Europa Universalis: Rome Gold

Don't get me wrong, there are good things about EU: Rome but in the long run it's just another "grand strategy"- paraphrasing Yahtzee Croshaw: "same thing, different hat". The graphics are good as always. Music seems o.k. but after an hour of listening to it I muted the sound in favour of my own playlist. Diplomacy is fun but only to some extent- overall it's easier to conquer than play with an elaborate scheme; sometimes diplomatic options work in a ridiculous way, for e.g. I reduced loyalty of a Carthaginian governor to like 10% and then tried to bribe him into betraying his liege. He refused... and so did others. After like 15th attempt I gave up, started war and won over the province. The whole system of personal connections is utterly pointless. I quickly lost track of whos rival Gaius Insignificantus has become and didn't care about some minor character dying. Throw a rug on it and engage in good old fashioned conquering. Trade, as it was stated before, is a joke. Colonization in this game is a mistake from historical point of view. There were no "empty" lands in Europe at that time and various tribes formed coalitions (etc.). Instead of "EU3-like indian" tribes of Europe we should get a load of independent provinces, tribes and so on- we get only a handful of semi- major players like Sequanii. What did I like you may ask. Senate game mechanics were awesome: you could start a war, take a beating and find that the Senate prohibits any peace talks because your party yielded reins of the government to other party. Although same mechanics tend to become somewhat awkward while playing any country but Rome. Civil wars were a good concept, making sure you always treat well powerful people in your country. Although you might want to treat them badly only to win a war and confiscate their possessions (a huge boost to the treasury). And cherry on the top, invading and pillaging barbarians can be bribed by paying a tribute or offering them a land as the foederati. And yes, game's clock runs backward. Instead of going from BC to AD it goes from something around 450 BC to... around 700 BC.

Ahh, if only Paradox had done it right. Included all the patches and mods in one. Just like Reign Of Ancients (ROA). ROA is the only mod thats worth spending time on. IN my humble opinion, its their best mod. And if im not correct the modder got hired at Paradox shortly after the mods release. Thats say something. Although its still some tweaking at some groundlevel, its just perfect. PERFECT. As an historical buff, its emulates roughly 80-90% of the actual beast that Rome was. Know your limits, and not necessary aggresive but if you start the first scenario (which is the most fun). You start yourself sandwiched between the Etruscan/Greco-Roman and the Punic alliance. Which is a hard battle. Very hard. You should settle for hard in the settings. Its a very rewarding, because the AI is not limited to landbattle, and would occasionally also settled for sea. The Punic wars and the invasion of the Pyrrhic Generals are a fun experience. But only with Reign Of Ancients, and only with Europa Universalis Rome. Imperator Rome is a vague resemblance and a cash-grab. With Reign Of Ancients you dont have to pay all the unecessary money to get all the goodies. They are built in. All lands are playable, all factions, all tribes. Note: This is only for the Mod, Reign Of Ancients (2.0+) in the Paradox Forum MOD-area. Withouth the MOD i would give a very fainthearted ok, with a mild gesture. Reign Of Ancients give the game the necessary needs it needs. Nevermind the bleak graphics, sometimes the game, and the strategic needs is all you need. If i had one wish i wish that Paradox converted this Reign Of Ancients MOD and applied to all of the Imperator Rome line. In that way it could in my opinion would be worth playing.

The game is also playable in german language when you edit config.

Game is a throwback for me, could've been a real crazy game if it got a few more updates, but I would still say its a gem that most people will never even know exists.

EU: Rome is simply the worst game from Paradox, I've played (so far). It's buggy and full of annoying mechanics that completely ruin your fun. It's an ugly looking game that feels like you are playing with plastic soldiers, moving across a very bare looking, rough map. This was Paradox's response to Rome Total war and it failed miserably. Don't buy this monstrosity. Fortunately, Imperator Rome - which is basically EU: Rome 2 - is available right here on GOG. It's better in every way, despite its bad release. Go for it, if you want to play a good strategy about the ancient world.