Previewed: January 3, 2007
Previewed by: John DeWeese

Publisher
Playlogic

Developer
World Forge

Release Date: Q1, 2007
Genre: RTS
Players: 1-8
ESRB: Everyone

Screenshots (Click Image for Gallery)

Dutch publisher PlayLogic has shown me the error of my ways with two hot upcoming titles – Infernal and Ancient Wars: Sparta. Both games offer old-school gameplay combined with stylish looks and lots of attitude. Whether you’re looking for an action-packed spy shooter with a demonic twist (Infernal), or a traditional RTS with modern graphics and bloodthirsty combat (Sparta Ancient Wars), PlayLogic’s early 2007 line-up will have something to pique any red-blood American gamer’s interest.

Have you ever wanted to play Age of Empires with hundreds of units, modern graphics, and plenty of bloodshed? Well then my fellow RTS fanatics, developer World Forge has the game you’ve been waiting for in Ancient Wars: Sparta.

Set between 500 and 300 B.C., Sparta Ancient Wars chronicles the struggle between the manly warrior culture of Sparta and the hippy girlie men of Egypt, Persia, and Athens. Just kidding – although the Spartan hoplites totally look macho marching into battle, the Persian and Egyptian troops appear equally badass wielding giant halberds or riding to battle in massive war chariots. While this game pays homage to historical accuracy, it doesn’t let too many boring details get in the way of fun gameplay or cool graphics.

The basic combat and economic systems are taken right from the old Warcraft/Age of Empires playbook. You’ll send out battalions of workers to collect gold, wood, and food while training scores of warriors at your barracks. Hero characters are tougher than average troops and improve with combat experience. But Sparta Ancient Wars throws enough curve balls to keep even the most jaded RTS fan interested.

First of all, this is the first RTS game I’ve played where troops and heroes can jump aboard vehicles/animals AND still fight as normal. Put archers in a chariot for a double punch of distance shooting and close-up charging. Mount a hero on horseback to make him even more of a killing machine. Best of all, sea battles finally feel dynamic. Station troops aboard a galley and they will rain down catapult and arrow fire on enemy ships, or fight it out in hand-to-hand if the foe rams your vessel.

Sparta Ancient Wars also offers a dynamic system for equipping your soldiers. Depending on what upgrades you’ve researched, you can choose what primary and secondary weapons your troops will carry or what armor they will wear. It’s easy to set one template for heavily armored shock troops such as Spartan Hoplites or Persian Immortals, then switch out a cheaper weapon or take away a shield to recruit cheap cannon fodder. Wipe out an enemy column and your workers can collect their weapons and siege engines – nothing like giving the other guy a taste of his own medicine.

But perhaps the best part of this game is the battlefield carnage. Though the gore is not extreme, there’s a lot more blood when armies clash than the Age of Empires series ever showed. Fighting is super-fast paced, with whole units being killed in mere seconds. The game engine also promises to support hundreds of units on each side, making battles feel like battles instead of small skirmishes.

The 3-D graphics are mostly up to par with other titles such as Age of Empires III or Rise of Nations. Each culture has unique units and buildings inspired by history, if not 100 percent historically accurate. But in my mind that’s ok, considering when the developers of the Total War series went for complete accuracy when drawing the Greeks and Persians, they rendered rather unexciting troops in plain togas or desert robes.

The troops in this game look like they’re ready to rock ‘n roll with their giant spears, battle axes, and pole-arms. The physics engine is also robust, with realistic looking boulders being flung from catapults or fires lit by rampaging troops. One of the coolest special effects is the rock trap, which unleashes a cascading avalanche on enemies that come too close. Portraying booby traps in a RTS is frankly something I’m surprised nobody really explored before.

Sparta Ancient Wars returns to a favorite setting of those strategy fans who loved the original Age of Empires, combining classic RTS gameplay with some revolutionary new ideas and a modern facelift. That being said, I think this solid but traditional game still faces huge competition in 2007 with such groundbreaking titles as Spore, Command & Conquer 3, and Supreme Commander. Yet Sparta may be the perfect title for the strategy fan who, tiring of giant robot duels, wants a classic sword-and-sandal smackdown in Q1 2007.