As I said in my title, I really wish this game was worthy of a higher rating (I'm giving it 4 for fun and 3 overall) but because of overall unwieldiness of the controls I'm sorry that it isn't.

I'd lost track of the City Building Series since Emperor so was really surprised to find this "treasure" on the store shelf last fall.  Being a lover of the series since Caesar 2 I had to give it a try.

I totally enjoy that the developers tried to take it back to the base Caesar 3 game and at the same time try to make the game more enjoyable and less frustrating.  Unfortunately they didn't succeed in the frustration level in a couple of vital areas.

One major complaint is how unweildy control of scrolling and rotating the map is.  Rotation can only be accomplished with the right mouse button and if you're not careful you've gone several 360-degree turns before you know what's happening.

The other biggy is trying to lay out a city that's both aesthetically pleasing and functional.  I know it can be accomplished--I've seen plenty of screenshots to prove it.  Unfortunately I don't want to take the time to count out the tiny tiles for exact road placement (I'm not a bean counter by nature).  I want to get into the nitty-gritty of city building and have everything fit nicely and work out as I go along.

The roads themselves take four tiles, with most buildings taking nine or more tiles (with the exception of the few smaller buildings).  Since the roads are multi-tiled and it's difficult to count the small tiles it's extremely hard to place things in any type of sensible layout.

Another thing that bugs me is that way too much of the city information is only available through the advisors (Zeus and Emperor both spoiled me with info available with one mouse click).  As mentioned previously, very little info on trade is accessible through the trading stations.  Unless I missed it somewhere if you want to know how much of a good has been shipped so far in the current year, that info can only be accessed through the Kingdom Map.  I find myself spending about half my play time clicking through the Advisor menus for information.  I don't mind micro-managing but this goes beyond that.

Another major sore point with me is the lack of messages when you're stockpiling goods to fulfill a request.  Unless your memory is keen those requests could go unfilfilled without even realizing it.  There should have been another message once you've reached quote for sending shipment.

I have to say the graphics in the game are quite striking.  It's awesome to pull out from the city and look into the distance and see a somewhat faded view to give a more realistic look of perspective.  Thankfully, though, the day and night feature is optional.  I found it very annoying and distracting to have my city once a year go so dark I could barely see what I was trying to do.

A note to the person having problem with Prosperity rating:  Prosperity isn't just how much money your city earns--your citizens have to reach a certain level of prosperity in order to reach those points.  In other words, their housing has to evolve to a certain level to meet the win conditions.  The actual numbers are a bit too complicated to go into here.

Overall I'm not sorry I bought the game, but I am sorry I paid full price for it instead of waiting a few months until the price came down because I don't feel it was worth it.
As I said in my title, I really wish this game was worthy of a higher rating (I'm giving it 4 for fun and 3 overall) but because of overall unwieldiness of the controls I'm sorry that it isn't. I'd lost track of the City Building Series since Emperor so was really surprised to find this "treasure" on the store shelf last fall. Being a lover of the series since Caesar 2 I had to give it a try. I totally enjoy that the developers tried to take it back to the base Caesar 3 game and at the same time try to make the game more enjoyable and less frustrating. Unfortunately they didn't succeed in the frustration level in a couple of vital areas. One major complaint is how unweildy control of scrolling and rotating the map is. Rotation can only be accomplished with the right mouse button and if you're not careful you've gone several 360-degree turns before you know what's happening. The other biggy is trying to lay out a city that's both aesthetically pleasing and functional. I know it can be accomplished--I've seen plenty of screenshots to prove it. Unfortunately I don't want to take the time to count out the tiny tiles for exact road placement (I'm not a bean counter by nature). I want to get into the nitty-gritty of city building and have everything fit nicely and work out as I go along. The roads themselves take four tiles, with most buildings taking nine or more tiles (with the exception of the few smaller buildings). Since the roads are multi-tiled and it's difficult to count the small tiles it's extremely hard to place things in any type of sensible layout. Another thing that bugs me is that way too much of the city information is only available through the advisors (Zeus and Emperor both spoiled me with info available with one mouse click). As mentioned previously, very little info on trade is accessible through the trading stations. Unless I missed it somewhere if you want to know how much of a good has been shipped so far in the current year, that info can only be accessed through the Kingdom Map. I find myself spending about half my play time clicking through the Advisor menus for information. I don't mind micro-managing but this goes beyond that. Another major sore point with me is the lack of messages when you're stockpiling goods to fulfill a request. Unless your memory is keen those requests could go unfilfilled without even realizing it. There should have been another message once you've reached quote for sending shipment. I have to say the graphics in the game are quite striking. It's awesome to pull out from the city and look into the distance and see a somewhat faded view to give a more realistic look of perspective. Thankfully, though, the day and night feature is optional. I found it very annoying and distracting to have my city once a year go so dark I could barely see what I was trying to do. A note to the person having problem with Prosperity rating:  Prosperity isn't just how much money your city earns--your citizens have to reach a certain level of prosperity in order to reach those points. In other words, their housing has to evolve to a certain level to meet the win conditions. The actual numbers are a bit too complicated to go into here. Overall I'm not sorry I bought the game, but I am sorry I paid full price for it instead of waiting a few months until the price came down because I don't feel it was worth it.