In Pharaoh, you raise a civilization on the Nile and try to survive through the difficulties. You are the Pharaoh or king and you control everything. In all, this games looks like one of the most realistic historical games ever.

Pharaoh starts by letting you choose or create a family name. After which, you choose the period of time and then create the family history. Then, the game slowly guides you through how to play. You start off by only being capable of building a few things, and you slowly get more choices. This makes sure you understand the game and are not confused about what to do.

There are many types of buildings that you can make. Houses can evolve into nicer building and even mansions if the proper conditions are met. Every person in the city can give you tips or comments. This can become very useful when trying to plan out the city. You can also set up trade routes so your city gets everything it needs. It is also a great example of the cultural diffusion this game has. You better make sure your God's stay happy or they might cause trouble to your city. They can cause sickness, poor agriculture, bad trade, and more. This means that you should hold festivals, make shrines, statues, and more.

One of the hardest things in the game is supplying your town with food. First, build farms on a flood plain. Now, connect roads leading to the farm. Next, make work camps to train workers to work at the farm. Finally, make Granaries or other storage areas to store the food. Another way is to make Hunting Lodges and have people hunt down food. Or, just go fishing! The problem is, it is to hard to keep up on the food level. Your people are always starving.

On the bad side of the game there are some glitches besides trying to get food. More than half the city claims to be the most popular person in the city and they always give the same advice. People always complain about some of the same things now matter what and appear to never be happy. When they are happy, it makes no sense. I had an unemployment rate of 35% and they said they loved me, I had a rate of 0% and they hated me. Everything else was the same too. There are other small things too, but besides that, the graphics, game play, and sound are great. One thing I would have liked to see was a multiplayer, but maybe in a sequel.

-Mike