You love Grand Strategy Games?
You love historical Settings?
You are willing to read a manual?
You love a challenge?
You are not afraid of your wife?
You know how to handle the "Just one more turn" syndrom?
Graphics and visual presentation is not more important for you than gameplay?

If you can answer all these question with "Yes, Sir, Yes!", you should really consider to buy one of the AGEOD Grand Strategy Games. (The one with the historical setting you are interested in!)

To be honest, I avoided AGEOD games in the past, because I was always too lazy to read another manual besides the one from GG´s War in the East and the long turn processing times from Pride of Nations...

... now I know this was a huge mistake.

The depth of these games (I am talking about all AGEOD Games, not only this one) is awesome, and the rules and mechanics running in the background are incredible deep, so complex that you have to read the manual if you want to master the game.

Moving around your units is easy. To know why your units are out of supply, exhausted, lost half of their manpower is a step to master these games.

In my play time in Alea Jacta Est, I played only 1 Scenario, "The Civil War between Ceasar and Pompeius" and I have to admit, at first it was frustrating, because I played the tutorial first, but reading the manual changed everything and the game became a blast.

Sure, the older AGE games are missing the ability to set up battle tactics (like The Thirty Years War) but I am simply in love with the historical setting and so far, this is the BEST Grand Strategy Game I was able to play for this setting.

What do you get?
Turn based battles? No!

You can´t directly influence the battles, they are automaticly resolved.
The task and challenge is
to pick the right time,
the right place,
the right composition of troops
the right commander in charge
and the right enemy to attack

Some more R´s can be added, but I guess I will cover them later.

Micromanagement?
Compared with games, like Hearts of Iron, or War in the East/West, the micromanagement level is low.
The only real micromanagement I encountered so far, is keeping your supply chain in shape, this requires to move several supply wagons every turn, at least if you really want to be as efficent as possible with your troops.
Building troops, Diplomacy, building province improvements are simple and easy.

Alternate History?
Compared to Paradox Grand Strategy Games = No!
Is this bad = No!

First of all, you can win the Civil War as Pompeius, but many decisions and diplomatic options are only available if you reach a specific turn, not all, but many.
But, it´s still up to you to decide if you use the diplomatic option or how you decide.

Empire building?
No, the games are ALL about WAR Scenarios, not about building an Empire or a Dynasty.
Your job is to win a war with a limited amount of ressources and this can only be achieved by using everything with the highest efficency!

Is this fun?
If you like board games and you can enjoy "the mind game" part = spending a lot of time in front of your monitor with thinking and listening to music or an audiobook, yes it´s fun.

Total War: Rome II is fine for the plebeian masses, but for the true Romanophile there is Alea Jacta Est.

Not only does it include some of the more popular conflicts such as Caesar's civil war and the slave revolt of Spartacus (DLC), but also has some of lesser known internal struggles like Marius vs. Sulla, and the year of the four emperors (my personal fav).

For those who have never played an AGEOD game before the learning curve may be a little steep, though not nearly as bad as some of the more complicated grand strategy games out there (I'm looking at you HoI3!)

So, if you're a fan of Roman history like I am, and are looking for something with a little more depth than, 'march army here, capture city,' this is the game for you!

My 1st ever Ageod game. I remeber buying the DVD version of it (those were the days!) playing thru the tutorial, a big WTF and then I didnt touch it for 3 years. Then I got somehow back into it, checked the amazing Ageod forums and became a lifelong addict to anything Ageod ever released. This is the best company for lovers of history ever. You will feel the pressure that generals back then felt. Dont be discourged by the apparently steep learning curve, check the forums (the BEST gaming community out there) and the youtube videos. Theres an excellent tutorial AAR by Narwahl and Loki that teaches everything as well as an incredibly detailed Chalres Cummings youtube series out there. Once you learn one game, youre pretty much ready to tackle any of these company's games. AJE has a somehow simplified supply/OOB structutre that makes it the ideal Ageod to start with. Totally immersive, extremely detailed, this is for real hardcore armchair generals ony. But once you get into Ageod, you will barely find the time to play anything else!

Sooner or later, when playing Rome Total War, you start getting this uncomfortable feeling that what you're doing on the strategic map is just a stage prop for pixel soldiers to run around in pretty period costumes.

Alea Jacta Est, though very nice to look at, is not about eye candy.

Instead, it gives you a very detailed strategic and operational view of what the opposing sides were dealing with. When battles or skirmishes take place they are resolved abstractly, though the abstraction gives a pretty detailed depiction of the tactical characteristics that were likely to be in play.

This game is part of a series that includes Birth of Rome (the later phases of Rome's conquest of Italy, including the confrontation with Pyrrhus and the first Punic War), Hannibal (the second Punic War), and the Parthian Wars (Rome's Eastern Front). These three games aren't on Steam yet, which is unfortunate, because watching the Third Samnite War scenario unfold feels a lot like reading Livy.

This is probably the best ancient history simulator on the market. Learning how to play it can be a bit confusing at first until you realize that there aren't actually a lot of different kind of actions to master: most of what gets discussed in the manual is just a description of what's going on under the hood.

ENG:

Alea Jacta Est(AJE) was my first AGEod game, and which brought me to the world of AGEod strategy games.
Don't check my Steam play time - game just release at Steam Store, while was selling at Matrix Games Store since 2012.

As I have said multiple times: It's incredible - how AGEod engine can simulate Ancient Roman Wars, American Revolution, American Civil War and finally Great War, despite such a large spread in time frame, each game is unique, - I have never had a feeling that I'm buying same game.

