Caesar IV - hands-on

Sadly for history buffs, Caesar IV ignores the rich tapestry of Roman history that inspired the game, and instead tosses us into a generic "Roman Times" governorship. With so much attention paid to graphical detail, it would be nice to have seen one of Roman history's many flamboyant figures or turbulent times characterized with an equal amount of care.

Viewing Caesar IV through this generic Roman prism caused much of the fancy detail to fall away and made us feel like we had merely skinned any number of other capable city-builders. Despite Caesar IV's prosaic underpinnings, there is a sound and enjoyable game to be had here, but one that is marred by the flawed camera and picky building mechanics. There are still a couple of weeks until the game ships, so we'll keep you posted on any improvements.