PC Gamer

(sharon) #1

D


ressed in a toga and flanked by Roman
soldiers, veteran designer Johan
Andersson announcesImperator: Rome


  • an indirect follow-up to 2008’s grand
    strategy gameEuropa Universalis: Rome. While the
    PDXCon 2018 reveal trailer offered no in-game
    footage, backstage I’m shown a bare-bones build
    that Andersson talks me through.

  • is accessed from a series of dropdown
    menus, as is the process of enacting laws.
    If you’re running a republic, you might
    consider passing bills through the senate,
    or you can go full Julius Caesar and ignore
    democracy. You nasty sod.
    Military options let you manage morale
    and unlock traditions; technologies grant
    you access to inventions; and economic
    policies let you weigh diplomacy and
    global power. If you’re familiar with
    Paradox’s games, you’ve seen this before.
    These features do, however, illustrate how
    focused Imperator is on provinces over
    people. Andersson stresses his desire to


keep individual personalities, with their
own skillsets, limited to their roles within
the political machine.

MAPPED OUT
Imperator’s world map is easily the
best-looking Paradox Development Studio
has ever created. Its vibrant territory
colours echo its forerunners, but every
cloud, shadow and river looks stunning.
It’s a sight to behold, and I can’t help but
think this iteration of the Clausewitz
engine, coupled with Imperator’s
accessible interface, has potential to
welcome new faces to the genre.
It’s still early days, though. Large
sections of the map were incomplete, as
were chunks of its UI. I’m a bit concerned
that Imperator’s early 2019 launch target
is unrealistic but Andersson and his
team’s track record speaks for itself.
“There’s no way in hell we won’t get it out
in the first half of next year,” he assures.
Joe Donnelly

IMPERATOR’S UI IS FAR
MORE ACCESSIBLE,
BUTISNOLESS
SOPHISTICATED

FIRST
LOOK

Paradox puts on a toga party


IMPERATOR:


ROME


Set from 304 BC to the founding of the
Roman Empire, Imperator promises 7,000
explorable, conquerable and developable
cities. Like previous Europa Universalis
games, Imperator: Rome offers a less
personal approach to politics. Factors
such as popularity, prominence and public
opinion are instead balanced with your
global presence in mind.
Continuing the strides made by
stablemates Europa Universalis IV and
Stellaris, Imperator’s UI is far more
accessible, but is no less sophisticated.
Information on the three government
types – republics, tribes and monarchies

NEED TO KNOW


RELEASE
Early 2019


DEVELOPER
Paradox Development Studio

PUBLISHER
Paradox Interactive


LINK
http://www.gameimperator.com

Imperator: Rome


PREVIEW


This is Paradox ’s most
eye-catching map yet
Free download pdf