"Efficiency is beauty" was how Victor Li Tzar-kuoi, the patriarch's first-born, explained it to Fortune magazine a year ago.

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He was treated like a celebrity, socializing with aristocrats in Tzar Nicholas II's court and marrying two white European countesses.

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For Tzar's sake, let's hope gamers give it a fighting chance.

CNN: Tsar: Burden of the Crown treads familiar ground

Well, whatever Tzar may lack in originality, it should win over real-time strategy enthusiasts and perhaps newcomers for its ease of use, familiar rules and challenging gameplay.

CNN: Tsar: Burden of the Crown treads familiar ground

Not many of these mission-based adventures have been implemented just yet, but Haemimont Multimedia should consider creating many of these to help distinguish Tzar from its predecessors.

CNN: Tsar: Burden of the Crown treads familiar ground

But, comparisons aside, is Tzar a decent game?

CNN: Tsar: Burden of the Crown treads familiar ground