Physics

Grand Ages: Rome doesn't seem to have the modern trappings of a physics engine that we often use. Walls sort of crumble/vanish and ships sink after breaking predictably in half.

AI

A rudimentary AI guides soldiers in battle, again, it's nothing special and they will tend to throw themselves against defence towers regardless of their losses, time and time again for example. It does what it says on the tin, nothing more.

Sound

A few sound bugs plague the game, certain crackles and hisses when there should be the ambient sounds of the city. The sound design though is spot on, there's a lot of detail in the aural element of the game and the whisper of water through an aqueduct as you bring the camera in close is just one example. You can hear the daily life of the city go on, gladiators clash in the arena and the people hawk their wares in various shops.

Music

Once of the best musical scores to a game of this kind, it transforms from a stately pace to an epic and triumphant military theme depending on the situation. There are some nice set pieces to the score and it suits the theme of the game, bringing to mind the glories of Rome long gone.

Voice/Dialogue

The voice cast manage to perform their parts really well, there's nothing that sounds ominously jarring or badly performed in the game. The dialogue has an authentic Roman feel to it with many salves and so forth. There is a real sense of conviction about many of the spoken pieces in the game including the intro to the campaign when you choose a new character and embark on your empire building dreams.

Multiplayer

GA: Rome has a fully fledged (if a little laggy at times) multiplayer that requires you to create an online account. You can create a Custom Game with a variety of game modes and play cooperatively with other players. There's a true-skill style matching system that matches skills in a Rated Match.

It's just a shame that amongst the various modes on offer, whilst you can join the same team and fight against barbarian raiders, build the cooperative city of your collective dreams there's no actual campaign coop.

The Glory of Rome

GA: Rome is a good and solid game, it will provide the armchair Roman general/historian with many hours of fun and challenge as some of the requirements to build a successful city are tricky indeed. It is definitely a much better game than Imperium Romanum or Imperium Romanum Gold.

Worthy of a buy.