City Builders... what to play.

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So its been a while since i played a city builder, like the last time i played it was 'caesar 3' and pharaoh and i was wondering what people might recommend.

I dont mind added combat but mainly want to find something about building, with either a medieval (dont mind added fantasy) / present / futuristic styles.
 
Here are a few I can think of:-

Tropico 3
Black & White 2
Sim City 4
Anno 1404/1701
The Settlers games
Tycoon City New York (bit of a weird one)

Hasn't been anything notable for quite a while to be honest (Cities XL is supposed to be shyt). I don't think there's much money in it anymore... Cities in Motion apparently has a city-building element but is mainly transport management.
 
imo theres 2 main choices and you cant go wrong with either:

Modern city builder - Sim City 4, getting on a bit (2003 game i beleive) but still looks good imo and is great fun.

For slightly more classical city building - anno 1404, brilliant stunning game that eats up hours.

If you want something a little more light hearted and easy, tropico 3 is worth a go.

hope that helps.
 
I found Tropico 3 ultimately very liming as a straight city builder. Nothing annoys me more then being able to build massive skyscrapers but not being able to move a small rock, so I can't fit them in.

Sim City 4 + custom content still the best by far.
 
My vote goes to Anno 1404. Astonishingly good game and it looks beautiful. It's slow-paced at the strategic level, but you always have lots of stuff to do. It's amazing how much time you can sink into building a single supply chain.

It also benefits from a campaign, standalone missions and a gloriously configurable sandbox mode. In fact it's so feature-complete that, much as I love the game, I didn't even bother buying the Venice expansion pack. There's just so much to do already. Best game in the genre that I've played in years, really.
 
If Caesar III and Pharaoh are your thing then go for Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom or Zeus: Master of Olympus. The other games mentioned above are all good in their own way but they are not the 'gaming equivalent of spinning plates' as Steve Hill once described Caesar III in the PC Zone magazine.
 
How is Children of the Nile, i believe its the follow up to the Pharoah series and in 3D?

Im assuming not as good?

It was created by the core developers of the Caesar III and Pharaoh games I believe. It's a very good game but, it's quite different from Pharaoh. Well worth picking up when Steam has it on a sale.
 
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