Populous: The Beginning

 PC
User Score
8.8

Generally favorable reviews- based on 65 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 60 out of 65
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 65
  3. Negative: 4 out of 65
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  1. aborle
    May 6, 2013
    10
    Absolutely fantastic. the first game i brought, and all the subsequent rts i played felt substandard. With populous you literally feel like you are a part of the tribal command. The unique spherical 3d world is amazing and also good to command troops over. You will really grow to care for your bases, have fun rallying troops and sending them to conquer new territories. Oh, and by the way,Absolutely fantastic. the first game i brought, and all the subsequent rts i played felt substandard. With populous you literally feel like you are a part of the tribal command. The unique spherical 3d world is amazing and also good to command troops over. You will really grow to care for your bases, have fun rallying troops and sending them to conquer new territories. Oh, and by the way, there is also a shaman at your command who has wide arsenal of spells. They don't make 'em like this no more… Expand
  2. GrapeInfernal
    May 3, 2013
    10
    This was one of my first games, and i still love it. I just immerse in it while playing. There are two states of it peaceful, relaxing, when you build your village, cut down trees, make new mountains, train warriors and priests, build watch towers and boat stations. And then, the WAR comes. You lead the army, you come from air with fire, you create tornadoes and volcanoes, sendingThis was one of my first games, and i still love it. I just immerse in it while playing. There are two states of it peaceful, relaxing, when you build your village, cut down trees, make new mountains, train warriors and priests, build watch towers and boat stations. And then, the WAR comes. You lead the army, you come from air with fire, you create tornadoes and volcanoes, sending destruction to where you want. That's it. And it does taste good.… Expand
  3. firewarrior2112
    Dec 11, 2013
    9
    first off, I'm giving populous an 8.7, but this ass-backwards site doesn't allow that.
    This game really is a lost treasure. It had nothing to do with peter Molyneux who ran the show for the revolutionary populous 1 and its sequel, populous 2 and it shows. the game is a complete stipdown and redoing of the franchise, which has very good implications. the old interface is gone, it was dated    first off, I'm giving populous an 8.7, but this ass-backwards site doesn't allow that.
    This game really is a lost treasure. It had nothing to do with peter Molyneux who ran the show for the revolutionary populous 1 and its sequel, populous 2 and it shows. the game is a complete stipdown and redoing of the franchise, which has very good implications. the old interface is gone, it was dated and fully renders a 3d environment with pixel-drawn sprites for all people in game.
    the most notable difference from the old games is that you have direct control over the world, you can order followers around like an RTS game and you have an avatar of sorts as the shaman of a tribe. the interesting thing about this is that you depend on her survival for winning, but she is at the same time the most powerful unit in the game, capable of causing massive chaos in the right hands. this adds a very interesting dimension into game play, balancing the day to day upkeep of your tribe and the warring portions of RTSs with the control of the shaman on top of that.
    the reason the job balancing is so good is that the shaman has so many amazing spells to chose from, they truly have great variety and utility and used properly can lead to some great fun!
    the city building is satisfying as all hell, and making units and how that all functions is just very well done. another thing to mention is the focus on a spherical landscape and the great implementation of terraforming, which can be an ally or an enemy to you as a player. hills of earth can be broken down or removed to allow an army to enter, and buildings can be sunk or destroyed from it, so using your wits can really win you a game, as RTSs should, which leads to many avenues to take.
    this game is just all around very good.    … Expand
  4. loothill
    Mar 4, 2017
    10
    Fantastic game, for me the best Strategy game ever seen, i cant stop playing this, i already have 14 years playing this game.
    Laughs, people, Earthquakes...
  5. lalorocks
    Mar 13, 2017
    10
    This game is great, very funny, its different to all the same games like Age of empire, this is better, more simple but funny, the music is good, also the multiplayer keeps you playing and playing
  6. GurmpyCoolCat
    Sep 15, 2019
    10
    Amazing game that I wish they would remake. This was a very fun god sim game and it took strategy build your following to go against the evil one.
  7. panchokkck
    Nov 29, 2019
    10
    Juegazo, mejor juego de estrategia alguna vez creado. A quien no le guste no tiene idea de la vida ni de los juegos.
  8. WakyEggs
    Feb 27, 2021
    8
    Sokka!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
  9. hwanin
    Sep 17, 2021
    9
    Hmm, I actually can't remember if I played it through, but I remember I got an illegal copy of this game as a gift from a classmate in catholic high-school around 20 years ago.... :D

    I really loved the game though. The graphics were beautiful, the gameplay was fun and for me, the real deal was the fully destructible map. The control was also good (if not flawless). Very unique of an    Hmm, I actually can't remember if I played it through, but I remember I got an illegal copy of this game as a gift from a classmate in catholic high-school around 20 years ago.... :D

    I really loved the game though. The graphics were beautiful, the gameplay was fun and for me, the real deal was the fully destructible map. The control was also good (if not flawless).
    Very unique of an RTS game for sure. I would not play again a god-simulator like this ever again, but as a teen, it was a fun experience to play it.    … Expand
  10. Cupcakeboy14
    Jan 23, 2020
    10
    Amazing game for its time. One of my favourites, just wish it was available to play on newer systems
  11. tdalton789
    Oct 13, 2020
    10
    LEGENDARY GAME! WHY.. WHY!!! Has no one picked up this series and made more. I just simply don't get it! Cmon developers! Do it!
  12. storygamer
    Sep 2, 2020
    9
    Populous: The Beginning is the third entry of the series and out of question the best one. A bunch of particularities like terra-forming and real-time strategy elements make this game special. Graphics were stunning, gameplay is great fun and multiplayer is an epiphany!
  13. Oshiri_Maeda
    Jan 9, 2022
    8
    Replayed in 2022. Controls are horrible for 2022, it needs a remaster.
    inb4 wc3, this RTS was already in "3d" and had heroes with spells ("Sokka!"). Amazing sound and concept for its time. Also, how did Peter Molyneux managed to make those 5 pixels of shaman so sexy? :D
    +1 for amazing nostalgic feeling this game gives me