Romance of Rome Hidden Object Game for IPhone/IPad due Feb 17

Travel to every corner of the ancient city of Rome like Coliseum, Thermae, Forum and more, collect skillfully hidden items, earn money, get original trophies and complete challenging quests to earn love and worship of Roman citizens.  - Awem Studios

Gamers get to embark on an exciting journey along with Marcus as he makes his way to Rome in order to find the emperor’s valuable imperial relics and win his daughter’s hand in marriage. Merchants encountered along the way provide special items which are purchasable by gamers.

Romance of Rome boasts of including 30 dazzling levels as well as 7 adventurous episodes. All these events are strewn across 17 stunning locations all over Rome. - G5 Entertainment

I've actually  found hidden object games a fun way to spend time waiting in lines or at doctor's offices.  They're especially fun when the game developers use a historical setting as a backdrop.  I purchased one that features a search of the Vatican and downloaded another that takes place in ancient Mesopotamia.  I'll be setting a reminder to download this one on February 17!

        

2008's Call of Atlantis rebooted for Nintendo DS

This combo game that includes Match3, Hidden Object and Reverse Hidden Object challenges originally developed for the PC in 2008 is getting a chance for a new life in its incarnation for the Nintendo DS released this month.

A fascinating journey through the ancient lands of Rome, Greece, Troy, Phoenicia, Babylon, Egypt and Carthage awaits you. Collect seven mysterious power crystals, cool the wrath of Poseidon, the god of Atlantis, and save the hidden continent of legend.

Features:

- The game where old mythical stories meet modern time game play.
- The match 3 game that was enjoyed by hundreds of thousands of people on the PC.
- A unique mix of Match 3, Hidden Object and Adverture.
- 66 enchanting levels, unlimited game play

I see that it is still available for PC download from Amazon too for only $6.99 and has garnered an average review rating of 4.5 stars out of 5.  Not bad!!

     

"Rome" movie to offer decent series wrapup

I was browsing Steven Saylor's website today and saw a blurb about Bruno Heller working on a movie script for "Rome" to serve as a decent wrapup of the original HBO miniseries.

[Image: Ray Stevenson as Titus Pullo. Courtesy of HBO]

I am ecstatic! Like many "Rome" fans, I couldn't believe HBO made such a monumental mistake when they canceled the series. I guess HBO has come to that realization as well:

"The lavish period drama ran for two seasons on HBO, which co-produced the series with the BBC. With the final season of "The Sopranos" as its lead-in, the first season was solidly rated. But the show's hefty $100 million production cost presented the network with a tough call on the pickup. HBO opted for a second season to help get more value from its initial investment but not a third, effectively canceling the show in summer 2006 before the second season debuted the following January. The "Rome" sets were destroyed, and the actors were released from their contracts, making the network's decision all but irreversible.

But season 2 of "Rome" was a surprise. Although slightly lower rated than the first, the show did much better than HBO expected without its "Sopranos" lead-in (averaging roughly 6.5 million viewers, nearly the same as "True Blood"). Plus it won awards, which is important to a pay network that attracts subscribers by offering premium programming: Post-cancellation, the first season received four Emmy Awards, and then another seven Emmys were heaped upon the final season.

Suddenly "Rome" was a Greek tragedy: a successful show with no future. The broadcast nets quickly snatched up the show's leads for top fall pilots.

HBO executives have since admitted that axing the show probably was a mistake. - More: The Live Feed

Apparently, Heller is considering picking up the story some years later in Palestine.

"Heller would not discuss plot ideas, but the original series outline for "Rome" next called for the hedonistic Roman leaders to deal with the rise of a certain problematic rabbi -- a story line that would have put a new Roman-perspective spin on the Greatest Story Ever Told and potentially bring "Rome" a larger audience." - - More: The Live Feed

I'm not sure this tactic would attract any religious viewers (if that's what Heller means) unless Heller tones down the visceral reality factor in the series. I hope he doesn't do that, though, for the sake of broadening audience appeal. It's the gritty nature of the series that made it stand out from the syrupy visions of the ancient world of many previous sword and sandal flicks. Of course its outstanding production qualities certainly helped as well. It garnered emmys for art direction, cinematography, costumes, hair design (must have been all of those wonderfully outrageous styles and wigs worn by Atia!) and visual effects.

