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Actual Game
Populous
The Beginning
1-Click Install
Windows
11, 10, 8, 7, Vista, XP
(Bullfrog 1998)
MY PROMISE
My games are genuine, install in one step, look, sound and play in Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP like they did in the old days, or your money back.This is my unconditional guarantee for three years.
WHAT IS INCLUDED This listing includes the original retail CD. Complete electronic documentation is also included. The box is pictured for reference only and it, and the jewel case, are NOT included.
I will also provide a compatibility CD that will allow the game to run under Windows 11, 10, 8, 7, Vista and XP.
INSTALLATIONOne step: Insert my CD and the game will automatically work on your computer. Done. Yes, it's that simple.
Want to play? Click the icon. Want the game off your computer? Click Uninstall. Zero hassle.
TECH SUPPORTRapid response technical support for three years is always an e-mail or phone call away.
In the extremely rare event I cannot get this title to work on your system I will take it back for a full refund. All I ask is minimal assistance from you during thetroubleshooting process.
The Game
Truly classic strategy games - of which there are but a handful - become greater in hindsight. When you look at the hundreds of mediocre games available each year, it'seasy to long for the days of Civilization. Of SimCity. Of Populous. Sequels to these classics can go one of two routes. The safe route is to make a slightly modifiedversion of the original (such as Civilization II or Populous II). The daring route is to completely revamp the game, taking the core elements and building a new game atopthem. Populous: The Beginning, the third in the series, does the latter.
The original Populous cast you in the role of a god, influencing your worshippers to obliterate the heretics who worship other gods. You could manipulate the terrain. Youcould cast devastating spells to kill your enemies' followers. You could influence your people to move and attack but could not control them directly. In Populous: TheBeginning, you can manipulate terrain. You can cast devastating spells. But you aren't a god, you are a shaman, with godlike aspirations (hence the title). You do controlyour followers directly, and in that, Populous: The Beginning makes the biggest break from the original. The end result is more akin to a contemporary real-time strategygame than the strange subgenre of "god games" that Populous created. It's like Warcraft with no resources, a small handful of units, and amazing graphics.
Each mission starts with you and a handful of followers. You command these followers to start building structures, such as domestic huts to generate more followers andtraining huts to generate combat units. There are two types of combat units: warriors and priests. Warriors come in a few flavors, such as the basic, hand-to-hand unit andfire warriors, who shoot fireballs at your foes. Priests have the ability to convert enemy units to your cause. You also have your shaman, the most powerful unit in thegame, who has an assortment of powerful spells in her arsenal.
Once you have a solid force at your disposal, you go out to destroy the enemy. There are two goals in almost every mission: Gather as many followers as possible andeliminate the enemy. Followers are gathered in many ways. They can be generated in huts; as stated before, priests can convert enemy followers; and the shaman's convertspell can turn neutral natives to your cause. Destroying the opposition basically requires you to select all of your forces and throw them at the enemy. Mixed forces arerequired, because only priests can prevent your soldiers from being converted by enemy priests. Occasionally tactics can be utilized effectively, but basically it's just acase of the biggest army winning. Once in a while, a mission uses a slightly modified structure, but these are the exception.
As in many Bullfrog games, you gain access to higher-level buildings and spells with each subsequent mission. In this, Populous: The Beginning is similar to Bullfrog'sDungeon Keeper. You can get new spells and structures from worshipping totems or raiding vaults of knowledge. With the former, you gain the knowledge for a limited time.With the latter (which only your shaman can access), it becomes a permanent part of your repertoire. For instance, you may get a few castings of the tornado spell early on,but you won't get to use it consistently until much later. The pacing is good, and almost every mission gives you something new to play with.
Populous: The Beginning has enough innovation to make it more than just a run-of-the-mill real-time strategy
