Welcome to Hellas
Hellas, for those who don't know, is another name for Greece. I love Greek mythology. I think that everyone does, deep down. For this reason I was excited to play Heroes of Hellas 2 - Olympia. Zeus, the King of the Gods, tells us the story of how Hellas became corrupted. When Hellas was young, the gates of Tartarus opened and from deep inside its dark depths emerged a Briarey, a multi-armed demon bent on destruction. He stole the Rod of Discord from the Goddess Erida and, true to the rod's name, used it to put thoughts of anarchy into the minds of the men and women of Hellas.
Chaos reigned and most of Hellas was corrupted. But one area that remains untouched by evil is Olympia, and that is where you will start rebuilding the land. Olympia will serve as a beacon of hope and light in the darkness and it will give everyone the courage to stand up to the demon once and for all.
Matchmaker
In order to build your city, you'll need gold. To get gold, you must play match-3 puzzles in which you need to collect all of the golden tiles that lay underneath the symbols. Match-3 puzzles have been around since the early days of computer gaming, so this aspect of the game should be an absolute breeze. Even if you're not familiar with them, anyone who is can attest to the fact that they're very accessible.
Matching symbols gets you points, and points are what get you gold. Now you might be tempted to take your sweet time and just rack up as many points as you possibly can, taking as long as you want. However, the quicker you beat it, the higher your time bonus is, which will also give you a good amount of points. So in the end, the best strategy is to take care of the level as quickly as you can.
Mayor of Olympia
Taking care of a town is no easy feat. You'll have to worry about your citizens' food supply, how well protected they are, and how much culture they're exposed to. This is accomplished by constructing certain buildings. If you're running out of food, you could probably use another mill, and so on and so forth.
If you ever find yourself too poor to build a structure you need, just click the "play" button in the bottom right corner to play a match-3 puzzle and earn money.
Hidden Treasures
Sometimes your townspeople will find hidden treasures while working. While I was playing, my citizens found a stone tablet while they were digging at the mill. This tablet told me the location of a locket piece, so I had to play a match-3 puzzle to earn the piece. After you construct an entire locket, you will be able to ask a hero for help, which will give you certain bonuses.
Amazing Depth
Heroes of Hellas 2 - Olympia is an incredibly deep game. To explain all that it has to offer, I'd need much more space than I'm alloted. If you like match-3 puzzles, city building sims, or Greek mythology, you'll like this one.