I also found a brief interview on MovieWeb with actor Ray Stevenson who played Pullo in the HBO miniseries indicating the script is nearing completion:

Is the Rome movie still moving ahead?

Ray Stevenson: Apparently so. It is no longer a smoke and mirrors rumor. The script is in full development. As you are probably aware, this is a pretty strange process. We could go into production in a year, or it could be as quick as six months. Who knows? It will happen. At least it is no longer a rumor. From what I have heard, they are nearing the end of script development. We shall see. We shall see.

How excited are you to go back and play Titus all over again.

Ray Stevenson: I can't wait to dust off the cobwebs of old Pullo. The guy is going to come in with a high body count. I love Pullo. I love him to pieces. I had such a great time playing him. And I got to do it in Italy and Rome. He is very special to me. He is a very special part of my history. I was very blessed to get that part. - More: MovieWeb

I'll keep my fingers crossed and my eyes peeled! 2010 looks like its going to be my kind of year with a "Rome" movie sequel, "Agora", a movie about Hypatia starring Rachel Weisz and a Spartacus series on Starz!

Grand Ages Rome

Raise massive armies and embark on epic campaigns to expand the Empire and take control of the known world! Engage in grand-scale city building and create magnificent cities with creativity and control like never before. Intuitive controls make it easy to launch bone-crushing combat missions and manage every aspect of your thriving civilization.

After decades in exile, your family name has been all but forgotten in Rome.
But the departure of the tyrant Sulla has changed everything, and Rome stands on the brink of a new era. Sides must be chosen as Caesar and Pompey battle for control of the Republic.

The stage is set for you to gain power and influence over one of the greatest civilizations in history.

Build an Empire worth fighting for!

Featuring 4X Real-Time Strategy:

Explore - Journey to ancient Gaul, Britannia, Egypt, and more to colonize barbarians and establish new trade routes.

Expand - Stake your claim throughout the known world in the name of Rome! Help build the empire through military conquest and economic prowess.

Exploit - Natural resources are yours for the taking as you establish farming, mining, and logging operations. Raze barbarian villages for riches, labor, and property.

Exterminate - Destroy all who stand in the way of Rome's glory! Defend your territories by land and sea to secure peace and prosperity for the empire

Set Your Sights on Domination!

Advanced Battle System
Take command of 18 different military units, including naval command, elephant cavalry, and mercenary forces. Recruit citizens of Rome, draft captured enemy forces, and pay foreign squads for their special skills. Defend and expand the Empire by land and sea with exciting RTS gameplay.

Intense Multiplayer
Online multiplayer functionality with 6 different strategy modes - play competitively or cooperatively. Create buddy lists and challenge your friends to a battle, or use the matching system and take on an unknown foe with the same skill level. Advance your career and increase your rank from praetor to consul and beyond.

Epic Campaigns
Rub shoulders with Julius Caesar, Mark Antony, Cleopatra and more in a non-linear historical campaign featuring over 40 missions. Choose your own fate as you create and destroy alliances with more than 20 different historical figures. Celebrate your victories by erecting legendary monuments such as the Coliseum, Circus Maximus, the Pantheon, and more.

Complex Economy
Flow resources eliminate tedious micromanagement, giving you the freedom to create thriving cities with multileveled economic systems. Information overlays visualize the city economy and satisfaction of the people on every location on the map.

