump in to the life less gamewhich was areal eror in time. but when playing you forget about the world around youand lose track of what you are doing . i really wold give it * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * ** * * * *

singned you fellow alian
hugamuga slauloseaterianmoogookoobookooloogoo
p.s do not disterb

All Roads Lead to Rome
This is a wonderful game. It is a ton of fun and you can set the level of difficulty. I only played the demo, so there must be even better stuff in the game. ... Read more

Reviews (10)

Still a great game
This game is so much fun I still play it over and over, it's even better than the next in the city-building series Emperor. It funny and versatile and beautiful. Incredibly addictive, rememer to eat and sleep at some point during play.

Travel through time to play the greatest game of all time
From the neverending epoch rises another game which enchants you to entertainment so deep that even doom coundnt have impressed me so much when it was first unleashed in the gaming market.Zeus is a game which tells you about rise and fall of ancient Greece and in such a manner that even the greatest of historians coundnt have told better (with some exceptions 'ahem').You play as a sort of mayor of a city.You have to build ur city towards a glorious metropolis.Keep ur gods contended ur people well fed ur enemies at bay and ur allies happy with u and you'll earn the approval and admiration of both gods and mortals alike.Mis manage Your city misunderstand your citizens and bribe incoming enemies and watch ur city burn and break by the hands of gods and mortals alike.Supply ur wealthy citizens with armor and horses and get ready to conquer distant territories and prove ur worth to ur rivals.War gaming was never so rewarding as Zues.
Imagine some drop sea ships unload a really biig army of minotaurs on your shores wat would u do.. bribe them or strike back and send them back limping to their territories ??at this momentif u wanna play offensive then u'll muster each and every unit u have for the battle cause. Either it would be long ranged slingers or heavy metal hoplites or legendiary heroes or mighty gods, its up to u how u wanna defeat ur enemies. Or u can play defensive and try to bribe the incoming armies, at that time they would leave but next time the bribery rate would be higher and this is a big disandvantage of bribing ur enemies.
The graphics,the involving storylne,and great game play adds to the games worth.Build great and beautiful sanctuaries for ur gods to earn thier approval and to yield its benifits, build heroes halls to attract heroes to help you in difficult tasks,and watch as gods bless ur city or blow it to smithereens.Its like a great combination of simcity with empire earth!!The game is a must buy for all who would like to know about the greatness of ancient Greece and to loose thier sleep playing the greatest city manegment+battle game title of all times. Dont wait a second Zeus is a must buy.

As good as it gets
A good strategy game, everything you expect to have is there, though I would have like to coordinate the battles away from more closely, rather than send troops and wait for the result.
Worth the price.

Th Acropolis Pack, or just Zeus, is the best game ever!
Acropolis is the best game ever.You could just by Zeus first and then get Poseidon, but I reccomend the the Acropolis Pack because it includes the two games and it is a lot cheaper then buying the two seprately...Anyways let me get down to the review which will start in the next paragraph.
The game is addicting and makes you want to keep playing for hours on end... The graphics are pretty good and the sound is okay, but the gameplay is excedingly good.It is pretty much a Sim City combined withe Ages of Empires.I recommend this pack to anyone who loves Greek mythology; it is loaded with it.I won't tell you anything about the levels because you will have to find ou about that youreself, but I will tell you will probably being hereing more f me in the future.Thank you, good night!!!

I've really taken a shine to this game!
I've just finished playing the full game. The adventures are really cool. All the adventures in the game are very easy to play. The so called hard adventures only manage to make the game even more lengthy. There's nothing hard about this game.
The game involves four main areas - providing goods for your people either through city production or trade, providing entertainment for your people, building monuments to the gods to honour them and declaring war on your opponents. There is not much importance given to city building. The next best thing in the game after the gods are the adventures. And u have nothing to lose once u r done with the adventures as u can create your own adventures thanx to the adventure editor.
The only problem with the game is that it is time consuming as the adventures are very lengthy. So if u have time to waste pick this one up. And yes i've yet to figure out the problem i had with Theseus's hall. ... Read more