This problem doesnâ€™t crop up in the single-player skirmish and multiplayer modes, of course, since no story is required there. Detailed graphics, distinct unit types, and politically-incorrect ethnic accents notwithstanding, I couldnâ€™t get into the campaigns because I didnâ€™t feel like I had enough time to form a strong bond with any single leader before moving on to the next. This fractured focus made it difficult for me to stay motivated from battle to battle.

Yes, just as you did in StarCraft, youâ€™ll be switching sides more often than a Frenchman. In Numantiaâ€™s Siege, you defend Hispania with Culcas and Dictoras and their Iberian and Gallic tribesmen. In Hannibalâ€™s Campaigns, you take on Carthage in the conquest of Hispania.

In the Battle of Saguntum, you help Gallic Indortes defend a city against the Carthaginians. You do these things by overseeing various generals as they wage war at different periods over the course of a century. You muster huge armies and place them under the command of heroes, build siege engines to conquer enemy outposts, and establish supply lines to haul food and gold across your empire.

The setting is the third and second centuries BCE, the time of the Punic Wars. Nemesis of the Roman Empire drops many role-playing elements in favor of the base building conventions that weâ€™ve seen many times before. The sequel, unfortunately, backs off from the earlier gameâ€™s innovations. One of 2002â€™s quiet surprises was Celtic Kings: Rage of War, which threw real-time strategy and role-playing into a blender and dished up a game tasty enough for many fans of both.

Roman Empire Free for mac download