Turn-based, tabletop war games have been around since well before I was born, some 28 years ago. Until the explosion of the internet and massively multiplayer games, turn-based videogames have mostly been single-player games relying on number crunching and computer AI, with the occasional game allowing a few additional players to join the fun. The Fall of Rome has changed this and introduced old school turn-based war gaming to the internet masses while adding some rpg elements to the picture. This may sound like a recipe for disaster, but as you will find out, this is anything but true.

"The enemies of my enemies are my allies"
The basic gameplay is classic tabletop wargaming with the addition of an economy to fund your military and land expansion. Luckily, the economic system in Fall of Rome is not too detailed and won't overwhelm those who would rather dive into the story of the ongoing game or building up their armies to crush their neighbors. It consists mainly of building structures in the cities and towns you control to do one of several things: add to its defense, gold production, or the production of supplies for your armies and townsfolk. While this doesn't run on autopilot, it doesn't require micromanagement, which is a good thing.

To help with the running of your kingdom you will have the ability to hire governors and other such officials that have the ability to build upgrades in towns and cities. These can also help the King usurp control of a neutral cities or towns, or even steal them from under the nose of their current leadership. It is little touches like this that add depth to what would otherwise be a straightforward game about building the biggest army and killing off other kingdoms one by one before they can unite against you.

Forging alliances is almost a must in this game, especially the first few turns. I have found most players are very friendly and are willing to form alliances or sign a truce for the first several turns, so everyone has a chance to build up their armies and economy. This kind of community is what makes Fall of Rome such a good game overall. There are no Battlenet-type players here, everyone is very friendly and add to the roleplaying aspects of the games by staying in character for most communication. This adds a bit of atmosphere not seen in the majority of 2D turn-based games on the market.

A word of warning; don't mistake this friendliness for leniency when it comes to the actual playing of the game. A time will come when alliances will be broken and the person who was once your ally is now doing their best to take over your lands to fill their coffers and make their push for world domination. That's all part of the game and it brings back fond memories of my tabletop gaming days, back when I was much younger. Diplomacy is a necessity and eventually you will find, like any good kingdom in world history, no matter how much money and land you control you can't hold onto it without good politicking and allies.

Since it is a turn-based game, battles in Fall of Rome are not based on how twitchy your mouse finger is or even how well you position your troops. It's almost all about the strength of the army you built and how their "numbers" match up against the "numbers" of the opposing forces or city defenses. You also have access to agents that can scout the cities and find out about the current state of the army, or food and gold production. These agents can also sabotage the gold and supply productions or even assassinate opposing player's leaders to make life easier for your invading armies and fast-talking politicians.

The developers have taken the time to craft a great story for each battle that plays out. Every battle unfolds in story form and these read like the best battle scenes you'd find in any fantasy novel. With the lack of in-game graphics, this is exactly what is needed to keep players immersed in the game. I wish there was more of this type of story telling in today's games and I hope that some of the bigger developers sit up and take notice of this and incorporate it into their own games.

"She has a great personality but how does she look?"
This game is NOT Warcraft, C&C, War of The Ring, or any other 3D graphical masterpiece. This is a 2D game, with sprites and minimal graphics. But I must say, for what is there, it is all done well. Characters are slightly pixilated but colorful and easy to recognize. The graphics for structures and terrain are the best looking art in the game. They look like they were done with oil paints and have more detail than I thought I'd see in this game, which was a very pleasant surprise. The character portraits are also well done and, again, look like something done by a classic artist using oils rather than typical Photoshop-colored digital art. Kudos to the developer for adding some attractive graphics to a game that will be judged solely on its gameplay.

Conclusion:
The game makes use of Java and because of this it is very stable. I never had any problems with stability, something that can't be said for some of the more popular multiplayer games on the market today. All in all, Fall of Rome is a game for the consummate gamer, the one who wants deep gameplay, a good story, and a great community. This game is not for those simple-minded players who only care about how big the breasts are on the female characters and if they "jiggle" with the correct physics, or if the latest texture mapping technology was used to create ultra-realistic looking models to make up for shallow gameplay and story. I highly recommend this game to any old school tabletop gamers, and strategy game lovers who enjoy an engaging story to go along with their game.