Populous: The Beginning

Undiscovered Worlds is the official expansion pack to Electronic Art's 1998 real time strategy game; this mission pack adds 12 new levels and follows the storyline on from Populous: The Beginning.

Peter Molyneaux's pioneering "God game" gets resurrected and re-imagined for a new generation of handheld strategists in Populous DS. This time players take control of five different deities, and make use of each God's unique elemental miracles to manipulate terrain and encourage the growth of a civilization. Solo gamers can take part in the 50-mission campaign or tackle the "Warrior Hunt" mini-game in the "Free Play Mode," and multiplayer action lets up to four people battle one another using earthquakes, tidal waves, and volcanic eruptions.

Undiscovered Worlds is the official expansion pack to Electronic Art's 1998 real time strategy game; this mission pack adds 12 new levels and follows the storyline on from Populous: The Beginning.

Populous: The Beginning is a strategy and god-style video game. It is the third entry in the Populous video game series, developed by Bullfrog Productions in 1998. The PC version of the game was released November 30, 1998 and a PlayStation version was later developed and released on April 2, 1999. Unlike earlier games in the series, which cast the player in the role of a god influencing loyal followers, The Beginning took a radical departure and placed the player in the role of a shaman, who directly leads her tribe against opponents. Throughout the twenty-five missions of the campaign, the player leads their tribe across a solar system, dominating enemy tribes and tapping new sources of magic, with the ultimate goal of the shaman attaining godhood herself. Populous: The Beginning was the first entry in the series to use true 3D computer graphics; Bullfrog waited four years after Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods so that the graphics technology could catch up to their vision for a new and different game in the series. The developers considered the addition of terrain deformation and manipulation, combined with "smart" villagers who automatically attended to tasks, to add an entirely new dimension to the series. The game's original title was Populous: The Third Coming before being changed prior to the beta release. Populous: The Beginning plays very differently from earlier titles and received mixed reviews. Reviewers positively noted the excellent graphics, while complaints were directed at the artificial intelligence and the indecision in game design between being a real time strategy title and a god game. GamePro's Peter Olafson wrote that Populous: The Beginning was not a bad game, in fact a good one; "but it's a different game—one without a quintessential quality that defined Populous."

Xenogears Blends Authentic RPG Gameplay with Exquisite Hand-Drawn and Computer-Generated Animation in a Grand Science Fiction Tale. An intricate storyline involving many human and non-human characters will prove to captivate audiences of all ages. Players can rotate the amazingly detailed 3D gameplay maps 360 degrees, and have the ability to navigate around the environment by jumping and climbing. In battle, mega-robots can be controlled, adding great variety to play. A new real-time combat system eliminates restrictive menus, using button commands to provide fast-paced, intuitive action. Players can wield dramatic magical spells or engage in real-time polygonal robot vs. robot battles. Combined with dynamic camera angles and intense lighting effects, Xenogears is an experience that won't be forgotten.

Should you enter Tecmo's Deception you should be warned! You must decide who lives and who dies. As in life, Tecmo's Deception will hold you responsible for your actions. Everything you do, everywhere you go, everyone you meet has a reason. Are you seeking revenge, resurrection, or redemption? It's your decision.

Kagero: Deception II is the sequel to Tecmo's Deception. It follows a similar, hard-to-classify gameplay style, which can be perhaps defined as a real-time strategy game with RPG elements. Instead of commanding troops and units, Millennia has to place traps and activate them to prevent the intruders from conquering the castle. Unlike the first game, Kagero: Deception II is played from a third-person perspective. A major addition to the gameplay is the introduction of "trap combos": traps can be positioned in such a way that they will trigger each other, leading to powerful combinations that would harm the invaders more. The game also allows to customize traps and use various materials to build new ones. As before, the main character and her traps grow in power in correspondence with the amount of enemies killed, lending the game a RPG flavor. The morality system also present in this sequel, as the player can decide for Millennia whom to kill and whom to spare. Eventually, the player will be able to choose to join either the Timenoids or the humans.

Magic Carpet is a video game released by Bullfrog Productions in 1994. Its graphics and gameplay were considered innovative and technically impressive at the time. A revised edition, Magic Carpet Plus, included the Hidden Worlds expansion pack which added 25 levels and a winter-themed tileset. The title also had a sequel released in 1995, Magic Carpet 2. Magic Carpet was considered by critics to be a revolutionary game for its time.

