Grand Ages: Rome
Preview
AKA Imperium Romanum II or Glory of the Roman Empire III
by Marcus Mulkins
previewed on PC
Just an expansion pack? (cntd.)
To give Grand Ages: Rome its due, there are a number of new features that DO make it decidedly different from the others. The real biggie (for me) is that the player character, an up-and-coming Roman patrician working his way through the legendary Roman bureaucracy, starts with some backwater province, trying to work his way up the ladder to a plum assignment. And what bigger plum to land at the end than Rome itself? Along the way, he will interact with some 20 historical figures - and whether for good or ill, those associations will affect the character's career. You can buddy up to Julius Caesar, but imagine how popular you'll be with Pompey when the civil war starts. (Do keep in mind that the phrase, "You're either with me or against me" was probably originally spoken in Latin.)
The game boasts several improvements beyond improved graphics - most notably the combat control system and the economic model - but probably the best new feature is the multiplayer option. There are also campaign and freeplay (sandbox) modes of play available. The four campaigns are "Conquest of Brittania", "Wilds of Germania", "Colonization of Africa", and "Caesar's Civil War". (The last features noticeably larger maps.) Outside of those modes, there are also 19 scenarios covering subjects like building Hadrian's Wall, the Battle of Massilia, and places like Aquae Sulis (otherwise known as Bath) and Treverorum.
Kalypso is also bragging about having added "lively" towns holding festivals, natural disasters, social classes from slaves to patricians, and religious influences from five (count 'em! FIVE!) deities (from a pantheon that had _scores_ of deities. To which my reaction was, "Didn't they have those things covered in-depth in the Caesar series?"
Bottom line
As I have touched upon several times, the game graphics will undoubtedly be the best of any Roman city-building game that we've seen. But the feature that has me intrigued is the interaction with historical figures, with favorable (or unfavorable) effects carrying over from one scenario or campaign phase to the next. The combat also looks like it will be more squad-level action, which I find vastly superior to the "let's mass troops and just throw them at each other" approach. So, overall, I'll have to say I'm looking forward to seeing the finished product.
Now, if only they can manage to avoid game crash problems...
Grand Ages: Rome is scheduled to be released in March of 2009. The listed price is 29.99 British pounds, which translates to $46.96 USD - for now. What the world economy will look like that far in the future is anybody's guess, so don't be surprised if the final price is something wildly different.
