There is a lot to be said about this game and even though I haven't played it in 10 years or so, I can still remember it in great detail. It is not a perfect game, there are issues here and there that I don't really want to get into because I find that the positive aspects overshadow the negative ones.
First of all, I love the way they got rid of icons and bars on the screen. The whole game is being controlled by gestures, you can wiggle your mouse, pull, grab and point to make changes in the environment, navigate around or build. They did an amazing job implementing that, making the game feel very immersive.
The villagers are cute and I love to pick them up just to look at them. You can assign them different jobs to raise the quality of life within your city and depending on what buildings you build and how you treat your villagers, they either pray to you in admiration or fear.
You can use Wonders that you unlock to benefit your people or destroy your enemies. I gotta admit, I enjoyed throwing a fire ball at the neighbouring city way too much.
Another cool aspect is that you get to raise a pet, they will help you care for your people and if someone looks at you funny, you can feed them to your pet to teach them a lesson.
It's all very silly and in good fun but it still has semi deep aspects about morality and it definitely is a good idea to choose a side, rather than playing in between.
All in all, this game had a lot of influence on me as a child and I find it such a special experience, no matter where I go, I'll always remember that time I was a god.