Company type | Subsidiary |
---|---|
Industry | Video games |
Founded | 1989 |
Founder | David Lester |
Defunct | February 2004 |
Headquarters | Cambridge, Massachusetts, USA |
Products | City Building series Lords of the Realm series |
Parent | Sierra Entertainment (1995–2004) |
Website | impressionsgames.com (archived) |
Impressions Games was a British video game developer founded by David Lester. He sold the company to Sierra On-Line in 1995, [1] who was then bought out by Cendant and eventually, Vivendi Universal (now known as Vivendi SA).
Impressions specialized in historical strategy games and is best known for its City Building Series, which include Caesar , Pharaoh , Zeus: Master of Olympus , and Emperor: Rise of the Middle Kingdom . In 1998, Impressions Games was the most profitable division of Havas Interactive, with $20 million in net profit. This surpassed Blizzard Entertainment for the period, according to CNET Gamecenter. [2]
Mike Ryder, former president of Sierra Entertainment, forced a change in management in October 2001, during development of Lords of the Realm III . Rod Nakamoto was installed as the new director. Lords III became Impressions's final game, and was released to mediocre reviews in March 2004.
The studio was shut down in April 2004 when Vivendi Universal closed most of their game development studios. Many members of the studio moved on to form Tilted Mill Entertainment.
Former notable employees of Impressions include Chris Beatrice and Peter Haffenreffer, co-founders of Tilted Mill Entertainment and Simon Bradbury, founder of Firefly Studios.
Sierra Entertainment, Inc. was an American video game developer and publisher founded in 1979 by Ken and Roberta Williams. The company is known for pioneering the graphic adventure game genre, including the first such game, Mystery House. It is known for its graphical adventure game series King's Quest, Space Quest, Police Quest, Gabriel Knight, Leisure Suit Larry, and Quest for Glory, and as the original publisher of Valve's Half-Life series.
Richard Joseph was an English computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats.
Caesar is a 1992 city-building video game published by Sierra On-Line in which the player undertakes the role of a Roman governor, building ancient Roman cities.
City Building is a series of historical city-building games developed by Impressions Games, BreakAway Games, Tilted Mill Entertainment, and published by Sierra Entertainment. The series began in 1992 with Caesar, set in the Roman Empire, and consists of twelve games to date, including expansion packs.
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Krome Studios Melbourne, originally Beam Software, was an Australian video game development studio founded in 1980 by Alfred Milgrom and Naomi Besen and based in Melbourne, Australia. Initially formed to produce books and software to be published by Melbourne House, a company they had established in London in 1977, the studio operated independently from 1987 until 1999, when it was acquired by Infogrames, who changed the name to Infogrames Melbourne House Pty Ltd.. In 2006 the studio was sold to Krome Studios.
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Caesar III is a city-building game released on September 30, 1998, for Microsoft Windows and Mac OS, developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra On-Line. It is the third installment of the Caesar series of games and is part of Sierra's City Building series. Players assume the role of a provincial governor to build thriving cities across the Roman Empire, in which they must ensure their citizens have their needs met, and deal with various disasters, angry gods and hostile enemies. The developers of Caesar III designed the game in response to critiques of its predecessor, introducing branching missions, a merged map for city-building and combat, and a "walker" mechanic for citizens of the city to affect their surroundings. Caesar III was released to positive critical reception, with praise directed at the game's visual presentation and complex design, and criticism levelled at its military features.
Lords of the Realm II is a computer game published by Sierra On-Line and developed by Impressions Games. It was first released for the PC in 1996, and is the second game in the Lords of the Realm series.
Caesar II is a 1995 video game of the Caesar video game series that takes place in Ancient Rome. It is the second game in the City Building series.
Zeus: Master of Olympus is a single-player strategy game developed by Impressions Games and published by Sierra Studios. It is considered to be an additional installment in the City Building series of games. Like previous titles in the series, Zeus focuses on the building and development of a city in ancient times. The game features a number of changes from previous titles in the series, including being set in Ancient Greece as well as changes to certain gameplay mechanics; however, it is considered to be in most aspects very similar to its predecessor, Caesar III.
Chris Beatrice is a video game designer and artist noted for primary creative development of popular historical strategy games, including Lords of the Realm series and the City Building series.
DongWoo Animation Co. Ltd is an animation studio located in Seoul, South Korea. It has produced many animated series and films created and produced in the United States, Canada, South Korea and Japan. The current CEO of the studio is Kim Young-doo.
Tose Co., Ltd. is a Japanese video game development company based in Kyoto. It is mostly known for developing Nintendo's Game & Watch Gallery series, various Dragon Ball games, as well as other Nintendo products. Tose has developed or co-developed over 1,000 games since the company's inception in 1979, but is virtually never credited in the games themselves. Tose maintains a policy of having no creative input into the work they do, going so far as to refuse to put their names in the credits for most of the games they work on. As such, Tose has gained a reputation for being a "ghost developer".
God of War III is a 2010 action-adventure game developed by Santa Monica Studio and published by Sony Computer Entertainment. First released for the PlayStation 3 on March 16, 2010, it is the fifth installment in the God of War series, the seventh chronologically, and the sequel to 2007's God of War II. Loosely based on Greek mythology, the game is set in ancient Greece with vengeance as its central motif. The player controls the protagonist Kratos, the former God of War, after his betrayal at the hands of Zeus, King of the Olympian gods, whom he learned was his father. Reigniting the Great War, Kratos ascends Mount Olympus until he is abandoned by the Titan Gaia. Guided by Athena's spirit, Kratos battles monsters, gods, and Titans in a search for Pandora, without whom he cannot open Pandora's Box, defeat Zeus, and end the reign of the Olympian gods to have his revenge.
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Keith Zizza is a video game soundtrack composer. He has worked as a composer and audio director for companies such as Electronic Arts, Impressions Games, Sierra Entertainment and Tilted Mill Entertainment. His discography includes more than 25 AAA game titles. In April 2008 Zizza released his debut solo album, Memories of a Forgotten Age.
The characters of the God of War video game franchise belong to a fictional universe based on Greek mythology and Norse mythology. As such, the series features a range of traditional figures, including those from Greek mythology, such as the Olympian Gods, Titans, and Greek heroes, and those from Norse mythology, including the Æsir and Vanir gods and other beings. A number of original characters have also been created to supplement storylines.