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Ave! A funny thing happens on the way to the forum as it emerges that Impressions’ already excellent Roman sim is now upgraded...
C reating a sequel is a difficult task, particularly if the game you are trying to enhance is a classic in its own right. Caesar had everyone donning a toga and plumed helmet, prancing about in front of their Amigas with delight (well, we did). Perhaps it is a good thing, then, that Caesar Deluxe has been designed to tweak and complement aspects of the original rather than introduce drastic changes.
Civia Romanus Sum
If you attach no significance to the name Sim City then you have truly missed a classic – a rigorous test of urban planning and development. Caesar was a clone of that landmark production. Nevertheless, it received the coveted Format Gold award thanks to added dimensions of defence and conquest and its cute little houses.

The object of Caesar is to help the empire by establishing a city within the province over which you have jurisdiction. Building the city is difficult because you must monitor many aspects of its development, but your ability as a governor are represented by the four pillars of Roman civilisation: Peace, Culture, Prosperity and Empire.
Increasing each of these is hard, but the difficulty of juggling several problems at once is what makes Caesar fascinating. The state of the first three aspects can be improved by building defensive walls, creating more amenities for your citizens, increasing industrial output and so on. Your imperialist abilities, on the other hand, are gauged according to your city’s expansion on a provincial level and a new feature allows you to create Imperial Highways which connect your city to other provinces as well as other towns.

This makes Caesar Deluxe even bigger than its predecessor. Just remember, though, that you will also have marauding barbarians pounding at your gates and other disasters to cope with, so preparation for the worst is essential. A catastrophe can have repercussions which shatter the city, but desperately taking steps to save it is just as enjoyable as watching it grow.

Dulce et decorum est...
In order to develop the city you must monitor its progress and this is done with the help of several advisors who are found at the forum. Here, the changes rung by Caesar Deluxe really begin to show with the addition of another counsellor to your merry band. He joins the existing oracles of fiscal and social information as a sort of Department of Trade and Industry inspector (BC), offering advice on industrial expansion in your province.

An odd change to the game is that slaved are now called ‘plebs’. Other enhancements in the game are mainly designed to add to the fluidity of play, and include a rearrangement of the main icons ad the addition of a viewfinder to the main, bird’s eye view window. There is also a panel that explains icons as you slide your mouse-pointer over them frantically while the city burns to the ground. The new control system only fractionally improves the whole arrangement, but it was already excellent in the first place.

Overall, the game has been polished in all respects, right down to packaging and documentation, but do not expect this to be a sequel. Impressions have almost achieved a version that is genuinely ‘Deluxe’, but you have to ask yourself whether it is worth paying £14.99 for a what is only a very slight upgrade.

Caesar remains a classic and if you do not have the original invest in this. However, with the impending release of Sim City 2000, a new empire is about to be founded.
Rob Mead