

The interface is normally quite good, displaying all the info you need when you click on a building, or showing a list of data when you talk to your advisors. Though there are different kinds of legions, it doesn't feel like there is a lot of difference between them, and it generally feels pointless. You build a legion, and if your numbers are better than the enemy's, you're probably going to win. There's also not a whole lot of strategy to the military aspects either. Additionally, building walls to keep out invaders eats up space like nothing else. Military buildings take up a vast amount of space in what is already a limited landscape and they're hideous to boot. For one, the military aspect of the game is pretty thin and feels too pointless to be any fun. While you don't need to provide these resources, failing to do so loses favour with Rome, and should you become too disliked by the Empire, you'll quickly find yourself out of a job.Īs stated, there's a lot to like about Caesar IV, but there are a few slight problems too. Rome itself will often ask a favour of you, often in the form of resources. Additionally, you can interact with other cities in the Empire by setting up trade routes, importing exotic goods and exporting various products for profit. There are dozens of resources to keep track of, everything from the basic resources like grain, olives, and wool, to the manufactured goods like clothing, furniture, and pottery. No one likes to live in a military neighbourhood.įor anyone who likes to manage resources, Caesar IV is the game for you. Just remember to keep the military buildings to the side. Do all this and keep their morale up, and they'll defend your city against the marauding hordes. You'll have to build up a military force, which means mining the iron, making the swords, recruiting immigrants, and keeping them well fed. You're out to bring Roman peace to the land, after all, even if it means bringing rebels to the sword. Keeping a tenuous balance between keeping everyone pleased and keeping your wallet filled is what makes the core of this game, and it makes for some interesting gameplay.īut lest we forget about the barbarians.

Sure, a Pleb can get by with well water and grain, but a Patrician will want pumped water, all manner of foods, a variety of luxury goods, and even exotic goods imported from faraway lands. Different classes want different things, and the higher you go, the more variety is expected. You have to provide them jobs (well, not the Patricians), food, water, and goods. They don't do anything useful for the city, but they pay hefty property taxes that'll thicken your wallet. And then you have the wealthy Patricians. You'll also want Equites, the educated folk, to run your libraries, theatres, and clinics as well. The lower class, Plebians (or Plebs), want little more than a job and some food, which is fine, but you'll get nowhere in a city run by farmers and factory workers. First, you've got different classes of residents. While that may sounds fairly simple, there's a lot to balance. The campaigns themselves are divided into individual cities with goals that you must meet such as population, culture, or favour with Rome. The rest of the game is divided into two main campaigns, scenarios, and the option to play custom user-added scenarios. Sounds simple, right?Īt first, the game seems pretty daunting, but thanks to a very helpful tutorial mini-campaign, the mechanics of the game are explained to you and you're on your way to building a better empire in no time. You're to take command of a town, build it up in population, prosperity, and power, all the while staying in good favour with the Empire and keeping the barbarian invaders at bay.

CAESAR IV STRATEGY SERIES
In Caesar IV, the series places you as a governor in the employ of the mighty Roman Empire. I had played the previous Caesar game a while ago, and though it caught my interest, I had pretty much forgotten about the series until I heard about this new version. There's the odd hiccup in the gameplay here and there, but overall, it's still a robust game to play.
CAESAR IV STRATEGY HOW TO
While most deal with building placement and macro economies, this game instead forces you to focus on each household, on how happy each group of your citizens are, and how to manage a complex, branching economic system. Caesar IV is a fairly unique take on the standard city simulator.
