There are some video games which you will never forget. Encyclopedia of War: Ancient Battles is one of them. It was launched in 1988, by Cases Computer Simulations but still loved by many. Play it online now.
Long-known saying: "Peace – dream of the wise war – the history of mankind". War was always or almost always, but more or less detailed information about them has been preserved only since the XIII century BC. Around that time, and starts the action strategy Ancient Battles covering the period from the above time until the fall of Rome in 476, that is, all antiquity.
At first glance the game may seem boring: moving across the battlefield of a military unit in the form of toy soldiers, columns some numbers... But if you spend it studying at least a few minutes, it becomes clear: nothing complicated or unnecessary here.
Numbers and data here, at least – as much as necessary to understand the situation in the battle, and the battle itself is quite simple and clear rules, and management interface even easier. Very soon you will perceive all the data automatically and use them for decision-making in combat.
What are yourself fighting? First you choose any ancient army, but in the game they presented very well and realistic: from the armies of Ancient Egypt to the legions of the decline of the Roman Empire. There are no chronological restrictions in the game, and any army can fight not only with her contemporary adversaries, but also with those separated from her by centuries. You can, for example, to see what would happen if gorge Thermopylae the Spartans fought the Persians, and Visigoths, or if the army of Alexander the great faced the legions of Caesar.
In this variety of options, each of which is very interesting, is a huge plus of the game. It is necessary to tell about the campaigns that can be both historical and fictional, when you dial any of the troops, indicated by their number (they are automatically generated from the unit) and lead them to victory through several battles. There is an editor where you can create your own types of parts or the terrain of the battlefield. However, the game has one drawback – the experience your troops are gaining.
Any army can command both employees and the AI (however, the network game option is missing), so if you wish you may select two computer opponents and watch the battle unfolding as a historical film with pauses. This is interesting. And if you want, you can only manage part of his army, entrusting the rest of the force artificial intelligence, which acts though a bit cliché, but it's very effective.
For the battlefield and the battle is characteristic clarity: having even a small experience, information you'll be able to grab on the fly. The graphics in the game are quite decent, given that the year of release - 1988. It is necessary to recall, incidentally, that at that time was highly popular games for the ZX Spectrum, and one of the hits was the spectrum version Ancient Battles.
Each unit (on the map looks like one figure of a soldier) is a military unit that has only the most necessary data: numbers, level of fatigue, training, morale, and so on. Together, they determine its fighting qualities, which are also affected and the area. Please note the type of "stand" soldier, depicting this part: stripes on it specified the kind of troops, so you can easily distinguish not only Persian from Galla, but the Hoplite heavy infantryman.
Special unit – General, representing the commander and his staff. He can not fight, but significantly increases the efficiency part, the location of which is, and, most importantly, controlling these parts, giving them orders. The number of orders is VERY limited, and expend them wisely, and to give them even a whole group of parts at once (if necessary, repeat steps one of them can and others).
Though Ancient Battles and refers to step-by-step strategies, but the actions of the troops on the battlefield simultaneously. That is, in fact, is a real-time game with a pause for giving orders: first you do, then your enemy, then the army on both sides following orders.
The battle to describe it makes no sense: the variety of forces, situations and events are huge, and everything will not tell. It should be noted only that battle, despite seeming primitive, extremely realistic, and effective leadership on their own it is necessary to consider EVERYTHING: shooting archers on the right flank and attack the left, and the terrain, and the fact that horses are afraid of elephants, in the end... This list goes on and on. And the end battle does not mean the end of him – even if your army is defeated, you can collect the surviving soldiers and try (more than once) to take revenge for the defeat, but of course it won't be easy. More importantly, in the battle absolutely no element of chance: the success is entirely your merit, defeat is entirely your fault.
Summing up I will say that Ancient Battles, of course, deserves attention not only as a masterpiece of the past. It is interesting now, but in its simplicity, like many games of the time, there is a very deep meaning and many possibilities, that, alas, is not always found in modern creations. And, in addition, it is of great value in historical terms, because it can be entertaining to get at least a General knowledge about the wars of antiquity. In General, any fan of turn-based strategy should at least familiarize yourself with this game.
Want to play Encyclopedia of War: Ancient Battles online now, play it on your browser here.
Source: Archive.org, Mobygames.com
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