“The Roman Empire setting was of interest to us as it was a time of great turbulence, with several factions vying for power,” Simpson explains. Flavius issues a rousing speech — his men clang swords and spears against their shields in approval. Then the air fills with the thunder of feet and hooves as soldiers rush toward the loose group of huts.

Segesta’s defenders are hopelessly outmatched and the battle ends quickly, without the need to occupy the village center for three minutes, since nearly all enemy soldiers have been killed. Then Flavius must decide whether to occupy Segesta, enslave the local population, or raze the settlement and slaughter its people.

Stand Your Ground. Armies collide.

“The Roman Empire setting was of interest to us as it was a time of great turbulence, with several factions vying for power.”

- Mike Simpson, SEGA creative director

Each choice carries with it positive and negative effects, and the Julii leader decides on occupation, which earns the least amount of money, known as Denarii, from looting but allows Segesta to immediately begin contributing income from farming, mining, trade, and taxes. In addition, the local citizens, while admittedly unhappy about being conquered, can be put to work constructing buildings and training new soldiers — enslavement would have spread them to other cities controlled by the Julii and forced Segesta to rebuild its population.

As the Julii troops take up residence in Segesta, Simpson remarks: “We wanted to cover the rise of Rome from controlling just the Italian Peninsula to most of Europe.”

Lead the Charge. A commander readies his troops.

A Tale of Three Families

The Julii family is wealthy and controls a large swath of territory, but it has the Brutii and Scipii families to contend with, as well as the Gauls to the north. Flavius sends a Julii spy to learn what he can about the Gallic troops even as the leader of Gaul makes an offer to establish trading between the two factions. Flavius agrees to the proposal, adhering to the adage that one should keep friends close but enemies even closer.

Meanwhile, the House of Brutii finds itself at war with the Greek cities — perhaps the Julii rival will be weakened in the process. Sometimes all you have to do is play the diplomacy game properly — knowing which conflicts to stay out of while negotiating relationships with neighbors — and gain power without shedding a drop of blood. Diplomats are a valuable part of that process, while assassins can tilt inter-faction dynamics with one well-timed strike.

Pachyderms Run Amok. These powerful units can help turn the tide of any battle.

As your territory grows, you’ll also need to keep an eye on the home front. Citizens taxed too heavily may threaten to revolt, while poorly-maintained settlements are more susceptible to plague outbreaks that will decimate their population and reduce the amount of Denarii they contribute to your coffers. However, if you capture a settlement located in a province with a World Wonder — such as the Great Pyramid of Giza or the Lighthouse of Alexandria — you’ll earn powerful empire-wide benefits.

“We also visited key locations, battlefields, and museums. It gave us a great excuse to watch ‘Gladiator’ multiple times.”

- Mike Simpson, SEGA creative director

“I split the early part of the campaign between capturing rebel settlements and building up my economy,” Simpson notes. “Once my economy is going strong, I can then fund enough armies to rapidly spread out across the map. I also use diplomacy to secure my borders while I’m off fighting elsewhere.”

Research is Key

“Learn to obey before you command,” the Athenian statesman known as Solon said during the sixth century BC. In the case of Simpson’s development team, they learned to obey their research before embarking on such an ambitious project. “We have an extensive library of books and DVDs and we always dive into them when working on a title, to fully immerse ourselves in the time period,” he explains.

The High Ground. A perfect place to survey the battlefield and gain an advantage over the enemy below.

For Rome: Total War, he says, “we also visited key locations, battlefields, and museums. It gave us a great excuse to watch ‘Gladiator’ multiple times.”

As we talk, the scene before us fast-forwards several hundred years. The Julii, Scipii, and Brutii families would likely not recognize what we now witness: while their internal strife eventually led to the creation of the Roman Empire, that mighty entity now finds itself split into Western and Eastern halves. The Western Empire, ruled by Rome and its ineffectual Senate, is on the brink of collapse, while the Eastern Empire, from its seat of power in Constantinople, still holds large swaths of territory in its tight grip.

The Beginning of the End

This is the setting for the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack included in Rome: Total War Gold Edition. “Both time periods saw huge threats to Rome and massive wars, making them a perfect fit for the Total War series,” Simpson notes.

Ready, Aim... Preparing to repel a siege.

Religion is a major component of Barbarian Invasion, which also features new playable factions, with ten to choose from when you embark on the main campaign. In addition, it mimics the migration of the Huns, Goths, and other people with the introduction of hordes who can sack cities and plunder large amounts of wealth. However, a horde has no homeland, so it can also choose to settle in a defeated city and establish a new nation.

No matter how you choose to chart the rise and fall of the Roman Empire, you would be wise to heed these words from the Roman poet Ovid, set down by him during the early years AD in his seminal work, “Metamorphoses”: “Time, the devourer of all things.”

If you liked these games, check out:

• Age of Empires III
• Civilization IV: Colonization
• Imperial Glory
• Legion Arena