Suikoden is a Japanese-style role-playing game with several unusual additions. There are three kinds of combat in the game, the most common one being the traditional turn-based party combat (players can have up to six people in their active party). Magic runes can be equipped on the player's characters which allow limited usage of offensive and healing spells. There are also a few army battles, where the player must control whole units of fighters, archers, magicians, etc., and one-on-one fights (duels).

In a world where technology and mythology are one, a young rebel and his ragtag crew are unwittingly drawn into a holy war being waged by the bloodthirsty General Faulkner and his mercenary forces. Guide the charasmatic Bastion as he realizes his destiny to lead the rebellion against the Junaris Kingdom, and to save the people of his world from an eternity of oppression. Lead powerful squadrons of robotic warriors into battle and take complete command of their actions. Smite your foes with cleaving swords, piercing spears, and sizzling magic spells. Use the terrain to your advantage and maneuver your forces into superior combat positions. Witness the results of your tactical decisions in glorious 3D combat sequences.

Natsume's farm simulation series makes its debut on the PlayStation with Harvest Moon: Back to Nature. It is the first Harvest Moon game for a non-Nintendo console. Starting with a few rudimentary implements and very little money, players begin the arduous task of reviving their grandfather's farm and thereby claiming their place as its rightful heir. Players are given three years to achieve this goal. A year consists of four seasons, each of which lasts 30 days. Different crops can be planted each season, but before the seeds can be planted, the land must be cleared and then the soil tilled. Seeds must also be watered until the fruit or vegetable matures. Once the crops are ready for harvest, they can be placed in a shipping bin where they'll be collected and paid for. In addition to farming, players will interact with local villagers and partake in seasonal events such as the Tomato Festival and Fireworks Display. As more money is earned, players can expand their farm and begin to raise livestock such as chickens and cows.

Populous is a real-time strategy game where the player takes the role of a deity influencing the development of civilizations. You shape terrain, guide followers, and use natural disasters like floods, volcanoes, and earthquakes to influence or eliminate opposing tribes. The game features an isometric perspective and includes 500 levels (worlds), each with different challenges. Originally developed by Bullfrog and designed by Peter Molyneux, it is considered one of the earliest examples of the god-game genre.

It has all the features, flexibility, art, animation, and power you need to create an environment of your dreams. Choose from a selection of bonus cities and scenarios to rule or ruin as you please. Build schools, libraries, hospitals, zoos, prisons, power plants, and much more... Lay down roads, railways, and highways. Explore the underground layer and build subways and utilities without compromising your aesthetics. Customize different buildings or design your own graphics sets from scratch. This is the ultimate classic Maxis city-building and management simulation. If this game were any more realistic, it'd be illegal to turn it off!

In a world beyond imagination... In their immeasurable greed and constant thirst for power, the thirteen most powerful Mages of all time doomed the land, hurling it into an endless spiral of chaos and despair. Entire countries were wiped out in the blink of an eye when the devastating power of the Elements was unleashed – Elements summoned by dark rituals. Continents shattered like glass, the pieces strewn about like leaves in the wind. Huge armies, bound by the the power of ancient runes, brought war and destruction to the lands that survived the initial onslaught. All that was left were a few islands, connected by magic portals. Now, only a few years after the end of the Convocation, evil is back – stronger and more powerful than ever before – to finish what was started. Yet there is still hope. The prophecies tell of a human. A human damned to immortality, bound forever by the power of the blood runes… Soon, the time will come when the power of one may change the destiny of many. For better or for worse... Summary of the most important features: Innovative game design: The unique mixture of RTS and RPG elements offers a brand new game experience. High degree of identification with the hero-avatar, whose skills and strengths can be improved by the player Click’n’Fight: This revolutionary control system guarantees instant action, the best possible overview and completely new tactical possibilities in battle 6 races – Humans, Dwarves, Elves, Dark Elves, Orcs and Trolls – that can be used simultaneously (!) to build settlements and fight battles More than 30 different enemy races, from cowardly goblins to powerful demons and dragons A multitude of spells, divided into different categories of magic (white, black, elemental, etc.) Persistant game world with continuous, gripping storyline and myriad sub-quests Awe-inspiring 3D graphics with zoom levels from isometric to 1st-Person-views