Terrain and formation has an effect on the outcome, but it generally comes down to numbers. If you win you'll get more resources and if you lose you can rebuild your forces in a few turns, when next Spring comes around. The main problem with History Great Empires: Rome is that the historic elements are only surface level and the strategy elements aren't much deeper than that.
That's a big deal for a strategy game, so GamesRadar would have a hard time recommending this game for anyone but history buffs – the buffs who don't mind the historical accuracy of not being able to give your horsemen stuck in the bottom corner of the map real-time orders to go north and kill some undefended archers.
PixlBit | "Sometimes it's necessary in life to shake things up. The fact is, the PixlBit writers seem to have it too good, so Chessa and I (but mostly Chessa) concocted a little event for our own amusement. Rather than allow our writers to continue to cover the things they love, we've decided to force upon them the junk games that have been sitting around PixlBit HQ for ages.
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Gamed writes: "Most games take place in fantasy worlds, with little or nothing to do with our reality is. Games that we just in another world country. Once in a while there might be games that will play in our reality, especially in the past. Think of FPS games that take place in the Second World War, RTS games on the Middle Ages or, for example, games that take place in the Roman Empire. Great Empires: Rome is one of the latter."
IGN writes: "The History Channel's a relatively recent addition to the gaming industry, as its signature branding's only been seen in game stores for the past two years or so -- starting with the requisite World War II fare like Battle of the Pacific, but then traveling a bit further back through time to bring us tales of war and conquest from some of our world's most prominent past societies. But this story of the Roman Empire falls flat, as the official History logo does little to lift it out of its mediocrity in design. Some strategy fans may want to give it a look since it's priced at a reasonable level of just 20 bucks, but most gamers will want to steer clear -- its rough interface with touchy touch controls, confusing navigation, hands-off combat and mostly frustrating mini-games all come together to form a title that is, ultimately, better left in the past".
