Veni, Vidi, Vici — Virtually

Armchair generals rejoice — Rome: Total War (Activision, $50) is scheduled to be released later this month for the PC. In this sequel to Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War, you play a would-be Caesar, doing the Senate's bidding by commanding dozens of legions in massive, real-time battles. Will you catapult flaming pigs into besieged cities as the Romans did? Or will you flee? Each of your enemies has its own peculiar units, like the Carthaginian elephants or the German barbarians' terrifying Screeching Women. Do well and you just might have enough strength to turn on the Senate and take control of Rome itself. So realistic are the battle graphics that the History Channel is now showing a series of re-enactments, called Decisive Battles, using nothing but the Rome software. Crossing the Rubicon has never been this much fun. --Chris Taylor