Caesar III

Caesar III is part of Sierra's City Building Series and was released in October 1998. The cities in Caesar III attempt to accurately reflect the lives of Roman citizens: The lowest plebs live in tents and huts, while the wealthiest patricians live in villas. Staple foods include wheat, fruits, vegetables, and pork, and wine is required for some feasts and homes. The citizens walk the streets in their various garb and can tell the player their name and how they feel about the city. The city is displayed in a two-dimensional isometric view with a fixed zoom level and can be rotated ninety degrees. Access to services such as market goods, entertainment, hygiene, education, and taxes is represented by "walkers," which are people sent from their homes to patrol the streets. Each house that a walker passes has access to the services of the walker's building. All movement of goods and coverage of the walkers are accurately reflected by the citizens walking through the streets: A player can watch the progress of a farm's harvest, and when it is finished, a worker pushes a full cart from the farm to a nearby warehouse or granary, then returns with an empty cart. Music plays in the background, varying according to the situation (gentle themes at the beginning, war drums in times of conflict, and triumphant music as the player approaches the goal). The musical themes are complemented by the sounds of the crowd, the sounds of production, and the clang of weapons at appropriate times. There are two ways to play the game: Mission mode, which is similar to the typical "campaign" modes of other strategy games, and City Builder mode, in which the player plays a scenario from scratch.