The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome

Recycled edutainment and terrible production values make this RTS survey of Roman history stale and simple.

"The battle graphics get the job done, but everything else is a wash. The game is simple to play and though it does try to complicate matters, does a poor job – which reveals the simplistic nature of this title. The game is a cerebral exercise and one that you need to undertake even in the early stages of a campaign. You will need to plan ahead, just as one would in chess, so that when you encounter tougher enemies down the road, you have the units ready to fight. In the overall analysis, though, Great Battles of Rome is an introductory point in the RTS genre and a dated one at that."

"Aimed at wholly different market. It's a game not meant for gamers - and suffers for it. Just too simple and ugly, even for a quick PS2 port."