Stockholm-based Paradox Interactive has announced the next installment in their long line of grand scale strategy games, Imperator: Rome. The announcement was made with much pomp at this year’s PDXCon as Paradox Development Studio’s manager, Johan Andersson, was ushered on to stage by a legion of Roman soldiers garbed in a toga.
Imperator: Rome is set to continue the rich heritage established bye Paradox series Crusader Kings and Europa Universalis. Staged ‘in the classical world from the glory days of Athens to the establishment of the Roman Empire four centuries later’, the game confronts players with the all important question of what western civilization would look had history taken a different turn.
The announcement blurb on Paradox’s site puts it this way; ‘Imagine Alexander’s empire centralized under one successor. Italy might never have been unified under Roman rule, strangling a juggernaut in its cradle. A world without Caesar’.
In Imperator: Rome, the basic premise is to explore these alternate histories by building an empire through strategic management of rich characters who have different attributes that evolve as the game progresses. These leaders will help govern with an iron fist or through popular consensus, guide your empire into battle, and see to the day-to-day dealings of provincial governance. Players will be able to experiment with different forms of governance ranging from primitive tribal structures to grandiose republics.
The map is touted as ‘the most detailed Paradox map ever stretching from the Pillars of Hercules to the far reaches of of India’, and consists of a complex layering of populations with their very own classes and cultures. Maneuver forward by using them to fill your military ranks or establish far flung outposts, while keeping them sweet or risk the collapse of your empire.
Warfare allows you to enlist unique tactics from these various populations as well as units and bonuses. Factions will react differently to your every move and require a constant balancing act while you also ward off roaming pillagers and treason within your own ranks.
As with many Paradox titles, economy plays a pivotal role in ensuring an empire runs smoothly. Different provinces can provide certain goods and resources, which are ripe for trading or can be put to good use to improve infrastructure.
Imperator: Rome is set for a release in 2019 on PC, Mac, and Linux. Check out the announcement trailer below and sign up for more details here.
