Grand Ages: Rome

Faille · 03-06-2009, 03:45 AM

Grand Ages: Rome | Kalypso Media

New city building game set during roman times. If it sounds like a clone of the caesar series, its because it is! That said, it is a lot more stable and playable then the latest caesar game. Offers quite a few more improvements and I think is the preferable option.

Downside is the learning curve is rather tricky. Not so much hard, but they way they do things can lead you to so much frustration that you give up before learning the proper way to do things. Has an interesting new feature in that you have character talents, but you can easily make mistakes without knowing what you're doing and there's no easy way to go back unless you start over.

Once you do get in the hang of how to play and take the advantages of the talents, then its very fun. The AI is pretty dumb which leads to most battles being fairly easy, which is a shame. Also some of the different families may need some balancing, particularly the ones with the slave bonus. Seems like its playing on easy mode with that faction.

Erumaron · 03-06-2009, 08:00 AM

Thanks for the great review. I was a huge fan of the Caesar series (mainly Caesar II) but the problems you outlined will probably keep me away from this one

chu · 03-06-2009, 10:23 AM

Thanks for this. I love most of the city-building games. I did prefer Pharaoh to Ceaser series though.

chu · 03-06-2009, 10:34 AM

Hmm just looking at their website there seems to be another game: Imperium Romanum. Is that one any good and what are the differences between the two?

Hatorade · 03-06-2009, 10:43 AM

Always prefered 1701 A.D over the caesar series for city building, may have to check this one out though.

Faille · 03-06-2009, 03:14 PM

This game is the sequal to Imperium Romanum I believe. I never played that game though so don't know about the difference.

Don't let my downsides stop you from trying the game. In most cases is just a matter of learning how the game is designed rather then any fundamental flaw in it. I think they have even released a patch that alleviates many of the problems.

Lost Ranger · 03-06-2009, 04:04 PM

I have been putting a few hours a night into this game. It is pretty damn awesome once you get the learning curve down. Soon as you get a solid food, entertainment and religion network setup you are golden. Can build huge, functional cities in my sleep now.

I have just started building in a military which adds more complexity but it is not too bad. A few max level squads will get the job done. At least in the earlier missions. Getting to resources to support a full blown army is going to be interesting. Current mission I am on has a iron issue. Closest iron mine is like 50 miles to the north of my starting location. Long ass expedition incoming I guess.

Faille · 03-06-2009, 04:23 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lost Ranger

I have been putting a few hours a night into this game. It is pretty damn awesome once you get the learning curve down. Soon as you get a solid food, entertainment and religion network setup you are golden. Can build huge, functional cities in my sleep now.

I have just started building in a military which adds more complexity but it is not too bad. A few max level squads will get the job done. At least in the earlier missions. Getting to resources to support a full blown army is going to be interesting. Current mission I am on has a iron issue. Closest iron mine is like 50 miles to the north of my starting location. Long ass expedition incoming I guess.

Some tricks that let you avoid those problems, but they do really cheapen the game. let me know if you want to know them.

AngryGerbil · 03-06-2009, 06:13 PM

Being a big Rome buff myself and having fond (but old and vague) memories of the Caesar games, I tried the demo off Steam for Imperium Romanum and although it was enjoyable it wasn't always intuitive as to what was needed or why. The interface lacked some serious graphs or charts or stats. Do I have enough clay brick makers? Do I have too many? Fuck if I know. Fuck if I even know how to know. Most reviews aren't too fond of the game and say it gets stale quickly and the general lack of info given to the player via the interface is frustrating (similar, in some respects, to SimCity......the yellow bar says I need to build more industrial but when I do, everything goes to shit.....WHY?)

So, I didn't buy the game. If I was rich I would have but I have to be kind of picky in what games I buy. I mention this only because if Grand Ages: Rome is a sequel to Imperium Romanum, I would think it really needs to have a beefed up interface and a more intuitive way of knowing if what you are doing is even the correct thing or not.

But that said, I'll probably still check it out.

chu · 04-16-2009, 09:32 AM

So I played the game and it seems to be very shallow. Pharaoh and Ceasar had a much bigger re playability than this.

