They've said November this year. The game is at an advanced stage of development, so maybe they'll hit that date.
The great thing is they've done away with the old 'chess-board' style that was used in the turn-based strategic, zoomed out map. It's now fully scaleable from the battlefield up - yoyu can zoom in and watch your army march across the landscape. You have to think more about terrain in your Empire - like defending mountain passes, watching the sea to prevent amphibious landings etc. You also watch your towns and cities grow and can actually fight in their streets.
You'll be able to play as the Greeks, Romans, Egyptians, Gauls, Britons, Germanic tribes, Carthaginians and loads more including minor nations such as the Spartans.
They'll be 100+ fully 3D units (based on motion capture), from legionnaires to chariots to elephants to gladiators. It's very ambitious.
