Caesar III

About Caesar III

Caesar III (1998) is Impressions Games' city builder in which a provincial governor raises Roman cities, keeping citizens fed, entertained and devout while facing disasters, angry gods and invaders.

Caesar III in Depth

In Career mode the player takes branching assignments set in historical Roman cities such as Brundisium and Londinium, each of growing size and complexity, and chooses whether to play a peaceful map, with stricter victory conditions plus earthquakes and fires, or a military one with the risk of invasion. The City Construction Kit offers open-ended building without victory conditions. Cities are built in an isometric view, and growth depends on interconnected supply chains for water, food, religion, entertainment, education and health. Terrain matters too, with river channels, fertile land and mining areas offering different resources and obstacles.

Unlike Caesar II, everything happens on a single map rather than separate province and city maps. Its signature mechanic is the walker: inhabitants deliver services to buildings by walking past them, so the layout of roads becomes a strategic question. Progress is judged on population and four ratings, Culture from temples, theatres and schools, Prosperity from jobs, housing and revenue, Peace from freedom from crime, riots and invasion, and Favor from meeting Caesar's requests for tribute and gifts on time. A chief advisor and specialists for labour, health, education, trade and religion help, and an Empire map shows trade routes and threats.

Making Caesar III

David Lester admitted Impressions hesitated over a third Caesar because Caesar II had been so well received that they did not know where to take it. After six months on a space setting, the team returned to Rome, which Simon Bradbury said offered a "wealth of material for a strategy game". Many features answered criticisms of Caesar II, including mission choice to reduce repetition and combat integrated into the city view, while walkers were meant to do something different from SimCity's simple coverage. Released on 30 September 1998 for Windows and Mac OS, it was praised for its presentation and complex design, though its military features drew criticism. It earned a German Gold award for 100,000 sales, and Sierra said the Caesar series had sold well over a million units by April 1999.