03-06-2009, 03:45 AM	#1 (permalink)
Faille Fires of Heaven Officer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,364 +25 Internets	Grand Ages: Rome Grand Ages: Rome \| Kalypso Media New city building game set during roman times. If it sounds like a clone of the caesar series, its because it is! That said, it is a lot more stable and playable then the latest caesar game. Offers quite a few more improvements and I think is the preferable option. Downside is the learning curve is rather tricky. Not so much hard, but they way they do things can lead you to so much frustration that you give up before learning the proper way to do things. Has an interesting new feature in that you have character talents, but you can easily make mistakes without knowing what you're doing and there's no easy way to go back unless you start over. Once you do get in the hang of how to play and take the advantages of the talents, then its very fun. The AI is pretty dumb which leads to most battles being fairly easy, which is a shame. Also some of the different families may need some balancing, particularly the ones with the slave bonus. Seems like its playing on easy mode with that faction. __________________ Faille Fires of Heaven http://www.fohguild.org/forums/uberw...lopment-forum/

03-06-2009, 10:43 AM	#5 (permalink)
Hatorade Cause it's better than water Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 10,216 +79 Internets	Always prefered 1701 A.D over the caesar series for city building, may have to check this one out though. __________________ Wii Friend Code 1729 2890 3780 7210 AION group

03-06-2009, 03:14 PM	#6 (permalink)
Faille Fires of Heaven Officer Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: Melbourne, Australia Posts: 3,364 +25 Internets	This game is the sequal to Imperium Romanum I believe. I never played that game though so don't know about the difference. Don't let my downsides stop you from trying the game. In most cases is just a matter of learning how the game is designed rather then any fundamental flaw in it. I think they have even released a patch that alleviates many of the problems. __________________ Faille Fires of Heaven http://www.fohguild.org/forums/uberw...lopment-forum/

03-06-2009, 06:13 PM	#9 (permalink)
AngryGerbil a little girl giggling at a hippopotamus Join Date: Jul 2002 Location: St. Louis, MO Posts: 3,883 +13 Internets	Being a big Rome buff myself and having fond (but old and vague) memories of the Caesar games, I tried the demo off Steam for Imperium Romanum and although it was enjoyable it wasn't always intuitive as to what was needed or why. The interface lacked some serious graphs or charts or stats. Do I have enough clay brick makers? Do I have too many? Fuck if I know. Fuck if I even know how to know. Most reviews aren't too fond of the game and say it gets stale quickly and the general lack of info given to the player via the interface is frustrating (similar, in some respects, to SimCity......the yellow bar says I need to build more industrial but when I do, everything goes to shit.....WHY?) So, I didn't buy the game. If I was rich I would have but I have to be kind of picky in what games I buy. I mention this only because if Grand Ages: Rome is a sequel to Imperium Romanum, I would think it really needs to have a beefed up interface and a more intuitive way of knowing if what you are doing is even the correct thing or not. But that said, I'll probably still check it out. __________________ Doesn't speak the language. Holds no currency.

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03-06-2009, 08:00 AM	#2 (permalink)
Erumaron yeap yeap Join Date: Mar 2003 Location: Yardley, PA Posts: 1,376	Thanks for the great review. I was a huge fan of the Caesar series (mainly Caesar II) but the problems you outlined will probably keep me away from this one

03-06-2009, 10:23 AM	#3 (permalink)
chu Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,465 -63 Internets	Thanks for this. I love most of the city-building games. I did prefer Pharaoh to Ceaser series though.

03-06-2009, 10:34 AM	#4 (permalink)
chu Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,465 -63 Internets	Hmm just looking at their website there seems to be another game: Imperium Romanum. Is that one any good and what are the differences between the two?

03-06-2009, 04:04 PM	#7 (permalink)
Lost Ranger Registered User Join Date: Jul 2002 Posts: 3,001 -4 Internets	I have been putting a few hours a night into this game. It is pretty damn awesome once you get the learning curve down. Soon as you get a solid food, entertainment and religion network setup you are golden. Can build huge, functional cities in my sleep now. I have just started building in a military which adds more complexity but it is not too bad. A few max level squads will get the job done. At least in the earlier missions. Getting to resources to support a full blown army is going to be interesting. Current mission I am on has a iron issue. Closest iron mine is like 50 miles to the north of my starting location. Long ass expedition incoming I guess.

04-16-2009, 09:32 AM	#10 (permalink)
chu Registered User Join Date: Oct 2004 Posts: 1,465 -63 Internets	So I played the game and it seems to be very shallow. Pharaoh and Ceasar had a much bigger re playability than this.