Circus Empire Preview

Circus Empire is yet another simulation game in a very crowded market. With this entry, players assume the role of a circus manager. This simulation is slightly different in its focus, which is more on designing circus performances, rather than empire building.

When beginning the game, players can choose to either play a campaign mode or a sandbox mode. The campaign starts with a tutorial mode, which is narrated by a friendly dog. This tutorial is one of the better ones I’ve seen and it does an excellent job of leading players through the game mechanics. Once the tutorial is finished, it’s off to harder and more complex tasks.

The main goal of Circus Empire is to build entertaining shows that the audience will love. Each day, players will assign new tasks to their performers and other employees. These tasks center mainly on learning new tricks. Once new tricks are mastered, the performers can use them in their acts onstage. If the acts are performed correctly, the audience will enjoy them and the show will get good ratings. Success, in turn, advances the game in terms of items and tricks that can be added to the menus.

The game is played in two distinct visual modes. Players can view the game map from an overhead view, or can choose to have the manager walk around. This up-close mode was actually pretty strange, in that the character would walk sideways if the camera wasn’t turned in the same direction. This may just be a glitch in the preview version, and might be fixed in the final version. Also, the movement was awkward because the keyboard is used for walking and the mouse is used to turn the camera viewpoint.

While the game is managed in either view, the actual circus shows are viewed in the up-close camera viewpoint. The shows are first choreographed by choosing icons of various tricks, which are then performed in order. Players get to see each new show every night. This close-up view works very well for the show and the characters and backgrounds are drawn and animated very well.

This is the preview version and it looks to be a nice enough simulation for a budget title. It’s fairly simplistic and will probably appeal to children more than anyone else. Kids should be able to play it easily, especially with the good tutorial provided.