In developing Zeus, Impressions Games realized that the interface appealed more towards the serious strategy gamer. They made a few adjustments that would make the game easier for a new god to step in and learn while still keeping it appealing enough for a more experienced almighty one to become reacquainted with the series. By organizing the building types in different tabs, and expanding on things like the levels of residential housing and markets, the game has a streamlined efficiency that will be easy to pick up. And true to their word, the game should appeal to both the seasoned gamer and newcomer to the series, though possibly on different levels.
Some of the changes, which most players should see as improvements, are in how the construction orders are set up. The right hand side of the screen is where the building and navigational options are placed, though the changes are minor, there is a new look to things. There are tabs that toggle the map or vital information like how many people work in the different sectors of the city, and how much stockpiled resources are available. The map tab will probably be used the majority of the time however, as it makes it easy to locate areas on the map that need help, or are ripe for new buildings. Another large change is the plotting of roads, clearing of land and similar functions. While players used to have to click on the road icon, then select the road button and then go and place the road, the button is now available below all of the other icons, and is permanently on the screen for easy access. This is actually a great improvement because it is easy to switch back and forth between plotting down residential areas or other buildings and laying down the road. The building segments like housing, agriculture, storage, and government among others are grouped much like they have been in the past.
Though the game could be said to be close to perfect, there is one problem that could just bring the whole game down. That is the conflicts in messages that come up to prompt what the needs of the city are. When you plot down a row or houses, a text window comes up saying that there aren't enough jobs for all of the people living in the city, or simply that there is not enough food to go around. Yet when you counter that by putting in farms, workshops and other buildings of business and commerce, the same type of message comes up, only this time saying that there are too many vacant jobs and not enough people living in the city. This has been my one complaint throughout my tenure of playing games in this series. These messages come up one after the other even if you plot homes and then any workplace like an Agora (market), or farm.
This conflict makes it extremely difficult to build up a successful and thriving city at times. Quite often, the best strategy is to build up slowly, and to check out the employment rates and living situations before planning new buildings of any sort and be careful where you are placing buildings as they have an effect on their surrounding buildings. It also helps to listen to the citizens by clicking on them for information. Though their messages may mirror the inconsistent messages that come up when building, the people will give you more information so that you may be able to figure out what your city really needs.