All I can say about the Romans is that they must have had good night vision. Well they say that Rome wasn't built in a day! But enough of the bad jokes.
As you probably already know, the Romans' idea of a good time was either to organise gladiator battles that made even Millwall football fans look like wimps, or to race around in chariots that would put boy racers to shame. And if that failed to amuse, they would go and invade some poor country for a bit of fun.
In Centurion it's up to you to do just that. You begin as a lowly officer, the lowest commanding rank in the Roman army. This lack of status is not for you - you have to move up through the ranks until you attain the respect of the masses in the role of Caesar.
There are several ways to gain favour and you will have to use a combination of them to advance in rank. The most obvious is by adding other provinces to the Roman Empire.
There are two ways to do this - you either negotiate a treaty or you go in and kick the butt of the defending army. Of course, with the latter option you run the risk of having your own butt kicked in the process.
Strengthening any peace treaties you have made is also a good way to gain popularity with the hierarchy. A slightly more action-
The main screen of the game shows a map from which you can move your forces into neighbouring countries, but be prepared to be met at the border by some pretty angry natives. You have the choice of behaving aggressively or politely towards them in your attempt to add their lands to your own.
If all else fails you move to the battlefield where the two opposing forces line up to fight.
You can adopt various strategies in battle which will affect the eventual outcome - and whether your army is decimated or not.
The arcade-
In the gladiator battles you train up a gladiator and take him to battle with an opponent. The idea is to make the fight as bloody as possible to please the crowd.
Centurion is a fine war game which includes some great arcade sequences. It's ideal for newcomers to the genre because it has a simple control system.
Of course, it's tough at the start - but no one said becoming a Caesar was going to be easy!