Ancient Wars: Sparta

The history of ancient Greece sets a precedent for some epic real-time strategy games. Ancient Wars: Sparta seeks to tap into that potential by redefining some of the most famous battles in an action-packed video game environment. It's not the first time we've seen such, but definitely the first one that dedicates solely to this part of history.

Ancient Wars: Sparta was plagued with a few development hiccups along the way and some publishing battles post-release. While the game had grandiose ambitions to be a high-flyer in the RTS genre, these obstacles usually impact the quality of the game. Will this offering come out unscathed or be a byproduct of development hell?

This is Sparta

Getting stuck into Ancient Wars: Sparta and players will find that there isn't a whole lot that differs from the copy-paste RTS mechanics. You'll choose a civilization, enter a pre-rendered level, gather resources, and build your army to crush your foes. There's nothing wrong with tapping into this classic gameplay. However, its unique flair makes the difference between an average offering and a good one.

Players choose between three ancient civilizations - the Egyptians, the Persians, and the Spartans. Each has its own unit type, making the game a little more immersive. They also have single-player campaigns, which honestly don't provide the epic experience Ancient Wars: Sparta was aiming for. That leaves the excitement of gameplay to save the day.

Unfortunately for Ancient Wars: Sparta, that also seemed to miss the mark. Though the graphics and models are excellent, the gameplay severely lacks substance. What you'll find is a trudge of micromanagement in gathering resources only to build up forces at a snail's pace. It's more like the civil service processing a claim rather than leading up to a historic battle.

The campaigns are bland with uninspired storytelling and poor voice acting even in the single-player. The whole experience is remarkably average, and players can't help but feel more could be done here. Perhaps the troubles that faced the game caught up with development after all.

An Army Only Strong as its Weakest Member

We'll say that there are definitely worse RTS games out there - say, Stalin vs. Martians. However, Ancient Wars: Sparta isn't really a game that one would want to spend too much time on. The mechanics run like an unoiled cog in the wheel, and you could be spending long periods managing before you see in action.

Round-Up - Pros & Cons

Pros:

• Three civilizations with unique units
• Graphics and environments look great
• The variety of combat options is interesting

Cons:

• Extensive micromanagement is unnecessary
• The game is too difficult
• Voice acting and scripts are uninspired

Ancient Wars: Sparta has one thing in common with the movie 300, which came out roughly the same time - they both used the technology of the day to add gore and effects to a well-known template. And for an RTS, this is definitely retreading old ground - you'll be immediately at home with the resource collection and unit building. But where Sparta fails in innovation, it scores in execution, with units behaving sensibly and requiring you to be organised and tactically coherent, but never a nanny. However, some of the touches of realism (the same troops can man chariots, boats or horses) make organising an assault frustrating for unfocussed players.

Sadly, the Spartan campaign - which should be the thrilling highlight - is a slow-burning tutorial, and the two other single-player campaigns lack hooks. These faults doesn't take away the games competence though, so if you've got a wide streak of patience Sparta has some love to give.