Others say...

"A fitting sequel"
I remember well the original Populous. I was a wide eyed boy when I first watched my elder brother play it on our Amiga 500. The sheer concept of being a god, watching over these little people and guiding them to success was amazing. The graphics and music were simply gorgeous.

And then came populous 2. I was older then and understood the complexities of the game. Still though I never quite achieved the lofty heights of my brother. I have here a little brown booklet in which he recorded the codes of his levels. He had last left off populous level 143. Populous 2 at level 302. The people at Bulfrog certainly knew what they were doing to create such engrossing games. And I was pleased that this tradition was continued.

It was a number of years ago, when Populous: The Beginning, came out that I bought it. I still have that very same CD and still play the game.

The premise changed greatly from the original two games. Whereas before one took the position of an omnipotent deity guiding their people to victory over rival deities, now the player assumes the part of a tribal shaman. The goal this time around is, perhaps, a little more gripping. It is the destiny of the shaman to attain god-hood, but in her way stand other shamans of other tribes. So, she must lead her tribe against them to victoriously become a god.
In her quest, the player is aided by a variety of spells, ranging from mere fireballs to the raising of mighty volcanos and creation of Angels of Death.

A pleasent departure from the earlier games is also the ability to directly control your followers. Whereas before it was only possible to issue vague orders (assemble here, go to building, etc.) this is more like a real-time strategy game, with specific orders to move to any location, attack, etc.

Those who remember the days of patiently watching houses upgraded may or may not be glad to take a more hands on approach. As time passes - and with more followers inside - the house reaches a stage where it may be upgraded; at which point followers will depart and gather wood to upgrade it. And it is here also that we see more elements of real-time strategy. A very basic system of resources - here limited to wood. In order to build any building a set amount of wood is needed. Basic followers, Braves, harvest wood from trees. If a tree is completely harvested it is gone, whereas to take some wood it may grow back.

But perhaps the greatest change is in the graphics and perspective. Where before we were, fittingly, given the view of a god, we now view from the same level as our shaman. The world is now three dimensional, set on a sphere which can be moved about.
Characters are still two dimensional sprites, but the detail is much greater than previous games.
The worlds themselves are lavish in detail and range from tropical, to lava-filled to more exotic climes that are obviously pulled straight from imagination. Clouds pass gently across the sky, giving a sense of the passage of time.

And as always, Bullfrog have not dissapointed with the sound. The music deserves a worthy mention. It's quasi-tribal feel perfectly suits the mood. Ranging from soft, melodic chanting to more stirring drums it can set the pace to suit both the gameplay and world.
The sounds are also well suited to the theme. Characters speak words designed to sound tribal, again driving home the feel of a primitive, tribal world. Albeit a beautiful, but torn one.

Having been released in 1998 the game may now seem dated, but it's quality of gameplay certainly is not. A delightful treat for both fans of the series and those new to it.

"Great Stragey game"
This game, by far, has to be one of the best stragey games i have ever played. I would have to put it the same boat as the Civilization games, if not better. The only draw back to Populous though, is if you do not have the proper windows based system, it WILL NOT work on your computer. I was told that it would work on Windows XP, but i am still trying to figure out how that is possible; however, if you have something different, i would waste no time at all purchasing this game.

"Best Game Ever"
This has to be one of the best games ever made.

You are the Shaman of a tribe and you have special powers. You can shoot fireballs, lightning, cast death swamps, volcanoes, tornadoes, etc. However, despite how powerful your shaman is, it is still important to train your braves to fight. You can have a few different units other than the Shaman: the brave (he builds things and can fight, but not very well), the warrior (a tough hand to hand combat fighter), the fire warrior (he shoots fire at people from a distance), the priest (he converts other units to your side), and the spy (he can sneak into the enemie's base and set fire to buildings).

There is a lot of strategy to this game, not only with which units to build, but the terrain can be altered with the spells your shaman has. Don't like a mountain that's in your way? Level it. Tired of all that water? Make land.

There are also a lot of ways to reach your enemy: by land, boat, and air. Things can get hectic really quickly.

You should try this game out.

"Where it all began!!!"
I am frugal when it comes to purchasing video games and pc games, at full price. I always wait for the reviews and play the demos before I ever buy a game. Back in 1998, when I got my first computer, I had subscribed to a pc gamer and the demo for this game was on one of the discs. I tired loved it and went and bought it. This is my all -time favorite game. I have had and played all sorts of games from pc, nintendo, xbox, playstation, dreamcast, etc., and they all have some great games, but I always find myself going back to this one game. I play it over and over and never get tired of it. Surprisingly there is a whole community who thinks the same and am so happy about it. With new levels being created for online play. Visit strategyplanet.com/populous and you will find a whole world of newness for this game. From the expansion that came out for it to the matchmaker for the online multiplayer option to the Age of Chaos mod for it. I could go on and on on this game. This game is the one that truly made me enjoy pc games and video games.

"The Awsome game"
This game is the best! I have so much fun playing it with my sister but she hhogs it and she doesn't let me play. but wen i do play it is so much fun!!!!!! I hope peolpe get it but get 2 if they have sisteras cause their mean