History Channel and maker of "Legion" team up for "Great Battles of Rome"

"With a name like The History Channel: Great Battles of Rome, it's not too difficult to figure out what this game is about. Developed by Slitherine Software, Great Battles of Rome is a tactical battle simulator that lets you control Roman legions in battle against their many foes. Like Slitherine's previous games, Great Battles of Rome focuses just on battles. There's no strategic layer that presents you with a map of the Roman world, so you don't have to worry about moving armies around the map or managing cities. All you have to worry about is managing your army, both in and between battles.

There will be more than 100 battles in the game, divided among 14 Roman campaigns. They're all linear, too, so you must win a battle in order to progress to the next one. Most battles will be won and lost in the planning phase, before the fighting even begins. During the planning phase, you deploy your troops onto the battlefield, taking into account terrain and tactics. You'll then give them initial orders and formations for when the battle starts. For instance, you might want infantry to hold in place, and cavalry to move forward and charge. Your opening moves and stances will be critical, because once the battle begins you won't be able to micromanage it. Instead, you'll have only a limited number of points, which you can use to issue orders. That's to model the difficulty of generals to manage a battle once it has begun.

Should you win the battle, you'll move on to the army management screen, which lets you recruit and customize squads. You can control up to 20 different squads, consisting of more than 20 troop types. There are infantry, cavalry, archers, and whatever else you'd expect from this era in history, such as elephants. You earn gold for winning battles, and you can use it to purchase new squads, replace losses in existing squads, pay for specialized training for squads, or buy better weapons and equipment for your troops. The amount of customization and training is extensive, so you can really make your squads feel like your own. Once everything is set up the way you want, you'll launch into the next battle.

The battles are historically based, so you may battle Germanic barbarians in the North or campaign in much warmer climes. Each battle presents a different tactical challenge thanks to the terrain. Rough terrain might make things difficult for mounted units and ideal for infantry, while open terrain reverses the situation. Woods or hills might create obstacles that can be used to your advantage. You'll also need to study the composition of the enemy force and its deployments. If you see a weakness in their lines, figure a way to exploit it. You don't need to kill everyone in order to win a battle. That rarely happens in history. Instead, you just need to kill enough of them to make the survivors panic and flee."

Real World Places in Second Life: Ancient Rome

This sounds like great fun! I also like the learning potential of such a simulation. I had written to the producers of the Caesar III PC game and suggested they incorporate some of the features Mr. Golding has incorporated into his sim like being able to attend a play once you have built a theater in your virtual city, being able to attend a chariot race if you have added a hippodrome, or being able to watch a gladiator match. Mr. Golding has all of these activities included in his sim as well as the ability to drive a chariot or be a gladiator!


The Click Heard Round The World: "Torin Golding's outstanding sim called simply 'Roma' is a feast for the senses and a powerful demonstration of the potential for virtual environments to immerse you in historic places.

Upon arrival at the Roma "customs house", you are presented with a number of orientation materials as well as a free toga to help you fit in better, and get into the spirit of the locale.

Roma is a no-fly zone, so bring your walking sandals and a good map or be prepared to get lost. There are handy "magic fountains" everywhere, which when touched rez fancy litters that transport you to various spots on the sim. You can also wear a free HUD map of the city, that helped me in my meanderings.

The sim is dominated by a giant legion fortress and official structures that rise high atop the Palatine Hill. There's also a wharf area, marketplace, museum, and lush gardens.

Lots of nice accents add to the immersiveness and context of what you are experiencing. Clicking on the red markers on various sites brings up notecards that give you historical background on the structures around you. Legionaires, Roman citizens and gladiators walking around greet you with a hearty "Ave!" as you pass by. I learned more than I thought I would at the museum on Palatine Hill, which features an exhibition on sexual mores in Roman times.

You can do things you only imagined doing in the real life Rome, like climbing Trajan's column! There's a free "play" you can watch in the amphitheater, which is quite cleverly done using text, images and sound. There's action afoot in the chariot races. You can also enter the gladiator pit and duke it out with other would-be warriors. Or sit in the stands and render judgement with a thumbs up or down."