Active Reviews

Written by Edward Hankins

As a bit of a history buff, I have always been fascinated by Rome and the Roman Empire; how the Romans, essentially one city that some say numbered over a million people, came to dominate the entire Mediterranean coast. From the sands of Egypt, to the Rock of Gibraltar, and from the British Isles to the Holiest of Cities Jerusalem, the Roman Empire encompassed one of the largest empires the world has ever known. This empire was not won on diplomacy alone; rather it was won by war and conquest, something the Romans excelled at for over 500 years. There were several wars that define the Roman Empire, the wars with Carthage, the wars with the Gauls, and the wars with the Huns, each left an important mark on the Roman Empire. “TS: Julius Caesar” covers the conquests of Julius Caesar: his Gallic campaigns (58 BC – 50 BC) and his glorious rise to power during the Roman Civil War (49 BC – 44 BC.) You have over 14 battles to test your might in

In “Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar” you are given the chance to relive some of Rome’s most decisive battles; placing you in the shoe’s of the Caesar himself. Do you attack or retreat, faint your front line troops to draw the enemy into a trap ala Hannibal at Cannae or do you rely on your Calvary to sweep down on your opponent’s flanks; these were all life and death decisions on those fateful days, for the wrong choice could send hundred of soldiers to that great fields of Elysium, while the correct choices would bring wealth, fame, and even the throne.

As with all strategy games, graphics and glamour are not what this type of game is about. “Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar” is about realistic warfare, authentic units, and accurate battle plans. “TS: Julius Caesar” places the player in the actual battle, you feel the all the pain of loosing a battalion and all the joy of breaking an enemies line and cutting them down with your calvary. You are in command of an entire army group, and the units in this game are impressive to say the least. With over 100 individually detailed units, the game is guaranteed an accuracy never seen before.

“TS: Julius Caesar” is basically your board game type strategy game we all grew up on, but it incorporates state of the art 3D rendering with some amazing camera rotations. These camera actions allow you to zoom in on where the action is taking place. In some ways the game even tries to emulate the classic war board game too much such as the reaching of the hand to remove pieces, that is a little cheesy. Once you are one the gaming board all of your moves are accomplished by the games graphical user interface, or as commonly called the GUI. In the GUI your whole range of command is right there in front of your eyes. No more searching through monster manuals or trying to remember which key was march full time, everything is now right at your fingertips.

The game progresses as do most strategy games, you and your opponent will issue orders simultaneously then watch the battle progress. Once you have chosen an action you can change those orders to counteract military maneuvers by your opponent. This is a great option as it allows you flexibility in the field, something all generals will tell you is a key to victory. You can designate units as front line troops and those as reserves and assign various goals to your units. There are several different approaches to this game; the campaign version of the game is the most detailed and realistic. In this mode your recruit troops, train troops, purchase machinery, and wage war with the goal of winning victory points. This mode not only allows for tactical command of battles, but also strategic command of entire army structures. If you are more interested into jumping into instant action there are a number of small skirmishes you can engage in.

The tactical command is what makes “TS: Julius Caesar” so incredible. First off the computer is no roll-over enemy. The AI will engage in multi-pronged operations that will test all your skills. With all of the various units on the field simultaneously sometimes the game can become a little lagged, but that is nothing new with strategy games. We all know that playing the computer is only practice for the human vs. human tests of will. Luckily Matrix Games included that option; and though there is no internet support, there is LAN support.

War simulation fans will definitely love this game, but will the rest of mainstream America. Well that’s a tough question, but I believe “TS: Julius Caesar’s” enjoyable game play, incredible realism, and educational value will make it a winner for a variety of reasons and a variety of gamers.

Go back to the Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar page.

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