Stefan Marcinek Managing Director of Kalypso Media GmbH gave me a look at the upcoming Imperium Romanum 2. This game was certainly not built in a day. They revamped the entire look of the game and have built up a heavier military system to add some flavor to the title.

However don’t worry if you’re an Imperium Romanum purist, this game is still a city builder. There is an XP system in the  title also which will allow you to call for help from famous historical personalities. You can choose from one of 5 historic families and can train in 54 talents.

This time around Imperium Romanum 2 will have multiplayer in both competitive and co-op modes with up to 4 people. the maps are huge as well coming in at approximately 2x2 kilometers about 1.25 miles on a side. They also bulked up the production chains and the campaign mode has a whopping 32 missions or more already.

Economics are always a huge part of building and 50-60% of the system here is all new. All of the citizens and NPCs have their own lives that they lead and they along with the animals in the game do things one would expect them to do. In fact the theatres will even fill and performances will be given. Depending on if the actors do well or not the people in the crowds will react.

Finally there is an element of education in the game where many pieces of art and such can be hovered over or clicked on and you can get info about the artists, item, and more. The Sophia-based development team has really done an excellent job of building up this title and it’s set for a March 2009 release.

FEATURES:

•  Persistent Player Character - benefits gained from completed quests are persistent and can be used on any mission, including campaign, free-play and multiplayer
•  Campaign that features 20 maps of historical cities and locations
•  Patrons - more than 20 historical figures that offer additional objectives to the player
•  Over 60 buildings & 50 units
•  Ships and Islands
•  New and Improved Economics
•  Multiplayer - cooperative and competitive mode
•  Enhanced battle system with standard RTS control of the squads
•  Grand Monuments such as the Coliseum, Circus Maximus and the Pantheon
•  City States - famine, siege, riots, etc.
•  Disasters - random disasters such as plagues, fires and earthquakes. All such disasters will be visualized.

So practice your VENI, VIDI, VICI. The game is set for a PC release next March and looks like it’s really going to be great.