What is it?
This page is about the German turn-based strategy game. If you are looking for the City Builder game, go to Zeus: Master of Olympus. There is also an old arcade game by Rodger Olsen of the same name and an Amiga Puzznic clone Zeus: The Game.
Gameplay
Zeus is a turn-based strategy game. You are supposed to reach a certain goal, usually within a certain number of turns. These are the goals you can choose in the demo:
- May the whole of Greece be united in your glory!
- Become the most successful ruler within a chosen period of time!
- Conquer a number of villages within a certain period of time.
- Conquer a number of villages belonging to a certain enemy.
- Destroy a certain enemy!
- Conquer a certain capital within a given period of time!
- Conquer a number of capitals within a given period of time!
- Conquer and control at least one gold mine!
- Have your spy conquer a given capital.
- Have your spy conquer a capital within a time limit.
- Have your spy conquer several capitals within a time limit.
This type of gameplay is actually quite old, going back at least to Hamurabi, which did not let you choose your goal but gave an evaluation after a certain number of turns. It was always more popular in Europe (Constructor, although a real-time game, has traces of the concept), and here especially in Germany. Three years after Zeus, Niels Bauer used it for his successful shareware game Smugglers.
Graphics and Reception
In spite of hi-color at 800×600 or even 1024×768 (it runs in a window), Zeus looks a lot like Caesar II. The game allows multiplayer with up to 15 players, or single player against up to 14 adversaries. The game did not recieve a very good press:
The computer can simulate up to 14 adversaries, which are however not very intelligent. The interface is extremely uncomfortable and gives few options. The developers economized in the sound and music department. The lack of depth and the bad execution are disappointing. Final score: 18%.—MCV 37/1998
Nevertheless it was re-released without change in 2001 and could still be bought in 2005—occasionally at prices below one Euro. By late 2008, however, it had vanished from the web, mentioned only in connection with Celal Kandemiroglu, who created the art for the game.
