CivCity: Rome

About

CivCity: Rome is a city-building game set in ancient Rome, where players must build and manage their own Roman city, completing various missions and tasks to progress. The game combines elements of city-building and management with historical and cultural accuracy, offering a unique and engaging gaming experience. Players must manage resources, construct buildings, maintain happiness, and defend their city from various threats to become a successful Roman governor.

Genres & Tags

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 951 reviews

graphics28 positive mentions

stability62 negative mentions

The game offers a nostalgic experience for fans of city-building games, especially those who enjoyed the Caesar series.
The graphics, while dated, are still appealing and the gameplay mechanics are engaging, allowing for hours of fun.
The campaign provides a good mix of economic and military challenges, making it enjoyable for players who like strategy.

The game is plagued by numerous bugs, particularly the 'lazy worker' issue, which can halt progress and make it unplayable.
There are significant performance issues on modern systems, including crashes and glitches that disrupt gameplay.
The lack of updates or fixes for known issues has led to frustration among players, making it hard to recommend.

graphics
127 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
22%
67%
11%
The graphics of the game are generally considered dated, reflecting its early 2000s origins, with many users noting that while they may not be stunning by modern standards, they still hold up reasonably well for a title of its age. Some players appreciate the visual detail and nostalgic charm, while others express disappointment and desire for a remaster to enhance the graphics. Overall, the consensus is that the visuals are acceptable for a classic city-builder, but they may not satisfy those seeking contemporary graphical fidelity.
- “The graphics are gorgeous.”
- “Graphics are amazing for such an old city builder.”
- “A great city building game, with amazing graphics for a 2006 game, and a very easy and comfortable interface.”
- “The graphics suck because it was made in the early 2000s.”
- “This game's graphics are more appropriate for a 1996 game than a 2006 game.”
- “It has since aged very badly indeed, the graphics are poor, the interface is annoying and the gameplay is uninspiring to say the least.”
gameplay
112 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
25%
64%
11%
The gameplay of CivCity: Rome is characterized by classic resource management and city-building mechanics, blending elements from various genres, including happiness management and technology trees. While the game offers engaging mechanics and a fun, low-stress experience, it is marred by frequent bugs that can hinder progress and disrupt the overall enjoyment. Despite its dated graphics and some confusing elements, many players appreciate the solid mechanics and the nostalgic feel reminiscent of 90s city builders.
- “Classic resource management / city builder, with some of the clearest gameplay in the genre.”
- “The graphics haven't aged too well, but the gameplay mechanics are superb and the game has a lot of soul, with challenging and fun missions and enough personalization options to make each city look and feel distinct.”
- “The mechanics on this game are incredible, if you enjoy watching the inside homes, products being made, and delivering and much more... keeping happiness rates up, researching for better stuff, and making a great city overall.”
- “I managed to find workarounds to the bugs (which I'll share below), but they occur so frequently that it becomes a hindrance to the gameplay experience.”
- “The graphical detail is fantastic, but the gameplay leaves much to be desired.”
- “I was hoping to not encounter the notorious game-breaking bug early in my gameplay; sadly, about 30 minutes in, it became impossible to progress.”
story
70 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
14%
81%
4%
The game's story is largely centered around a series of challenging missions set in a Roman-era city-building context, with players managing resources and completing objectives. However, many users report significant gameplay issues, such as workers frequently failing to perform tasks, which hampers progress and makes some missions nearly impossible to complete. While the campaign offers a mix of military and economic challenges, the lack of a coherent narrative and persistent bugs detract from the overall experience.
- “The campaign is very fun with each mission bringing on its own challenges either militarily or economically.”
- “Experience dozens of missions, buildings, and other great stuff in the Roman era!”
- “There are also still a lot of custom games and campaigns out there once you have finished the storyline.”
- “I previously have played this game for hours and completed the campaign, so I know how to play and that the houses need basic things and location - but even the first entry-level campaign story doesn't work.”
- “You cannot complete entry-level campaign missions because workers do not perform their tasks.”
