Metacritic Games

Europa Universalis: Rome (PC Games)

Europa Universalis: Rome will cover the time period from the first Punic War to the start of the true Empire. Players will have thousand of gameplay choices ranging from country, culture, provincial and character options to name but a few, making each and every game infinitely customizable and truly unique. Fully 3D map with integrated graphics and detailed topography. Start at any date between 280 B.C. and 27 B.C. Choose between 10 different cultures, including the Roman, Celtic, Greek and Egyptian civili­zations, with more than 53 playable factions on a map spanning hundreds of provinces. Watch your characters develop new traits through political intrigue and various interactions with thousands of other characters. Trade, negotiate or fight with your neighbours and advance your technologies to unite the Mediterranean World. Robust multiplayer allows you to challenge up to 32 players either competitively or in co-op mode. [Paradox Interactive]

Paradox Interactive
Strategy, Empire Building
Players: 32
E10+ (Everyone 10 and Older)
Developer: Paradox Interactive
Released April 15, 2008

Overall Metascore

This is a weighted, normalized average of all individual scores given by critics, on a scale of 0 (worst) to 100 (best).

73 / 100

Critic Reviews

90 AceGamez
The slick look and easy to use feel of Europa Universalis: Rome combine with its astonishing depth and freeform style to provide a truly compelling and quite unusual game experience.
87 IGN
For the rare gamers who can happily lose themselves in a world where the ability to create armies is more valued than the ability to lead them on the field of battle, the EU games are a revelation. When you combine that approach with the appeal of the historical Roman setting, it's like an arrow of happiness aimed straight at our hearts.
83 GameZone
I think this is a great game, it has wonderful features and the strategy is solid.
83 Jolt Online Gaming UK
Interesting content, ease of use and the ability to remove huge chunks of your life combine to make one of the best historically accurate strategy games out there.
82 Strategy Informer
From strategic trading, the recruiting of legions, where to garrison them, who’s right for the job from governor to general – Rome is possibly one of the only games out there that can really give gamers a glimpse into just how pressured emerging super powers were. After all Rome wasn’t built in a day, let Paradox show you why.
80 GameTap
Even though Rome is still plenty intimidating to anyone who has never experienced an EU game before, refinements to the interface and core gameplay make it surprisingly easy to sit down and start playing.
80 Boomtown
Sitting down for half an hour will quickly lead to you looking at the clock and only to discover its 5 am three days later.
79 PC Zone UK
If the Europa Universalis series is your thing, Rome is a welcome evolution. [July 2008, p.74]
78 PC Gamer UK
Rome is so lean and tooltippy, you may not need to open the manual at all. [June 2008, p.82]
70 EuroGamer
Rome is another largely enjoyable offering from Paradox, and the fresh personnel management aspects add an interesting new twist to the series.
65 Gamers.at
If you liked the Rome version of the Total War series, you will definitely be disappointed here. My advice is to download and test the demo version and afterwards decide, if you want to hurry to the local store to get the full game or not.
60 GameSpy
Unfortunately getting to a multiplayer game is more trouble than it's worth.
60 Play (Poland)
One of the best series of hardcore strategies became envious of Total Wars' 3D graphics and accessibility. Consequently, it has lost its best features, becoming a game of moving the armies around. What barbarism! [June 2008]
55 PC Gamer
Also disturbing is how readily the game plays itself, with little to no input necessary from the player. [July 2008, p.64]
50 1UP
It's downright cruel -- the fans who might be able to stomach the interface are exactly the ones who will be let down by the A.I. And the casual players who might not realize how bad the A.I. is won't get past the interface.

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