Imperator: Rome

The gameplay takes place across a vast swathe of land from the Iberian Peninsula to the Indian subcontinent and boasts a massive seven thousand cities to play in and through. All of the various nations are playable. You play as a nation, rather than as a character, but the dynamics of the game are so good that you can impose a personality onto your motley crew of a population.

These individuals that make up the nation are mostly controllable, but they can rebel unexpectedly – rather like teenage children – and follow their own path for a while, ignoring your best strictures and advice!

The game relies on playing politics, but