Developer: Haemimont
ESRB Rating: E for Everyone
Genre: City Building Sim
Release Date: July 3, 2006
Pros:
- Incredible graphics
- In-game tutorial leads you through your first city
Cons:
- Short Campaigns
- No difficulty levels
"Glory of the Roman Empire" Features
- Head back to Ancient Rome as the city manager to build and design layouts.
- Construct buildings to enable citizens to make and grow food, receive services, and work the land in mines.
- Play 30 missions in the campaign mode or decide your own goals in Free play mode.
- Full 3D world where you can watch citizens grow old and do their jobs.
- Trade with neighborhooding cities to get food and materials your city cannot produce.
"Glory of the Roman Empire" Review
The tutorial walks you through the basics of mouse and keyboard control, while teaching you how to get a city started and about the basic services citizens will want (wheat farm, bakery, alters, pig farm, etc.). Both of which are easy to learn and understand. The building and economy information icons are located on the left. The construction menu is accessed by right clicking anywhere on the screen with the mouse. Awkward at first, but I grew to appreciate it's easy access.
Buildings cannot be placed randomly. Everything needs to be within a radius (that you can see by clicking on the building) for it to properly work (i.e. workers get to their job). It's only logical to the bakery and wheat farm close. Citizens require certain foods as their homes gain prestige. Sausage, temples, theatre, and wine are a few of the requirements.
The campaign mode is where I spent most of my time playing. The missions give you a good variety of things to do (unlike many other games in the genre). There's a bit of combat, curing sick people, getting food to the people, and building specific buildings. Overall, the missions had the variety, but did not have the difficulty. What the game needs is difficulty. For anyone that has played many sim games, the campaigns will be too short and easy to beat. This isn't too say the game isn't fun. It is, it it left me wanting more.
"Glory of the Roman Empire" is a delight to look, to move around the city. There are day/night rotations (with stars in the sky!), trees moving in the wind, water rippling, and deers and birds roaming the land.
If games were only judged by their graphics, "Glory of the Roman Empire" could easily win against other city builders currently out. But because of the simplicity and short campaign mode, it's a tough game to recommend to gamers who have played every city builder already out there. It is an excellent addition to a someone just getting into sim games.
