Any recomendations for wargames set in the Roman period?

[Guest SassinidAzatan]

Iam a Panzer General fan and a casual wargamer. Recently I have been reading into Roman/Sassinid history and am in the mood to play a historically accurate Roman themed wargame.Do any of you know of wargames taking place in the Roman period that you would recommend?Iam looking specifically for a wargame that is very historically accurate and requires lots of strategic thinking and utlisation of tactics. Also what wargames do you know off that revolves around the Roman-Sassinid War or at least features the Sassinids as a playable factions?

 

Oh plus, my computer is unable to handle and most games released after 2001. My PC can run Warcraft 3 at good settings but more recent games such as Rome:Total War(which I had) won't work on my old PC.

Edited March 3, 2011 by SassinidAzatan

[DecimusCaesar]

The only thing I can think of is the Expansion to Rome Total War (You said you have the first one) called Barbarian Invasion. That contains the Sassanids as a playable faction. It isn't very accurate though. There are a few low budget Roman strategy games such as Legion Arena (2005) and Praetorians (2003). I've played the Legion Arena demo, but I enjoyed Praetorians; although it's very simplistic compared to Rome Total War. It also doesn't feature the Sassanids, although the Parthians feature in some levels.

 

I doubt there's much games that cover the wars between the Sassanids and the Romans. As a matter of fact there isn't much games at all about late antiquity.

[tk421]

My recommendation is the old 1986 game Annals of Rome. It is a game featuring CGA graphics so the game relies on its underlying complexity and strong gameplay to shine. It does not feature the stunning graphics of Rome Total War but it is a fun game. It is very simple looking on the surface but the game is actually very complex and well thought out. You might need DOSBOX to run the game. DOSBOX will run the game well enough to play it through to the end.

 

The game begins in the 275BC timeframe. You will start in Italy and try to establish and defend the Roman Empire for as long as you can keep it alive. This is a difficult task as you will face up to 13 enemy factions at one time. There are no alliances or negotiations in the game. Old factions die out as they did historically, and are replaced by new ones all vying for your territory. You will fight the Carthaginians, the Seleucids, the Parthians, the Sassanid Persians, the Gauls, the Celts, the Dacians, the Illyrians, the Greeks, the Macedonians, the Egyptians, the Jews, the Berbers, the Numidians, the Celtiberians, the Saxons, the Goths, the Franks, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Huns, the Phrygians, the Arabs and more. You will even fight the Turks. Many many enemy factions emerge at various periods of the game and must be repulsed. The game can go on almost indefinitely but keeping the empire alive through the middle ages can be difficult.

 

In this game you have to manage economic, social, military and political factors. You will have to manage civil wars as well. It is a fascinating game and worth a try for any Rome Total War fan or fan of games based on Rome.

 

The game manual, now only found in txt format on some old game websites, concludes with one overriding question,

 

"WAS THE FALL OF ROME INEVITABLE GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE TIME?"

Annals of Rome game manual, circa 1986

 

If you do a google search for the game you will most likely find it on some old game websites. These change from time to time. The game manual is also found and is not bad.

 

I highly recommend this old game. I hope this post was useful to you, or at least worth reading.

[Guest ParatrooperLirelou]

My recommendation is the old 1986 game Annals of Rome. It is a game featuring CGA graphics so the game relies on its underlying complexity and strong gameplay to shine. It does not feature the stunning graphics of Rome Total War but it is a fun game. It is very simple looking on the surface but the game is actually very complex and well thought out. You might need DOSBOX to run the game. DOSBOX will run the game well enough to play it through to the end.

 

The game begins in the 275BC timeframe. You will start in Italy and try to establish and defend the Roman Empire for as long as you can keep it alive. This is a difficult task as you will face up to 13 enemy factions at one time. There are no alliances or negotiations in the game. Old factions die out as they did historically, and are replaced by new ones all vying for your territory. You will fight the Carthaginians, the Seleucids, the Parthians, the Sassanid Persians, the Gauls, the Celts, the Dacians, the Illyrians, the Greeks, the Macedonians, the Egyptians, the Jews, the Berbers, the Numidians, the Celtiberians, the Saxons, the Goths, the Franks, the Visigoths, the Ostrogoths, the Vandals, the Huns, the Phrygians, the Arabs and more. You will even fight the Turks. Many many enemy factions emerge at various periods of the game and must be repulsed. The game can go on almost indefinitely but keeping the empire alive through the middle ages can be difficult.

 

In this game you have to manage economic, social, military and political factors. You will have to manage civil wars as well. It is a fascinating game and worth a try for any Rome Total War fan or fan of games based on Rome.

 

The game manual, now only found in txt format on some old game websites, concludes with one overriding question,

 

"WAS THE FALL OF ROME INEVITABLE GIVEN THE CIRCUMSTANCES AT THE TIME?"

Annals of Rome game manual, circa 1986

 

If you do a google search for the game you will most likely find it on some old game websites. These change from time to time. The game manual is also found and is not bad.

 

I highly recommend this old game. I hope this post was useful to you, or at least worth reading.

I'll go check it out. Thanks for recommendation.