Armchair General Magazine

Passed Inspection: Must-have features and interface improvements for fans of EU: Rome. Good price.

Failed Inspection: Expansion is light on content; no documentation.

At the end of a hard day’s march for your legions, Vae Victis improves what is already a very good game.

In 387 BC, an army of Gauls had taken most of Rome and were besieging the remaining Roman garrison on the Capitoline hill. The Gaul’s leader, Brennus, demanded 1,000 pounds of gold as ransom to leave the city alone. The Romans brought out their gold, but they noticed that the weights and balances the Gauls were using were fixed. The Romans complained to Brennus, who became angry, drew his sword and threw it on the balance. "Vae Victis", he declared, or woe to vanquished. This was a lesson Rome would never forget.

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One of the reasons why Paradox is such a strategy-game powerhouse is that they never stop improving their core titles. So now, six months after Europa Universalis: Rome hit the store shelves, Paradox has released the first expansion; Vae Victis.

The focus of Vae Victis is the introduction of domestic politics as well as some substantial improvements to the character interface. These features have a subtle but important effect on game play and add more depth to an already great game. Gamers not familiar with Europa Universalis: Rome can read the review on ArmchairGeneral.com.

The domestic political system in VV adds a new dimension to EU: Rome’s simulation of the ancient world. The player now has to contend with the needs and desires of the Senate, clan heads or his Council depending on the type of government. For republics like Rome or Carthage, the political display will show a map of Senate control by faction, along with a portrait of each faction leader. All domestic characters in the game are associated with one of these five factions: military, civic, religious, populist and mercantile.

As the game progresses, the fortunes of each of these factions wax and wane. While the player can affect the distribution of power somewhat, events and characters themselves will cause many of the swings in the balance of power. This is important, because the more powerful factions influence the direction of the nation. For example, all domestic and diplomatic actions must be supported by the Senate; actions that have no support will be blocked outright. So, for a major decision like going to war with Carthage, the player will only have a free hand to cleanse the coast of Africa if there is enough support. A handy pop-up shows the player the detail of how each faction feels about the proposed action. When the military faction is strong, as an example, the player will find pro-military actions to be easier.

If the player finds that the government blocks his desires too often, he can directly affect the balance of power. Want to increase the loyalty of a great general? Hold a triumph in his honor. Want to shift power to the mercantile faction? Imprison, defame or assassinate the heads of the rival factions. Of course, there are consequences like loss of popularity and prominence if you are caught. So, for junior despots out there, filling your jails with pesky faction leaders is bound to cause more trouble than it is worth.

A few other government-related features also affect game play. The player is now given national missions, like the destruction of Carthage for example. Completing these tasks will give bonuses such as increased popularity, wealth and prominence for the ruler. Another new feature is that the player can now enact laws that clamp down on corruption or shift the population distribution. But as in real life, laws are never a silver bullet and rarely have an immediate impact.

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