What do you think the developers will do when they discover that their brainchild has received a lot of negative reviews in the gaming press?? Will release a sequel! You say – reputation? Ha! It is enough to change the name, and the product will be perceived as completely new. Moreover, this trick can be repeated as many times as you like.

In any case, that’s what they decided in Haemimont Games. Nowadays, few people remember the strategy of Glory of the Roman Empire – a cute and pleasing to the eye, but very simplified from an economic point of view, a city planning simulator on Roman soil. Following the first creation, the developers released the next one, under a different name – Imperium Romanum, moving even further along the path of simplifying everything. And now we have to get acquainted with the “grandson” – the sequel (threequel?), proudly called Grand Ages: Rome.

About the worthy and noble

Big promises combined with another “rebranding” could not help but cause alarm. But, oddly enough, in reality the product turned out to be quite worthy.

First of all, let us rejoice, brothers: instead of scattered missions, a full-fledged campaign finally awaits us. And although the essence remains the same – every time our avatar “reigns” in the cozy chair of the governor of a small province to lead it to prosperity – some pleasant things have still been added. For example, now a character created as part of a campaign with all his achievements (including financial ones) can be painlessly transferred to free construction mode or even to multiplayer. Which, by the way, is. The developers took a rather original path: fully aware of the insufficiency of the combat system they created for a full-fledged battle over the network, they invited players… not to fight at all, but, on the contrary, to live peacefully and amicably. The multiplayer mode allows for joint management of a colony, quite in the traditions of Roman history (remember, for example, the famous triumvirate).

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At first glance, the gameplay has undergone very minor changes compared to previous "releases". All the same goals: to grow a city from a small village, simultaneously monitoring the mood of the population. The same principle – the main problems are solved by constructing and improving buildings, the AI ​​does everything else itself. It’s still a “pass-through” combat system, clearly made “for show” – well, it’s supposed to be at least some battles, so let’s strain ourselves. Peace is more important than war anyway.

On the other hand, some little things added by the developers certainly make the gameplay much more interesting. Thus, the building construction system itself has become more realistic and accurate. We have to take into account not only the provision of this or that building with the necessary resources (primarily water), but also the preferences of the people. For example, plebeians want to live next door to each other, so it is better to place residential buildings next to each other. It would be nice to place a brick making workshop closer to a natural body of water. For almost every building there are strict restrictions (even if you want to, you cannot build a quarry where there is no corresponding resource) and soft recommendations that we are free to follow or ignore. The latter, however, is unreasonable, since for the “correct” placement of buildings we are awarded popularity points, which, in turn, are directly related to the replenishment of the treasury. How? Yes, it’s very simple: the rich daddy, that is, excuse me, the ancestor-emperor, rewards his son-governor (that is, us) for his achievements in hard cash. Therefore, in order to replenish the budget, it is not necessary to rob your own citizens, as was the case in Imperium Romanum.

The caste system has also undergone some changes. If previously slaves were used exclusively for dirty work, now we have the right to provide forced labor in all sectors, from growing bread to staging shows. It is enough to build a market for “live goods” – and voila, the plebs can rest.

About the vicissitudes of peace and war

On the one hand, the administrative component of the game has become significantly more complicated. And this, in general, is not bad: the strategy has gainedOgreater realism and fullness. On the other hand, the search for the “right” place to install this or that structure in practice often results in… pixel hunting, which is very tedious and inconvenient (where can we finally put this aqueduct?). Meanwhile, while the player is looking for where to stick this or that object, his charges, according to all the canons of RTS, continue to live their lives and demand satisfaction of their needs. Couldn’t or didn’t have time to please the mob? It’s bad, because dissatisfied people immediately begin to set fire to houses and thereby undo all our painstaking work.

From a formal point of view, the combat system has been supplemented and improved. New types of units, skill tree, adding variety to battle scenes. But in practice, all these “goodies” result in a scheme that is already familiar to us: select a squad, point at the map and humbly wait for the result. However, we knew from the very beginning that Grand Ages: Rome – creative strategy.

About art

The graphics in the game are undoubtedly good. From a visual point of view Grand Ages: Rome far ahead of its predecessors. Now buildings, landscapes and tiny people look not so bright and colorful, but much more detailed and realistic. The interface pleased me with its convenience and clarity with an impressive number of different functions. In principle, the tutorial carefully offered to the players (more precisely, even two – peaceful and military) with such an approach to control turns out to be unclaimed: everything is clear and so.

Grand Ages: Rome – this is a big step forward for Haemimont Games and a nice gift for fans of peaceful RTS. Despite some remaining “childhood illnesses”, the game has become more intelligent and realistic.

Pros: well-developed graphics; realistic gameplay; user-friendly interface; original multiplayer.
Cons: forced "pixel hunting"; weak combat system.