I dunno, Maestro -- I actually have a kid as well as a wife, a cat and a regular job, so maybe that's why I'm a little less excited. Before I buy Rome I want to be sure that the game is worth messing up my laptop for. More than anything else I hope the diplomacy will be better than in MTW. Far as I'm concerned the battles may be few and far between (provided they're good) as long as they're integrated into a larger game that has a point apart from beating everyone else on the board to a pulp. If CA are able to make that leap, this 'll be the first of a whole new generation of strat games.