8. Zeus: Master of Olympus

Zeus: Master of Olympus trailer

It’s time to bring back an old favorite, and that’s exactly what we have on our hands in Zeus: Master of Olympus by Impressions Games. The game is certainly that—old—but it did its job so well and earned itself so much respect that city-building veterans will remember it very fondly. Released back in 2000, Zeus: Master of Olympus combines elements of city-building, real-time strategy and, as you would imagine, Greek history and mythology.

The game’s campaign is very satisfying. You play through several “adventures”, as the game calls them, wherein you must build up a city in stages. Your cities are retained throughout the story, making for a great sense of progression. Even when you must build up other settlements, your parent city and others will be preserved just the way you left them, and there is lots of room for trade and interplay between the cities, as you would expect from having a few colonies under your thumb.

The gods of old and the classic heroes make several appearances throughout the game. Not only must you please the gods, they will literally show up to fight with or against you depending on the circumstances. You can also attract heroes like Hercules to your city to complete certain tasks. Zeus: Master of Olympus focuses on balancing your economy, culture and military endeavors. It’s a task that will get more and more challenging as you advance in the game, and leads to hours of building and fun.

Economy, entertainment and religion are three highly important aspects of all your cities.

Build up an army to defend your town, or send them to conquer a neighboring enemy. But beware: soldiers are actually taken from your citizens, which will affect your work force.