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Rating: The history of Rome has been told through its epic military conquests, through generals like Julius Caesar, Augustus, and Scipio Africanus, but the path to glory has never been easy: there have been enemies who did everything to throw a wrench in the works, like Boudica of the Britons, Vercingetorix of the Gauls, or Cleopatra of the Egyptians, and others who even succeeded, like Hannibal of the Carthaginians, Arminius of the Germans, and Viriatus of the Iberians. This game, Imperivm: The Great Battles of Rome, allows you to relive the feats of the most famous commanders of Rome's legions and their conquests, but also to play as their opponents. The game, produced by a Bulgarian company named Haemimont Games, was released on May 10, 2005, in Italy and Spain, distributed in those regions through FX Interactive, a distribution company with dual headquarters in Milan and Madrid.
Many will know the term RTS, Real-Time Strategy, a gaming philosophy that had its forefather in Dune 2 and has since enjoyed successes, acclaim, and inspirations worldwide. From the term RTS, however, in 2002, the term RTC, Real-Time Conquest, was also born, a term to describe real-time strategy games more oriented towards military conquest than resource production. To put it clearly and at the same time briefly, it is an action RTS that focuses on military tactics and territorial possession as extensive as possible rather than simply building an army inside four walls and waiting for it to be huge before attacking. This is a particular aspect that distinguishes the Imperivm saga fairly well from all other RTS titles (except Z-Steel Soldiers, a title released 6 years earlier and still substantially similar to this one).
The title in question is the third of the Imperivm saga, which had its forerunner in The Gallic Wars, released in 2002, followed by The Punic Wars in 2003. This third title presents new changes in the series: the game features eight playable factions, namely Egypt, Britannia, Gaul, Carthage, Iberia, Germany, and two Roman factions, namely the Republican and the Imperial, apparently identical in appearance but actually with entirely different strategies. All these factions can be played in both single-player and multiplayer, among the available modes which are Great Battles, Strategy (the standard Skirmish mode), Conquest (one of the many novelties compared to the other two Imperivm), Multiplayer, and the Imperivm Tournament (the ranked Multiplayer).
As is logical, to learn the many contents of the game (and of the entire saga), you need to utilize the Apprenticeship mode, which is a short scenario showing the basics of the game.
The Great Battles mode is divided into two sections: the first, Great Battles, allows you to play as six great Roman leaders and send them against as many enemies in the game (such as Scipio Africanus against Carthage, Julius Caesar against Gaul, Augustus against Egypt, etc.); the other, Great Challenges, allows you to take control of those who dared to challenge the power of Rome (these six scenarios include a fantastic one where Hannibal lays siege to Rome for real, a scenario that everyone familiar with the Punic Wars has always imagined). And it is already in this mode that we can understand how this game is truly inspired by historical facts, places, and characters, which is a significant strength for a game inspired by history itself.
The Conquest mode, instead, presents, as standard, only the conquest of the Mediterranean among the seven civilizations (don't worry, in the editor you can change the playable factions). The choice of the playing faction is not easy, as each has strengths and weaknesses. Moreover, for every territory conquered, you get a bonus of considerable importance only valid for the next map.
As for gameplay, as mentioned before, it's essential to remember to expand as well, as quickly, and as extensively as possible, to deny and subtract resources from the enemy and make them your own. This leads to difficulties in managing territory that needs to be studied and defended properly, as the computer, even at lower difficulties, will be no less, and for this purpose, balanced-army units are recommended. This is the basic feature that differentiates RTC titles from RTS ones. Furthermore, at each experience level reached, any unit becomes stronger, which adds role-playing game elements.
A weak point of the game, however, is the graphics: the game is made in functional and well-done 2D, but not up to par with levels like Age of Empires 1 and 2 or Stronghold, both dated games but still with better visuals than the game in question. Fortunately, the technical flaws end here, as the sound department features pleasant music, as do the sound effects, and even the Italian dubbing is not far behind, with voice actors who have participated in successful movies and cartoons.
In conclusion, this title, even in my opinion, is a very rewarding title, highly recommended to anyone interested in Roman history, or ancient history in general, to those who love real-time strategy, or simply to those seeking a fairly simple yet not unengaging game, or those wanting to try the RTC genre. If that's not enough, it's often sold not only separately but also in bundles with Anthologies distributed by FX Interactive itself, bundles at advantageous prices, something worth bragging about. Not to mention it represents an educational object concerning history (then they say video games never teach you anything, ignorant are those who even think it!). Perhaps purists will find it difficult to juggle the novelties of the series, or even just the game, but it's only a matter of getting used to it.
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