AJE is a good start for new AGEod players, since it provides lots of different scenarios differs at scale and time frame - from "Sulla's First Civil War" till "Year of Four Emperors".

Different scenarios and sides provide unique experience in every aspect of Roman life at picked scenario period.
And that gives you tons of enjoyment playing AJE.
Nicely drawn unit pictures, detailed map and nice music provides incredible experience of the Rome.

If you're interested in Roman Civil Wars or Rome itself(Doesn't matter if it's Republic or Empire) and/or you enjoyed other AGEod titles, pick Alea Jacta Est.

Especially with this dirty cheap price tag(60% discount).




RUS:

Alea Jacta Est (AJE) была моя первая игра от AGEod, которая и привела меня в мир стратегий AGEod.
Не смотрите на моё время игры в Стиме - игра только что появилась в Steam, хотя продавалась в магазине Matrix Games с 2012 года.

Как я уже говорил в других ревью AGEod игр: Это невероятно - как движок AGEod может симулировать Римские Войны, Американскую Революцию, Гражданскую Войну в США и, наконец, Первую мировую войну - несмотря на такой большой разброс во времени, каждая игра является уникальной, у меня никогда не возникало ощущения, что мне продают что-то второй раз.

AJE это хорошее начало для новых игроков AGEod, так как она предоставляет много различных сценариев отличающиехся в масштабах и временных рамках - от "Первой гражданской войны Суллы" до "Года Четырех Императоров".

Различные сценарии и стороны конфликта дают уникальный опыт в каждом аспекте жизни Рима.
И это приносит кучу удовольствия, играя AJE.

Красиво нарисованные юниты, подробная карта и музыкальное сопровождение даёт возможность погрузится в эпоху Рима.

Если вы заинтересованы в римских гражданских войнах или в истории самого Рима(Будь то Республика или Империя) или вам нравятся (если нет - вам понравятся :)) и другие игры серии AGEod, - берите Alea Jacta Est.
Особенно за такую цену (60% дисконт).

I recommend this game if you get it cheap in a bundle, or you're a wargame fanatic. Otherwise, beware.

The good

Extremely detailed
Historically accurate, probably to a fault
Has everything grognards want in a wargame
Clean visuals for the type of game it is

The bad

Probably bore a Total War fan to tears
Turns can take forever to resolve
Some of the translations are iffy
Resource management can be a full-time job

This game is a true gem in multiplayer, but the AI is not worth a dime. I would say, it is the best game of the Roman period on a strategic and operational scale. The standalone titles are pretty nice, especially BoR and PAR. Supply routes and weather conditions are substantial part of the the game, the command chain is well done and leader abilities can change the course of war.

Where light is , there is shadow. The worst on this game is the unstable engine, especially, if you run other programms in the backround. Furthermore you can search a long time for opponents, if you don't register in Ageod's Forum, which can be difficult, because there are constantly error messages, when I have tried to register and wrote four damn letters to them, but they don't give a ♥♥♥♥ about it, so I would suggest, you better try to register BEFORE you buy this game, because once you learned it, the AI will be no challenge and no fun at all and if you don't know anyone, who play it, you find yourself in a ugly situation.

What is the final score? I would give the game 8/10 ( 10-2 points because of stability issues) and 0/10 for Ageod Forum. Since it is concerning the game, because there is no pbem server, I would take it in the multiplayer part and my final rating is 8/20.

Awesome game if you like Roman History. One of the best roman games i played, and on sale with all dlc its not that pricey. The game is largely about logistics, since you don't personaly fight the battles yourself, but has a lot of strategic depth. It also has just the right about of scripting to keep as acurate as possible to history, without feeling railroaded. However, if your expecting a top notch graphics game, or something more sandbox like, then this is not for you.
As for performance, this game has never crashed for me, it lags if your really zoomed out on the map

I am a fan of historical wargames and obtuse strategic simulations, so I picked this up on sale. Generally speaking it has all of the necessary components for a historical wargame. The battles themselves are quite hands off, the game focuses on the logistics leading up to a battle and then the calculations are made. It seems reasonably well researched, though it's more of a spreadsheet than an immersive experience as a Roman general/politician/powerbroker.

However, what leads me to caution others about the game is the extremely poor optimization. The load times are bad, things get kind of choppy and unresponsive, and it just makes the whole experience a drag. You know this game is going to be a time investment to learn, and that poor optimization is going to drag the whole experience down as it aggregates. In this day and age, the discerning wargamer doesn't mind playing a game that could have been made in 1994, but it is expected to run fast and stable. As such, I cannot reccomend this game, unless you are an absolute fanatic of either Roman History or historical wargames.

I will happily change my review to a reccommend if they improve the optimization. Until then, stay away, especially at retail price.

Verdict: This is one of the best strategy games in which you're commanding armies of antiquity.


Pros:
1. Units are quite detailed and seem to be about as effective as their historical counterparts.
2. There is some logistics which prevents you from ahistorical winter fighting - it is really hard to get supplies most of the time, although is possible and might catch your opponent with his pants down.
3. Quite a few nations and different time settings which means a lot of diversity.
4. Many historical characters to command your armies or to fight against.
5. Different events to explore what-ifs, forge alliances or declare wars.
6. Map is actually quite nice and cities are different for each period.

Cons:
1. You're not able to command you men in the field.
2. Graphics are somewhat dated, as is the game's engine in my opinion.

Overall - I do recommend it if you're a history buff, who enjoys a good strategy game.