Paradox rework Imperator: Rome's military in Update 2.0 today
Codenamed Marius, after a German football manager
It's trite but often true: Paradox strategy games are ropey at launch, with hints of promise that may or may not be realised over the next few years of free updates and paid expansions. Such was the case with Imperator: Rome, the 2019 grand strategy game set in the founding years of the Roman Empire. Bit shallow but promising, and already expanded in a few patches. Now today has brought the launch of big ol' Update 2.0 plus a new paid DLC.
Paradox say Update 2.0 (codenamed Marius, after German football manager Marius Ebbers) brings "a significant reworking of the military system". The Marius patch notes reel off new features including forming standing Legions and appointing leaders, new 3D models for Legions, new Engineer units, a redesigned UI, and plenty of bug fixes and balance tweaks. More than I could or should repeat.
Also out today is the new paid Content Pack, Heirs Of Alexander. Fling £7.19/€9.99/$9.99 at Steam and you'll get new missions, events, deities, treasures and such giving the Hellenistic kingdoms more flavour. It also adds a tool to design/customise your own Great Wonders. The GOG release is still "coming soon".
It's not that Imperator was bad, mind. Just wasn't as much as many hoped. Our Nate certainly had a grand time.
"Once again, I had that feeling I had first encountered playing Europa Universalis II in 2005, when it nearly destroyed my undergrad degree, in fact," Nate said in our Imperator: Rome review. " How, I had thought, can a game give you so much freedom and still stay coherent? It had felt like magic - and today, it still does. And while of course Imperator's complexity can still be overwhelming, it's made more of an effort than earlier installments at being approachable to newcomers."