77: Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods

Number 77
(77.4 points)
Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods
1992: 8 (18.6)
1993: 30 (28.4)
1995: 63 (30.4)

A Populous game was chosen for five of the six years of the list, but by virtue of having three appearances, this one appears later here. Clearly the Amiga Power team couldn't decide which was better, so it's time to find out why.

This sequel to Bullfrog's original god game is rather similar, but two notable changes are a more streamlined interface, and the addition of many more god-like effects, rather than merely the volcanoes and earthquakes in the original. The game plays like a more refined version, making design changes where it was deemed necessary. Clearly those changes were positive to most but not all, which explains Amiga Power's changing position on which game to include in the Top 100 list.

Well, if you read my entry on Populous, you can guess my thoughts on this one, as it's not all that different. You're still raising and lowering land, you're still guiding your people around a map, and you're still raining death and destruction on your enemies, though there are more options in that regard. I honestly played for just a couple of minutes, as I knew it would be more or less the same as before, and I wasn't very keen on the original anyway. I'm obviously missing out on something here, but whatever.

Recommended TOSEC disk(s):
Populous II & The Challenge Games (1994)(Hit Squad, The)(Disk 1 of 2)[cr DLT][budget][compilation]
Populous II & The Challenge Games (1994)(Hit Squad, The)(Disk 2 of 2)[cr DLT][budget][compilation]