bulldog
07-19-2006, 03:17 PM
This is a great game. I haven't had as much fun on a strategy game since...Well, I can't answer that. This is an amazing game.
You can choose one of four mighty factions: Greece, Rome, Egypt or Persia.
They all have their own unique styles; units, buildings, the lot. Combat is good, even if it is a little repetetive.
But, the highlight of this game; Hero Command Mode (HCM). In this you can control the hero of your faction, for example: as Egypt you can have Cleopatra, or, Ramses the Great. Rome have Julius or Germanicus Caesar, etc. (My person favourite is Ramses, watch the starting clip and you'll understand why, look at that axe swing. ;) )
In HCM mode you can control your hero directly in third person mode and literally dominate the map. HCM has to be the best thing which has happened to strategy games, ever. Just by the click of a button you can change the tide of a whole battle. You could smash down a city gate with your siege weapons, but they take time and money to make. But, with HCM, you can climb a ladder onto the walls - with your hero - jump over the wall while hacking down tens of enemy soldiers, and open the gates from the inside of the enemy's base, letting thousands of eager [your faction here] soldiers in to finish them off. Naval combat is also a strong issue in this game, soldiers don't just dissapear from the deck. They stay there and are a crucial part of your boats defence. You can cram a boat full of archers, sail it alongside an enemy's base and pelt them with arrows. Or just take over the seas for the fun of it. Your tech tree is basic, level your hero, gain glory (killing enemies, building glory statues) and buy advisors. Levelling your hero allows you to upgrade them.
Now the downsides: Combat isn't very tactical, it's all hack, slash blah blah. If you like tactical games you should try out Rome: Total War. This game will not be for you. The campaign is a bit boring too, although it's varied, it's practically the same for both factions, (Did I mention you could only play Greece + Egpyt in the campaign?) just with different units and scenarios. AI is quite poor, on some of the more naval maps, AI will just sit on their island for the whole game, doing nothing. They also seem to have a habit of standing put when you're pelting arrows at them from about five metres away. I once took down a whole army with about fifty archers, because the enemy seemed to have blockaded themselves inside their base with walls. The AI in this game are the equivalent to apes. (Bloody useless).
But I've droned on long enough anyway, this is still a good game, worthy of your money, and for christs sake, don't let the downsides put you off.
8/10
You can choose one of four mighty factions: Greece, Rome, Egypt or Persia.
They all have their own unique styles; units, buildings, the lot. Combat is good, even if it is a little repetetive.
But, the highlight of this game; Hero Command Mode (HCM). In this you can control the hero of your faction, for example: as Egypt you can have Cleopatra, or, Ramses the Great. Rome have Julius or Germanicus Caesar, etc. (My person favourite is Ramses, watch the starting clip and you'll understand why, look at that axe swing. ;) )
In HCM mode you can control your hero directly in third person mode and literally dominate the map. HCM has to be the best thing which has happened to strategy games, ever. Just by the click of a button you can change the tide of a whole battle. You could smash down a city gate with your siege weapons, but they take time and money to make. But, with HCM, you can climb a ladder onto the walls - with your hero - jump over the wall while hacking down tens of enemy soldiers, and open the gates from the inside of the enemy's base, letting thousands of eager [your faction here] soldiers in to finish them off. Naval combat is also a strong issue in this game, soldiers don't just dissapear from the deck. They stay there and are a crucial part of your boats defence. You can cram a boat full of archers, sail it alongside an enemy's base and pelt them with arrows. Or just take over the seas for the fun of it. Your tech tree is basic, level your hero, gain glory (killing enemies, building glory statues) and buy advisors. Levelling your hero allows you to upgrade them.
Now the downsides: Combat isn't very tactical, it's all hack, slash blah blah. If you like tactical games you should try out Rome: Total War. This game will not be for you. The campaign is a bit boring too, although it's varied, it's practically the same for both factions, (Did I mention you could only play Greece + Egpyt in the campaign?) just with different units and scenarios. AI is quite poor, on some of the more naval maps, AI will just sit on their island for the whole game, doing nothing. They also seem to have a habit of standing put when you're pelting arrows at them from about five metres away. I once took down a whole army with about fifty archers, because the enemy seemed to have blockaded themselves inside their base with walls. The AI in this game are the equivalent to apes. (Bloody useless).
But I've droned on long enough anyway, this is still a good game, worthy of your money, and for christs sake, don't let the downsides put you off.
8/10