All of these extras make for gameplay that helps Cleopatra stand out nicely from Pharaoh. Well, at least it should have. The developers just didn't spend enough time on varying mission designs and goals. So while you don't get the feeling of going over old ground in terms of replaying the original game, you do get an overwhelming sense of repetition in regards to what you'll have to accomplish here. Mission objectives often recur, forcing you to repeat the process of city-building over and over again in the context of a single campaign. What's fun the first time through is almost unbearably tedious the second time, and speaks to a lack of imagination on behalf of the level designers. Many missions were undoubtedly added simply to bulk up the overall package. There's more padding here than in that costume Robin Williams wore in "Mrs. Doubtfire". There's almost no continuity from scenario to scenario, so you never get the feeling that you're actually building something or progressing to a worthy goal. It's more a slavish process of doing the same thing again and again until Pharaoh deems your toil worthy and lets you pass to the next stage. I was desperately looking for the "Wander in the Desert for 40 Years" button by the time I was constructing Abu Simbel.

On paper (papyrus?), Cleopatra is a nice enhancement to Pharoah. In reality, all the new stuff that looks so intriguing does nothing to jazz up stale gameplay and repetitive missions. While the designers clearly had some interesting ideas, they weren't properly developed. As a result, the many additions to the original game are hard to appreciate. Being tormented with pestilence sent by a vengeful Bast and having to fend off invading Romans loses much of their luster when such dramatic events are bookended by having to build the same Granary over and over and over again. Unless you're really addicted to the civilization popularized in recent times by the guy who was "born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia," save your money for a "condo made of stone-a."

By Brett Todd
Contributing Editor