Eric Ruck 2008-11-17

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

Frankly I was a little worried about this title. The original was one of my favorite PC games in the early 90's. Subsequent console ports were pretty unplayable. And honestly the trailer video doesn't look that good. Plus the new play options are much more complicated than the elegantly simple original.

But the verdict is: it works. It works well. It plays at least as well as the original. The touch screen on the DS is a huge plus. The screen is a little small and the controls take a little getting used to, but only a little. By the first or second game after the tutorial I pretty well had it down, controlling just with the stylus and left shoulder button. Easy, fun and very reminiscent of the experience from the days of yore.

Like the original Populous the game can be at times slow and others frustrating, but it plays well, and it is a good puzzle/strategy game. This update has more strategy than the original, and I feel it works well. I don't think anyone will call this version one for the ages. But if you already like this kind of game, or were thinking about buying it based on fond memories of the original on the PC, it's definitely worth the price of admission.