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CivCity Rome

Score: 7.0 / 10

When I was younger, I used to worry that the city simulations and other god games I loved, the mighty Civilization and Sim City series, bred a certain cynicism.  Was effective governance as simple as tossing out some goodies now and then, I wondered, oiling the squeaky wheels, dropping taxes when the grumbling got too loud?  Was the populace really a bunch of fickle morons who could be manipulated, distracted and exploited at every turn?  Well, I still don’t know the answer to these questions, but I do know that if it’s yes, then it’s probably much more fun being the one in charge than one of the plebes.  Enter 2K Games’ CivCity Rome, which like the Caesar series it emulates, places a city-building and governance simulation with the original political pragmatists, the guys who invented the bread and circuses school of governance, those wild and crazy children of Romulus.

CivCity Rome, which promised to combine the city-building fun of Caesar III with Civilization IV’s innovative game play and look, emerges with great deal of attendant hype.  Unfortunately, while it has its moments, the overall experience is a little less than overwhelming. 

On first look, the game feels a little shallow.  The interface is attractive and easy to use, but maybe redundant in some ways (e.g. it gives numerous options for

 

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looking at factors you have little control over.)  The visuals, even with all graphics options maxed, are a little dull.  Structures and citizens resemble each other enough to create dangerous confusions – I got increasingly frustrated with one unproductive butcher who I’d placed beside a goat farm until I realized he was actually the very confused

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owner of a wine press.  It is fun to watch the incredibly detailed animations which show the minutiae of Roman life, and to hear citizens chirp out their two bits when asked (in Cockney or posh English, depending on social class.)  However, once you figure out the basic tricks – ie. positioning buildings and services so that homeowners have maximum access to the resources they need to improve their domiciles (and consequently your tax revenue.) the game threatens to become monotonous.

And, as in many other city and empire building games (and in real life, I suspect) you are punished for success.  The better your fledgling city does, the more plebes flock to it, burdening your economy and services (always wanting more jobs, more food, more fun, damn them!) and the more lofty the expectations Rome has for you.  It’s frustrating to see your lovingly created city suddenly stagnate and decline simply because it’s been too successful.  Coupled with this are a number of counter-intuitive snags not mentioned in the game’s manual or tutorial – I had to go to an online forum to learn the reason I had no meat in my granary was because I had too few butcher shops, not too few farms. 

The fun in CivCity Rome lies in mid and late game, in specialization, in the fact that, unlike other, similar games I’ve played, it just isn’t possible to build or research everything.  This isn’t to say that the game isn’t quite linear in some ways.  Resources must be developed or obtained in the same deliberate sequence each time to allow growth and prosperity.  But however limited your choices in what to do, how you do it is up to you.  Do you want to build your economy around sea trade and fishing?  No problem (as long as you’re on a coast).  Do you want to amuse your people with battling ostriches rather than gladiators?  Sure.  Careful advance planning and forethought is crucial.  I was afflicted throughout my first run-throughs with dozens of hindsight regrets. (Why, oh why, didn’t I move that subdivision closer to the river to leave room for the baths?)  But a certain satisfaction comes from using hard learned lessons to do that much better next time. 

Some of the game’s features are better implemented than others.  The Civilization-ish (Civ-lite) tech tree, though fun for its variety of choices, actually has much less of an effect on the game than most other decisions the player makes.  The game’s trade system is relatively easy to use and develop, though not without its frustrations, like the inability of caravans to export one good to a neighboring city and import a different one on their way home.  Warfare is either minimalist or silly depending on what you’re used to.  While other citizens, down to the dude who pulls water from the well, are represented individual by individual, each legionary cohort you billet in your city (about 500 men) is shown as one solitary, red-cloaked soldier.  Combat principally consists of these jokers chasing various interlopers around the map until they corner (which takes a while) and butcher them.  Rome: Total War, it ain’t.      

One final, large problem I have is that there isn’t really one entirely satisfying way to enjoy the game.  The campaign is fun to start with but becomes a little monotonous as you’re ordered to fulfill various repetitive goals that you might not be all that interested in.  And there’s not much of a story beyond some cat in a toga saying, “Good job with that.  Now try this.”  The sandbox mode scenarios are fun, but limited.  Though you have to work around particular challenges in different sites -- the lack of an important resource, a nasty neighbor, difficult topography -- they all amount to pretty much the same thing.  If you get off on the pure aesthetics of the experience, on sitting back and admiring the beautiful city you’ve created, you’ll enjoy it.  If you want other satisfactions, you’re probably out of luck.

If I’ve been harsh here (I did enjoy the overall experience) it’s because the game promised much and had so much potential -- and because it’s going to need all the advantages it can find.  With the flood of Rome city building games coming on the market at the same time, CivCity’s has some stiff competition, mainly from Caesar 4, which already looks impressive in many of the ways CivCity isn’t (combat, visuals, trade system.)  I suspect, in the end, CivCity Rome will fall somewhere in the middle of the pack, not awful by any stretch, but a little lackluster, a little generic, a little less than glorious.  No franchise was built in a day, and I’m afraid it might take another installment before CivCity Rome lives up to its potential.

- John Tait

(August 31, 2006)

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