Best Impressions game?

[Blue_Lightning]

Which is the best Impressions city builder out of this, Zeus+Posidon and Caesar 3? Which has the best mechanics and units? Cleopatra obviously has the unique Egyptian aesthetic, but does it fall behind anywhere? Which of them have the best mods? Do they all run natively on Win10?

I'm planning on getting one of the three, since Activision sales are what they are. Thanks for your insight.

[5M0k1N]

cleopatra is similar to caesar but has more stuff IMO. personally didnt like zeus / poseidon myself so id recommend cleopatra but just check gameplay vids to make sure

[Blue_Lightning]

Do they all run properly for you? I've read the GOG version might have some bugs, or is it the steam version that's worse?

[5M0k1N]

yea they run fine for me. im on win8.1 also using the HD patches

[..]

I have played Caesar 2, 3 & 4 Currently have Pharaoh+Cleopatra & find it very similar in play
and mechanics. Pharaoh+Cleopatra has some more stuff, kinda neat - I love it.
Caesar 4 has very different graphics, awesome in fact, but I really hated the way they did it.
Played for about 30 min. went back to Pharaoh+Cleopatra. All played on windows 7 so I don't know about windows 10. Since Caesar 3 is an older game you might have problems
running the game. If you have to choose between the 2, go for Pharaoh+Cleopatra.
I found no problems with Pharaoh+Cleopatra. I did not know about Zeus+Posidon, but I'm
going to get it now.

[Blue_Lightning]

Which has the best combat / RTS mechanics / army and unit management? I know they're all city builders but which would you say is the best in terms of cool units and army stuff?

[..]

I have played other military games, some I like, some I don't. Does work pretty
good, kinda neat little fellas that go where you tell them. Fairly easy to control.
They don't work quite like say 'Rome: Total invasion' or some of the civil war games.
You will have up to 4 forts with 10 units each, infantry, javelin throwers archers & Chariots.
Oh yeah, you can build walls & towers with guards to defend with. I've had a lot of fun with
Caesar 3, especially with the edit modes that I've set up with large enemy armies that I've
had to get creative to defeat. I haven't really done much military work with Pharaoh+Cleopatra yet, but seems to work the same. You will have to build your army, build fort, recruiter office & supply weapons. The weapons are generic, that is , you build/buy weapons and you get a soldier - depending on the fort, they will have swords or archers or javelin. You also must have a population to support your army. Want a better soldier? Build an Academy! I feel these units are simple to control, I don't remember if you can move 1 soldier at a time, say you want to divide your squad in half & attack from 2 sides.
I think the units are kinda cool, given the small size but then the citizens are small like that
as well.

[Blue_Lightning]

I see; I don't expect them to be RTS level complex but chariots sound cool, especially since most games don't have them.

[..]

The chariots are cool & the military action do run RTS as the rest of the game goes. You can slow down the game speed as desired. You know if you buy the game & try it and don't
like it you can ask steam for refund. They have been really good about that with me.

[Telariust]

Pharaoh was not the first and not the only game that was released on this Engine.

• "Caesar III" (1998, about Rome)
  
• "Pharaoh" (1999, about Egypt) (+"Cleopatra: Queen of the Nile", 2000)
  
• "Zeus: Master of Olympus" (2000, about Greece) (+Poseidon, 2001, about Atlantis)
  
• "Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom" (2002, about China)

So if you were looking for alternatives to the Pharaoh - here they are, go ahead.
Some of them are available for purchase on Steam.
(have absolutely the same launch and translation problems as Pharaoh)

In Italy they played more in Caesar, in China in the Emperor, in Greece in Zeus.
(obviously due to national attachments)
In Russia, Caesar1,2,3 warmed up the players, Pharaoh and Zeus blossomed, and the Emperor was already late.
Despite the common engine, each of the games is individually designed, which makes them great complements to each other.
(fans of urban planning are delighted)

The ancestor of the series is Caesar (Caesar, 1992) and Caesar 2 (Caesar II, 1995)
But Caesar became more or less playable only in the 3rd part, and even in it there were no Roadblocks on the roads, which limited the city development.
In 2018 Caesar3 was re-released as a project by Julius
https://github.com/bvschaik/julius
And in 2019 Julius is being improved as a project Augustus
https://github.com/Keriew/augustus
Among the improvements are Roadblocks and goods management in the Warehouse and Market (which was originally in Pharaoh).

https://store.steampowered.com/app/517790/Caesar_3/

Caesar3 is the best epic Intro Videos!
Military Campaigns occupy a special place.
The difficulty of the missions increases quickly so that you don't get bored, assuming the experience of playing in the 1st and 2nd parts of the series.
In view of the as yet uninvented Roadblocks, there are problems with the planning of the City, since the Rogue Servants are out of control and go where they do not need to.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/564530/Pharaoh__Cleopatra/

The pharaoh impresses with the bright exotic color of the culture of Egypt.
And most of all it contributes to immersion in the process of building the City and Monuments.
This is thanks to the addition of Roadblocks and the management of items in the Warehouse and Market.
Pharaoh is meditative, and a little boring if you go to the end.
War - you can not Attack, but there is a Defense of the City and Help to an ally.
In general, in Pharaoh, you are the Architect and Builder, not the General.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/566050/Zeus__Poseidon/

Zeus surprises with an excellent plot (according to ancient Greek myths).
(the presence of a good plot is quite unexpected for a city simulator)
The call of the Gods, Heroes and Monsters is Zeus' calling card!
The Hiring Agent mechanic for finding Workers has been simplified, now Workers will come to the Building even from the other side of the map.
Diplomacy appeared - you can buy off enemies.
There are no Forts in Zeus! But you can Attack, Defend, Help an ally.
If in Pharaoh you start every mission from scratch, then in Zeus there is an adventure mode when you continue to improve the City from mission to mission.
In general, Zeus is more casual and fun than the Pharaoh, for which he is more loved by the players.
Zeus conquers with his free atmosphere of the Fantasy of what is happening.

(Emperor is not featured on Steam due to copyright issues)

The Emperor has the most polished engine (late year of release),
which boasts the presence of Multiplayer (over the network with a friend).
The developers claim that the detail is improved by 25%.
The largest number of Campaigns and Missions.
The largest variety of Buildings and Resources in the City.
Attractiveness mechanic changed (according to Chinese Feng Shui).
The Hiring Agent mechanic for finding Workers has been simplified, now Workers will come to the Building even from the other side of the map.
Each cultivated plant culture has its own ripening season.
Advanced Diplomacy - "Send spies", "Pay off tribute", "Negotiate an alliance".
Now you need to bring the road to the Fort!
Two Forts first and up to a maximum of 12 Forts (via Prosperous Houses).
4 four types of troops (in Caesar3 and Pharaoh - 3 three types of troops)
In general, the Emperor is closer to the Pharaoh than to Zeus.

Also came Caesar4 (CaesarIV) (2006) (but there is already a 3D engine)
Also released "Children of the Nile" (2008) (but there is already a 3D engine)

In the spirit of the Great 4 series (urban and isometric projection)
"Lethis - Path of Progress" (2015)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/359230/Lethis__Path_of_Progress/

In the spirit of the Great 4 series (urban and isometric projection)
"Nebuchadnezzar" ("Nebuchadnezzar") (2021)
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1157220/Nebuchadnezzar/

On Kickstarter (2020) they raised money for the re-release of "Pharaoh: A New Era"
https://store.steampowered.com/app/1351080/Pharaoh_A_New_Era/
Waiting, hoping, dreaming

[Blue_Lightning]

Thank you for the detailed reply!