For a simple game this is surprisingly involving. I remember playing this on the Amiga when it came out and spent many wasted hours working through the levels.
The first level is set in Herculaneum where you are initially a slave. It is shortly before the volcanic eruption which destroyed the town. By interacting with the other characters and situations you have to plan escape before you the lava engulfs the streets.
By pretending to be a citizen you eventually get safe passage on a boat heading for Rome itself.
For a simple game this is surprisingly involving. I remember playing this on the Amiga when it came out and spent many wasted hours working through the levels.
The first level is set in Herculaneum where you are initially a slave. It is shortly before the volcanic eruption which destroyed the town. By interacting with the other characters and situations you have to plan escape before you the lava engulfs the streets.
By pretending to be a citizen you eventually get safe passage on a boat heading for Rome itself. Here you can buy slaves, gamble, pray, go to the games and even kill and steal. All is with the intention of getting into power and becoming a soldier. You can wonder around
the city and get into most of the buildings but it's best to interact with other characters each of whom have a profile you can check out with a name, occupation etc.
Once you've become a soldier it's on to the next level which is Britain. Here you have to organize a military campaign against the natives and steal their flag. Once you've stolen their flag you own them because I think that's how it worked in those days. The fighting is simple and maybe a little bit frustrating sometimes, finding loopholes in the rules is probably easier than winning properly but it's still pretty entertaining.
There's also a level set in Egypt where you have beat some opposing armies and also pull Cleopatra who for some reason is still around in this time. It's not historically accurate but I don't think this was intended for Egyptologists so get over it.
Final level is back to Rome where upon your arrival and alighting from the boat you once again amble around the marble streets of what would become the capital of Italy. Take a moment to look at the layout of the streets, the colors on view and sounds to hear. Then there's time to think about political plotting and how you will finally become the emperor of all that you survey without any sort of responsibility to arrange taxes or sanitation or a balanced foreign policy.
The game charts the rise of your career in roman society and you can end up murdered or in political disgrace which is when the game ends, unless of course you complete it which is better.
