Heart of the Empire: Rome

Anyone playing this? It's out in Europe, and I'm curious. No demo that I can find at a very quick search, no reviews, no forums ...

It's a citybuilder, set in ancient Rome. It has nice graphics, but that can mean anything and nothing.

I believe I saw a review in a PC magazine, will check if there's a demo. Wasn't it a 'sequel' of the Caesar citybuilders?

Links

http://www.3dgamers.com/games/heartempirerome/
http://pc.ign.com/objects/699/699102.html
http://news.softpedia.com/news/HEART...PC-10061.shtml
http://www.deepred.co.uk/code/deepRed_content.html

Manufacturer's Description

August 2005 Build & control one of the greatest Empires of all time. Heart of Empire: Rome leads you through 14 huge missions as you actually build & control ancient Rome in glorious real-time 3D.

From simple beginnings, you must quickly build housing for your growing population, & start to meet their increasing desires for food, goods, & entertainment. Step out of your city & survey a map of the Empire & its many provinces that supply the materials & goods that allow your city to run. Gain political influence with the Senate & the Emperor, & grasp your ultimate goal, POWER!

Create your own personalised Empire by selecting & placing over 100 unique buildings & structures. Pick & select where to build your low cost housing, amenities, & commercial centres. Demolish old structures to make way for new buildings. But be ready to handle any problems this may cause! Your growing populace will need feeding; they will also desire entertainment, & affordable goods, fail them, & they will riot!

New levels of relism allow you closer to the action then never before. Now you actually build & play in full 3D! A fully adjustable camera allows you to zoom out & view your city from any angle. Zoom in & actually move through the busy streets that you have created. Select & follow your citizens as they move about your city. Pass down busy markets & actually see & hear the traders as they go about their business.



Heart of Empire Link

I think it's kinda funny that in all the screenshots I've seen, there aren't any roads (or streets for that matter).

check out the ones at gamespot
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...reenindex.html

edit: there are some new screenshots at gamespy showing roads and people.
they look nice.
http://media.pc.gamespy.com/media/69...02/imgs_1.html

this looks like the type of game i've been looking for - let's see if i can find here in the states

It's still sounding appealing, but still no reviews or player opinions of it. Shame. There are so many games out there which sound good, look nice, and are bug ridden messes and/or not terribly good.

While money isn't an issue for me now, playing time is - I'm still actually working through my first BI campaign! I've managed about 50-60 turns in something like 3 weeks. So the few hours it will take to find the game is a lemon will really hurt.