Do you fancy being as powerful as the most famous toga wearer of them all, Julius Caesar? The city building sim, Caesar IV, will give you the chance of rising to the rank of Emperor and rule as ruthlessly as the man the game is named after. All it takes is some political savvy and some astute town planning.
Gamers will start Caesar IV as governor of a small provincial Roman town whose job is to develop the local economy and trade networks by making the town a secure and safe place to live. Then it's a case of managing the wealth and making sure some of it finds its way back to Rome.
All this is achieved by designing a city that gives the population a chance to prosper. Once a firm base has been established, economic missions or real-time strategy style military campaigns can be tackled depending on what sort of leader you want to become.
If success is achieved in the initial provincial posting, the next job is taking over an important colony and then attempting to make your mark at the center of the empire - Rome.
July 31, 2006
