A geek me? Nah, never !! (Praetorians (PC))

Member Name: Fiver29

Product:	Praetorians (PC)
Date:	10/02/09 (94 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Fun, simple

Disadvantages: Not everyone's cup of tea.

~The Game~

Praetorians is a role playing game based around the time of Julius Caesar and the Roman Empire.

You take the role of a Roman general who has to command various troops through different scenarios, if a variety of different combat situations.

For those that have never played role playing games, all the action is viewed from above. There are no first person shooter areas or even video clips.

The game can be played in single player mode, either by following the campaign, where set scenarios must be achieved before you can move on. Or by playing a skirmish, where you play random fights against the computer.

There is also the ability to play multi player via the internet. Here you can either create your own game or join a game in progress/

~Playing the Game~

The game is played basically by selecting troops and manoeuvring them around the board (or screen), in the hopes of placing them strategically to inflict the most damage on the enemy, whilst suffering minimal casualties.

There are four different types of troop.

Basic - Light/Heavy infantry, archers, spearmen and cavalry.
Special Troops - Who are more powerful than the basic troops.
Special Units - Generals, Healers and Scouts.
Siege Engines - Catapults, Ballistas, Assault Ladders/Towers.

All troops are selected and moved in the same way, and many of the troops have special abilities, for instance the light infantry also build weapons, Legionnaires can advance in turtle formation to avoid being killed whilst walking toward an enemy. Healers wander from troop to troop healing them, but die very easily. Generals help to rally the troops, but also train more troops at the villages.

Praetorians allows you to select various troops and hotkey them so you have greater control. They can either be all one type of troop, or a selection of different troops to send off in different directions.

~My Thoughts~

The first time I saw someone play this game, I have to admit I thought 'jeez what a geek'. But then one evening I was absolutely bored to death, so I thought I'd give it a try, because surely it was better than nothing. And I have to admit I quite enjoyed it, and of course I had to continue paying it the next evening because I was only part way through the campaign, and the more I played it the more I enjoyed it.

The graphics aren't great, they're good for this type of game, but its a bit like comparing the DS graphics to the Xbox 360 graphics, there is no way they could ever compare to the likes of Resident Evil 5 or even an older game like Halo 3.

The game play is not for everyone, and I have to admit I prefer being in the thick of the action rather than looking down from above. And there are quite a lot of controls to remember, so it takes a bit of getting used to, but once you do its quite an easy game to play (except for the fact I keep dying lol).

I do cheat a little, because there are certain people who have to survive in order to win the battle, normally the generals, or people you have to rescue from other races. I tend to leave these people at the other end of the board until all the enemy troops are dead. Then I bring them forward, you're supposed to use the generals in the thick of the fighting because the troops fight better under direct command, but my generals then tend to die!

I have pondered on writing this review a couple of times, but I still find the image of the game quite geeky :oops: But since the new Halo Wars is an RPG rather than first person shooter, perhaps RPGs will lose that identity and become more mainstream.

Summary: Try it, you might like it.