Great Battles of Rome – PC Review (PSP)

Not so great.

Over the years there have been many strategy games. Most recently the Total War series has set the bar for what strategy games should look like and how they should play. So when I picked up the History Channel approved Great Battles of Rome, I was a little concerned that it may not live up to these other great games. Starting with a Roman Campaign, it quickly becomes clear that this is not a game aimed at hardcore strategy gamers. Spilt into 3 phases, you will need to set up your army, position them and set your tactics, then watch the battle unfold. Setting up your army consists of a few things. As you play through the campaigns you earn gold. This enables you to buy more units for your army and also to upgrade your current units. This adds a kind of RPG aspect to the game. For instance, your scouts survive a battle. You then get the option to upgrade an aspect of them. This could be upgrade their fighting ability, add NCOs (Non Commissioned Officers) to improve moral, add more defensive abilities etc. You can also give them better weapons and armour. Over time you begin to become rather attached to your veterans, to the point that you send them into battle a bit late, to make sure they will survive! To add to this attachment you can even name your units. The same is true of the Commander. Keep upgrading him and you will be allowed access to more options in the main battle. Next up you will need to position your units on the map. Before this you will be given some hints on what units will do best in what conditions. So positioning horses in the woods will just hinder them, where foot soldiers will do well in there. During this phase you set up your strategy. This includes the formations your units will start off in, when they should attack and if they are going to flank the enemy, surround them or just charge straight in.

The trouble is on the PSP it just does not work at all

Finally the battle. You are given a 3D flyover of the battle field, so you can get a feel for where everything is. Next the troops start their moves. At this stage you can just sit back and watch the battle ensue. However, even the best laid plans can do with some adjustments. You are able to issue new orders, in real time as you see new tactical opportunities arise. Select a unit with the shoulder buttons, press X and use the analogue stick to move them. As you upgrade your commander you will even be able to change formations. This real time modification of strategies is great as it allows you to prevent certain greener troops from routing, by holding them back if they are getting a pasting and sending in your veterans to show them how it is done! Although the battle phase is in 3D, it is not a particularly pretty game. The graphics are really quite poor, the PSP can do so much more. However once you get a good number of units, you do get some large and spectacular looking battles! You also get a lot of History Channel footage to set the scene for campaigns. This gives it all a nice authentic feel. It’s like a stamp of historical approval. On the PC, for me this was the perfect strategy game. It is simple, allowing you to concentrate on tactics rather than resource management, like in the Cossacks games. The RPG elements are a nice addition, giving you a reason to protect your units, rather than just letting them charge in and get obliterated. If you are a real strategy game player, then this may be a bit to simplistic for you. The trouble is on the PSP it just does not work at all. There are some hideous load times, at point you would never expect loads (like when changing units in the upgrade screen). Once the battle starts, disconnected from the action. Even moving units seems to do nothing as they do there own thing most of the time. You are a mere spectator for most of the game. It is a real shame that this does not work on the PSP as I was looking forward to having a game that on the PC was so good, in my pocket! Note Screenshots are not from the PSP version