Een van de meest geliefde strategy of all time, Populous II: Trials of the Olympian Gods komt weer in het nieuws. IGN schreef een reviewtje over deze retrogame, en prees hem nogal aan. Voor diegene die niet snappen waar we het over hebben, Populous II is de voorganger van Populous, the Beginning, maar dan in 2d. Je bent een god die je volk kan helpen, maar niet besturen. Zij eren je hiervoor en proberen op hun beurt terug te helpen. As for the actual gameplay, I was surprised to find that I had much more control over the world than I recalled. This is mainly because the worshippers in Populous behave pretty predictably, based on the "influence behavior" commands you can use. And it's amazing how much you can accomplish with a lone papal magnet, the holy artifact that your people will follow when you ask them. On the earlier levels, it's a lot of fun wreaking holy havoc with impunity. But once you reach the harder levels, Populous can get ugly -- it's a pretty rude surprise when you find yourself on the receiving end of the divine wrath you've been flinging around. For the casual player, Populous II can be simple and gratifying. But for someone looking for a real challenge, this is a game that hits back.

[...] It's surprising and disappointing there haven't been more titles like Populous. Perhaps gamers aren't ready for this sort of carefully limited interactivity; witne some of the blundering reviews of Majesty. But part of the last appeal of Populous is that there's no other game quite like it. And these days, that's one of the highest forms of praise you can offer any game.

Over het algemeen was IGN zeer te spreken over Populous II, en gaf het een 8 gemiddeld. Alleen het geluid was nogal eentonig, saaie bliepjes die het niet eens doen op de nieuwere geluids kaarten leverden een 2 op.