Citadelum

I had been eyeing up Citadelum for a few weeks before it was released and I decided to try out the demo/prologue. I played the demo for around an hour and decided right there and then that I needed this game. This is a city builder/strategy game and the ancient Rome setting that it has is really cool. It blends fantasy and history together really well and it is a very addictive and fun strategy game if you are looking for something that you can sink your teeth into.

Rome Wasn’t Built In A Day

If you enjoy city building games and big strategy games, Citadelum is the game for you. The game takes place in ancient Rome and we are tasked with leading our people to prosperity and this as you would expect, is easier said than done. The game takes a kind of non-linear approach to its storytelling so if you play this a few times, you will notice differences in the things that you are seeing as you spread out across the globe to try and make your people as happy as can be and also ensure you are the mightiest force in the world.

By The Gods

The twist here in Citadelum is that this is not just all about “real” history. This game has a fantasy element to it and that comes in the form of the ancient Roman Gods! You can try and appease a certain God by offering stuff to them, building a statue to worship them, and so on. In turn, this God may help you by vanquishing enemies or via some other means. However, if you pray to one God, this could make another angry and the last thing you want is an angry God showing up in your city! I loved this aspect of the game and thought that it was really well done.

Simming Your City

Did you like that delightful Sim City pun I just did for you there? Anyway, Citadelum has one of the most satisfying city building systems I have seen. You need to get stuff from the forest and the quarry to build your city and as you would expect, you start fairly basic. However, as you expand, you can build bigger and better cities with more advanced stuff like aqueducts and fancy stuff that your exploration teams have brought back from far off lands. I found the city building tools to be very easy to figure out and there is also a great system here that allows you to build your own maps and stuff to share with the community. I could honestly spend countless hours just screwing around and building cities in this game, it is that addictive.

Blood Will Be Spilled!

The city building and expansion of your people is one thing, but Citadelum also has a dark side and I am not just talking about the stuff with angry vengeful gods either! You will need soldiers to fight for you and the combat basically happens on its own, but it is down to you to make sure that your military forces are plentiful and have the right resources to protect your city, but also expand and take resources that will help your people. This part of the game is pretty scaled back in comparison to other similar games, but I liked that. I liked how my focus was mainly on building the city and the combat just kind of happened.

Pros:

• The ancient Rome setting was really cool
• The stuff with the Gods was so awesome
• The city building aspect of this game is very addictive
• I liked how it was so user friendly and easy to get to grips with

Cons:

• It may lack the features that hardcore strategy and civilization fans love
• Games like this are always something of an acquired taste

Citadelum is a city-building simulator in the realities of Ancient Rome, which will allow you to travel back in time and decide how cities will be built for centuries to come. Collect resources, find a suitable location and build your own city. But not only you work for the good of your people, let the gods also try, but the highest will descend only in the already arranged and prosperous city to help with their blessing. Properly distribute human and natural resources, do not forget about the constant threats from outside and create eternal cities throughout the area of your great empire.

Game Pros:

• Invoke deities to speed up crop growth or other assistance
• Place buildings as you please in a complex generated landscape