Caesar II , one of the first historic city building games, remains a fun (if a little short) play 9 years after release.
Gameplay - 9/10
The strategy involved in most city-builders is complex but in most cases quite homogeneous, almost identical to each other in most respects. Caesar II's city-mode is no different in this however with the province-mode and your relationship with Rome added onto this, the game is very unique. The combat engine also is very intricate and with ample opportunities to fine tune your command skills you will quickly learn to create your own layouts and maneuvers. Graphics - 7/10
The Graphics in Caesar II, while rudimentary compared to modern games, are quite good for the time. The detail involved in all (except the citizen models) aspects of the game shows how graphics evolved after the dos-era ended.
Sound - 7/10
The Music and sound effects in Caesar II while not bad, don't stand out compared to other games of the time. In one word they are, average.
Value - 9/10
Since you can find Caesar II in just about any bargain bin, whatever you pay for it will probably be worth it. The replay value is pretty immense, trying out each of the over 25 maps will take many days if not weeks.
Reviewer's Tilt - 8/10
The reason I didn't rate Caesar II as a 9 or a 10 is simple, if you are interested in retro strategy games to play in your spare time, I whole-heartedly recommend buying this game, however if you aren't, there are better ones out there. Caesar II does deserve our respect in that it was the first game to introduce a combat section into the city-building. If you want a nice alternative to Simcity Classic I defiantly recommend this game.