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 plebeians live in tents and huts, while the wealthiest patricians live in villas. Staple foods include wheat, fruit, vegetables and pork, and wine is required for some feasts and houses. The citizens walk through the streets in their various garments 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 magnification level and can be rotated by ninety degrees. Access to services such as market goods, entertainment, hygiene, education and taxes is represented by "walkers", people who patrol the streets from their houses. Every house a walker passes is considered access to the services of the walker's building. All movements of goods and the walkers' cover are accurately reflected by the citizens walking through the streets: A player can watch the progress of a farm's harvest, and when it's done, 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 (soft themes at the beginning, war drums in times of conflict and triumphant music as the player approaches the goal). Sounds from the crowd complement the musical themes, the sounds of production and the clanking 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 Building Mode, in which the player plays a scenario from the ground up.