Egypt: Old Kingdom

This game is a beautiful reenactment of the history of the Egyptian Old Kingdom. Personally, I found the gameplay to be fun and improved since Predynastic Egypt: particularly, I liked the possibilty to personalize the tombs, to choose an offensive or defensive approach to battle, and the larger amount of effects in deity worship. The different challenges are original and offer varying levels of difficulty, however in some cases it is even too difficult to complete them with a golden score. Overall, the game has decent replayability but not as good as Predynastic Egypt, in some way, which, personally, I have replayed dozens of times unlike Old Kingdom. The main points in favor of these game, that sets it aside from other strategic games, are two: first the extensive historical research, very admirable in its accuracy and attention to detail. It is also worth noting that the game adopts a formula that is ideal for learning, as valuable information necessary for and in the gameplay also includes major historical aspects; even more remarkable is the amount of in-depth descriptions of the Egyptian civilization and its evolution that can be gathered by discovering technologies. The second main point of excellence is the art. The game is a visual spectacle for lovers of ancient Egyptian art and, I'm sure, for the casual player too. Getting to see the beautiful artworks created for this game again has been a major replayability factor. In opposition to this, the most recent game by the studio, Next Run, falls off drastically in this aspect. It's use - which seems extensive if not total - of AI art is a sad mark of unprofessionalism and conveys an uninspired, uncanny look. I truly hope that there will be a next installment of the Egypt series, and that it will include the same amount of research and of wonderful man-made art as the last two games. In conclusion, I really hope the Clarus Victoria studio reverts to its previous quality standard and keeps hiring artists and researchers, which is exactly the thing that makes Egypt: Old Kingdom a must-play masterpiece in the genre