Roads of Rome: New Generation 2 Review – Ave Caesar

Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were its roads. That won’t stop you from trying, though! The young Valeria is following General Markus as he strikes out to meet the rampaging Vikings, but she finds the state of …

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Rome wasn’t built in a day, and neither were its roads. That won’t stop you from trying, though! The young Valeria is following General Markus as he strikes out to meet the rampaging Vikings, but she finds the state of the countryside isn’t nearly what it should be. All of those unkempt pathways could use a little taming, don’t you think? Summon the workers, we’ve got some roads to build.

Roads of Rome: New Generation 2 is a time management game that follows the long-running series that practically invented the genre. Each stage takes place in a screen filled with twisted pathways and spawning resource points, all ready to fire your clicking finger into a frenzy. Send workers out one by one to pick up gold, wood, and food for your stores, then use that booty to build things like sawmills and farms to generate even more resources. You’ll need a lot of everything to fix broken bridges, fill in swamps, and of course, pave the roads like a good Roman citizen.

Stages in Roads of Rome have a set number of goals that have to be met in order to progress. Most of the time it’s simple stuff like “Build a road” or “Destroy all the banners”. Occasionally you’ll need to get creative and make enough of a certain resource to meet the criteria. Either way, you’re racing against the clock and need to keep an eye on where your workers are. There’s no queuing in Roads of Rome: New Generation 2, and power-ups are few and very far in-between.

One of the most entertaining aspects of New Generation 2 is how non-linear each stage is. There’s an optimal order to do things, of course, but what’s interesting is that you’ll find caches to raid and regen points to harvest that lie far outside the normal routes. You may not think the workers can walk way over there, but if you give the strange object a click, you might be surprised.

Although Roads of Rome: New Generation 2 starts off somewhat slow (seriously, workers, are your boots filled with molasses?), the pace starts to pick up after a handful of levels. New features are introduced at a steady clip, dropping in things like wandering hermits who demand resources and a dense fog that has to be cleared in order to progress. It’s just enough to keep you consistently engaged amidst the building upgrades and resource management.

The only real fault with Roads of Rome: New Generation 2 is that it shares a great deal in common with its predecessors. A few new features here, some new level designs there, and a brand new story add a fresh coat of paint, but underneath it’s the same time management game it’s always been. That could be a plus or a minus depending on how you look at it, of course. In the end, Roads of Rome is still a fun challenge. I mean, who doesn’t like physically ensuring that all roads do, indeed, lead to Rome?

The good

  • Levels remain consistently engaging throughout.
  • Great balance of challenge, fast reflexes, and relaxed fun.

The bad

  • Still the same old Roads of Rome game at its core.
85 out of 100
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