The full version of PAE V is finally there!
Games such as Total War Rome II or Ryse Son of Rome for the Xbox seem to have transferred antiquity into gaming more enthrallingly and realistically than ever. But as soon as you have seen all the visual bombast, what remains of the long-term gaming enjoyment and real immersion into the ancient world? Not much. Nothing against high resolution massacre and panoramic real-time battles, but game depth, "soul" and historical feeling are traits rather searched in turn-based build-up games.
However: founding cities, governing empires, conquering the world - we all know that. What should be new in a turn-based strategy game playing in antiquity? The answer: Pie's Ancient Europe, a user-made, free modification for the well-tried golden oldie Civilization IV. Some commercial developers may just dream about this atmosphere, playability and concentration of innovative features. Here are just a few examples of the things you can do in PAE:
Spread food resources such as dates, olives, grain and wine from city to city - starting with only one resource in your empire or one you have bargained for - and thus re-enact the agricultural development of ancient empires.
Be suprised by the new promotion system for units and experience a completely new characterisation of your army: units do not only win experience points in combat any more but also promotions depending on the landscape and combative routine to the point of heroism. Then, your battle-tried veterans can be settled down in provinces and reactivated in case of need.
Do not merely fight barbarians and other civilizations but also the internal dangers of your empire: faithless generals, crazy province governors, religious tensions, mutinying troops, rebellious soldiers, renegading vassals or foreign mercenary armies some unknown enemy has sicked on you. Will the hostile mercenary leader confess under torture which of your opponents is responsible for this gang of mercenaries in your territory? Then pay him back by hiring an own army which will destabilize him internally. But maybe the Gods themselves will punish him with a devastating natural disaster: witness tsunamis, meteorits, volcanos, locust and plague desolating his country - or yours.