Roman empire strategy game

Hi All,

I've just been reading Conn Iggulden's "Emperor" series, about Julius
Caesar, and I've got a sudden hankering to play a serious bout of
world-conquering, Roman style. The game I know best is SSI's venerable
Annals of Rome, but that's really beginning to show its age now, and though
I don't mind the poor graphics it just gets a little tedious dealing with
each wave of invaders and endless rebellions. It's still good for passing
the time because the Commodore 64 version runs nicely on my phone via the
Frodo emulator - but I can conquer the known world by about 200BC and it's
downhill from there.

I have a bunch of newer games and would appreciate views about which is the
best, or whether there are any others:

1. Rome: Total War - I have actually installed this in the past, and played
it for all of about two days. It's very pretty, and I really liked the
Civ-like strategy - so much so that I turned off the tactical battles,
thereby wasting about 80% of the product. IIRC it's not quite large-scale
enough for me - I want to conquer Gaul and Britain and Syria and all that
stuff, and I think RTW doesn't quite extend that far. I did pick up the
Alexander add-on but have never tried it. Oh, and there's Barbarian Invasion
too, but not sure if I have that. Do either of the add-ons broaden the scope
of the game?

2. EU: Rome - I picked this up because I really really like Crusader Kings
and EU3, but I've never tried it. I presume it's in real time like the
others, but I could handle that. Is it fun, and does it give you an
authentic Roman empire feel?

3. Imperium Romanum - I picked this up simply because I like the setting and
it was cheap - have never played it. Is it any good?

4. CivCity: Rome - IIRC it's a good little game but again not broad enough
for what I want at the moment. Too much city building and not enough
conquest.

5. Caesar IV - likewise.

Can't think of any other Rome-themed games at the moment - grateful for any
thoughts.

I think I remember RTW allowing you to make laws in the Senate and stuff - a
nice addition to the military aspect. What I really want is a combination of
Trade Empires, Machiavelli and Civ, with equally interesting economic,
political and military sides to the game. A Rome-era version of Imperialism
would be ideal.

I'm assuming my best bet is to dive into one of the first three listed
above. All views welcome,

CC

Magnate wrote:
> 4. CivCity: Rome - IIRC it's a good little game but again not broad
> enough for what I want at the moment. Too much city building and not
> enough conquest.

Civ 3 had a GREAT Roman scenario in one of its expansions. It was one
of the hardest scenarios in Civ3 and was loads of fun.