34 – Pharaoh
In the 90s Sierra launched the City Building series that could be described as “Sim City set in a historical civilization”, with the first game in the series, Caesar, set in Rome, released in 1992. After Roman Empire, the next set in the city building series was the Ancient Egypt, with Pharaoh (1999).
Although the similarities with SimCity are evident (you have to build a city and provide services to your citizens in order to increase population, collect taxes, etc…) the game has some differences beyond the historical setting including features that approach the game to the strategy genre like a basic military management, a strong focus on commerce and resource production, foreign enemies and missions, that distance the game from the more pure “city simulation” of SimCity. Housing evolution system also differs from SimCity since the level of the houses built in a place will evolve depending on its location and the services provided.
While SimCity was truly innovative and many people will prefer its approach to city management, the strategic components of the City Building series give them enough personality and are enjoyable by themselves.
