14 DAY TRIAL // When I was young, I read and re-read the account of Caesar’s life written by Alexandre Dumas, which taught me a lot of what I currently know about the moment when the Roman Republic turned into the Empire and the personalities that fought to control it.
Caesar is the protagonist, but I have also learned a lot about Pompeii, Cato, Cicero and the other political players that sought to maneuver their way to the top.
The book is also partly responsible for the hundreds of hours I have already spent with Total War: Rome II, the strategy title from The Creative Assembly and SEGA, and for the tens of hours I might use to explore the recently launched Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar.
While reading about Caesar and war in the Ancient World, one of the elements that stood out was how important logistics were to the success of his armies, and how much of the resources of a powerful force was spent simply scouting and finding depots to raid or occupy.
Caesar is remembered for his double envelopment in Gaul or for his battles against Pompeii, but his true genius was linked to his ability to organize his legions and make sure that they were always fed and happy before combat.
Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar is the rare video game that understands the importance of logistics when war starts and models it by asking players to connect resource locations with other infrastructure and towns and keep them free of enemy raids.
Units carry their own provisions on the march and the gamer needs to make sure that he never allows them to get into serious combat on an empty stomach and either conquers or buys places to re-supply along their marching route.
Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar cannot model all the complexities of keeping a major army in the field in the Ancient World, but it does a good job of placing limits in order to keep players focused on achievable objectives and realistic tactics.
I would have liked to see more options linked to actual management of forces and a more significant impact for the generals that can be attached to regiments, because both were major factors in the wars of the period.
But as a whole, the team at Longbow Games has managed to include much more realism in Hegemony Rome: The Rise of Caesar than it seems at first sight.