The best game ever? I have often wondered if that was just nostalgia talking, with the game's sublime mix of action and strategy existing only in my memory. I've been without a means to play Populous: the beginning for some time now, but a recent GOG.com promotion let me rebuy it for £2.50 with various patches to allow it to play on modern machines.
Or, at least, that was the idea. In order to run the game I need to delve into the game directories and find one of the executables, rather than running from the installed shortcut. Most annoying. Anyone else who's having issues, look for a file called popTB.exe and run that - you'll need admin rights though.
Unlike most PC games, it's well worth putting up with the game being a little unstable. The game is as good as I remember it, if not better - the carefully balanced strengths and weaknesses of each character really shines after all this time.
Of course, I had no access to my previous saved games, so I have had to restart. I initially had difficulty getting past the fifth level - Death From Above - because I didn't notice the timer in the corner of the screen, but soon cracked that. After that it's been relatively plain sailing, with only a couple of restarts.
I have grown to hate preachers once again, because they have the ability to completely stop an attacking party. In response I overcompensate by training too many preachers of my own, and as a result don't have enough attacking power.
In the last level I played, Fire in the Mist, I was constantly attacked and had to contend with a volcano near the start of the level. Still, it made a good platform for a lookout post.
Or, at least, that was the idea. In order to run the game I need to delve into the game directories and find one of the executables, rather than running from the installed shortcut. Most annoying. Anyone else who's having issues, look for a file called popTB.exe and run that - you'll need admin rights though.
Unlike most PC games, it's well worth putting up with the game being a little unstable. The game is as good as I remember it, if not better - the carefully balanced strengths and weaknesses of each character really shines after all this time.
Of course, I had no access to my previous saved games, so I have had to restart. I initially had difficulty getting past the fifth level - Death From Above - because I didn't notice the timer in the corner of the screen, but soon cracked that. After that it's been relatively plain sailing, with only a couple of restarts.
I have grown to hate preachers once again, because they have the ability to completely stop an attacking party. In response I overcompensate by training too many preachers of my own, and as a result don't have enough attacking power.
In the last level I played, Fire in the Mist, I was constantly attacked and had to contend with a volcano near the start of the level. Still, it made a good platform for a lookout post.