- “I love the idea, but the game is unplayable; the first mission is impossible to pass because workers won't collect stone. The same problem occurs when playing a single game, where workers will collect everything except wood, stone, and water.”
stability
66 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
6%
94%
The game is widely criticized for its numerous bugs and glitches, which significantly hinder gameplay and make it frustrating for many players. While some users find enjoyment in the mechanics once the issues are resolved, the overall consensus is that the game's stability is poor, with persistent problems affecting worker functionality and progress. Many recommend caution, especially for those using Windows 10, as the glitches can render the game nearly unplayable.
- “I really like this game; it runs great on my Windows 10.”
- “In short, the game works and runs great.”
- “I love this game but lately it has become unplayable because of the glitches going on.”
- “There have been reports of this bug for years on the boards and nothing has been fixed other than uninstalling and reinstalling every time it glitches, which is a huge pain.”
- “Initially I was excited to play this game; however, the glitches make it unplayable.”
music
16 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
50%
31%
19%
The music in the game is described as immersive and enjoyable, with a soundtrack reminiscent of John Williams that enhances the gameplay experience, particularly during chaotic moments. However, some users noted that parts of the city ambience music are directly lifted from Caesar 3, which may detract from its originality. Overall, the music and voice acting are well-received, contributing to a pleasant and engaging atmosphere.
- “Very immersive musical score as well.”
- “The free-to-play nature and the pleasant music make for many hours of imaginative creativity.”
- “The developers ripped the soundtrack straight off from Caesar 3.”
- “I may be the only one who's noticed it, but part of the city ambience music is exactly from Caesar 3.”
- “While it is an older game, the visuals are appealing and the almost John Williams-esque soundtrack really makes the more chaotic parts exciting.”
replayability
14 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
29%
50%
21%
Overall, the game's replayability is a mixed bag; while many players appreciate the high replay value due to diverse campaigns, single missions, and a map editor, others find that mastering the game leads to diminished challenge and enjoyment. Some users note that the map creation tool is not user-friendly and has bugs, which can limit replay options. Despite these drawbacks, the game remains engaging for those interested in historical accuracy and city-building elements.
- “The replay value is very high, with a civic and a military campaign, single mission options, a map editor, and of course, various skill levels to challenge yourself with.”
- “The replayability is high, with lots of things to do, and a great game I recommend to anyone interested in historical accuracy and city building in general.”
- “The armies are a bit weak, but otherwise a fun and replayable game that you can dump several hours into without feeling too stressed or bored.”
- “Once you learn how to play, you can win any scenario and sandbox easily, so there is no replay value.”
- “The stand-alone scenarios have limited replayability, and though you can make your own maps (and campaigns!), the tool to do so is not user-friendly and there are some bugs in it.”
- “A decent older RTS game that still has some replayability left in it.”
grinding
4 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
Players find the grinding aspect of the game to be enjoyable initially, but it often becomes tedious over time. The mechanics can feel more like a frustrating puzzle to solve rather than a rewarding experience, particularly when trying to understand why certain upgrades aren't progressing despite meeting requirements.
- “It's an interesting game mechanic, but it gets tedious sometimes -- sort of feels like a debugging exercise trying to figure out why a house doesn't upgrade when all the services it needs are very close.”
- “Fun but gets kind of tedious.”
atmosphere
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The atmosphere and voice acting have been widely criticized as poor, with many reviewers noting that the timeline lacks coherence, further detracting from the overall experience.
- “The atmosphere and voice acting are atrocious, and the timeline makes no sense.”
monetization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The reviews do not provide specific insights into the monetization aspect of the game, instead focusing on its promotion of medium-density urbanism. Therefore, no clear conclusions about monetization can be drawn from the provided texts.
optimization
2 mentions Positive Neutral Negative
100%
The game is reported to be well-optimized, running smoothly on Windows 7 without any noticeable glitches.
- “I have yet to see a glitch, and it runs smoothly on Windows 7.”