Tilted Mill, the pre-eminent (and pretty much only surviving) developer of city builders, just released an Enhanced Edition of Children of the Nile. This Ancient Egyptian-themed life-sim/city builder got mixed reviews for its non-conformity and languid pacing, but I found those qualities charming. Even now that Tilted Mill has made some very different and arguably better city builders – SimCity Societies for Electronic Arts and Caesar IV for Sierra – this one holds a special place in my heart.

The new Enhanced Edition lights a fire under these languid Egyptians. They shop faster, roads give them a speed boost, and their monuments are erected quicker. Priests no longer have to take a vow of celibacy, which means their wives can help out around the house while they give the people that old time religion. Life on the Nile should be a little less laid back. There are also new buildings, a quick catch-up tutorial, more contextual ingame tooltips, and a few of interface improvements.

A word of caution, however. Children of the Nile was built from the ancient Empire Earth engine. Time hasn't been very kind to it. This is not the city builder to play if you want to be dazzled. For that, go straight to SimCity Societies or Caesar IV. Or even Impressions' quaintly 2D Pharaoh, created by the same people who went on to make Children of the Nile.

Also, if you already own Children of the Nile, you can't have the Enhanced Edition yet. Right now, it's only available to people who buy the game from Steam. A patch to upgrade to the Enhanced Edition should be available for everyone else within a few days. You can join me at this page where I'm repeatedly hitting F5.

UPDATE 1:33PST: The new patch is here, the new patch is here, the new patch is here!