PC Games on Ancient Greece and Alexander the Great

[Martok]

Gus, I don't know if MTW/VI still runs on your computer, but if it does, there's a "Hellenic TW" total-conversion mod you could try.  I've only played it a little bit myself (just not had the time to really get into it), but it's supposed to a stable and fun mod. 

[besilarius]

Have not tried the S&H2, so not aware of what changes have been done.
If the tactical system is improved, might take a close look.
I love this period and this is the only game that covers that time.
There used to be a decent demo on the original S&H.  If there is none for the second, you could try the first demo and see if their concept works for you.  I'm not sure if you can turn off the tactical battles or not.
And at least for the first game, the interface is not user friendly/intuitive/easy.
Hopefully, this was one of the things they worked on for number 2.  Perhaps if you've tried Takeda (which I have not), you'll know if this is a turn off.

[Gusington]

^Thanks Bes.

Martok I haven't tried to play the original MTW/VI in years. But there are a ton of mods for RTW that cover Greece.

[Anguille]

I found the Alexander addon for RTW not bad, especially the battle campaign (all the major battles of Alexander).

There's a demo for S&H 2 and i recommend to try it first before thinking about getting it (also to see if you have enough RAM to run the game on Windows 7).

Spartan and Gates of Troy was a favorite of mine. The strategy map looks great. Now, i you don't mind the basic artwork of the battles, its' a very good and challenging game.

I am currentely playing Tin Soldiers (played Alexander first and now Julius Caesar)...i find it solid and very challenging.

I also enjoy the HPS games...but it's mostly battle per battle, no real campaign imho.

A fairly correct game from a historical point of view was the Alexander version of American Conquest....

Finally, a game not mentionned here yet, is Alexander the Great, an rts game, sequel to Sparta: ancient wars.

http://www.gamersgate.com/DD-ATG/alexander-the-great

[Nefaro]

I got the impression that Strength & Honour 2 was just a bad Romance of the 3 Kingdoms clone with the various ancient world style general's faces plastered on fugly artwork.   I've not played it, so I could be totally wrong.

[mikeck]

Yep....but dont forget the max resolution of 1024x 780! made bad artwork...mmmm c'est magnifique.

[Gusington]

Thanks Anguille, I knew you were one of the guys to go to on this. Curious if you've played Hegemony...

[Anguille]

Thanks Anguille, I knew you were one of the guys to go to on this. Curious if you've played Hegemony...

It's on my to do list...i was about to start it but decided to start first with Star Ruler....i did play the tutorial though and think it's a great game and look forward to the Roman version of the game. I may well focus on Hegemony once i finish my Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar campaign (i am about to finish, at least i hope, the Gallic War campaign but there's still the civil war coming next  :P)...eta for starting to play Hegemony is end of May.  :o

Cheers

[Gusington]

^Hegemony is very polished and modern. There is a lot going on in the game so it is taking me some time to not get my arse handed to me. It is solid and well done though and good enough to get me interested in the era, which I never really was before. I am also excited for the Roman game to be released!

After playing Hegemony I wonder if all of these older releases would pale in comparison?

[LongBlade]

^Hegemony is very polished and modern. There is a lot going on in the game so it is taking me some time to not get my arse handed to me. It is solid and well done though and good enough to get me interested in the era, which I never really was before. I am also excited for the Roman game to be released!

After playing Hegemony I wonder if all of these older releases would pale in comparison?

The Tin Soldiers/Julius Caesar games are not of the same mold. They're a port of a minis game and play like a minis game in electronic format. They're not bad at all, but it's an entirely different perspective.

[Anguille]

^Hegemony is very polished and modern. There is a lot going on in the game so it is taking me some time to not get my arse handed to me. It is solid and well done though and good enough to get me interested in the era, which I never really was before. I am also excited for the Roman game to be released!

After playing Hegemony I wonder if all of these older releases would pale in comparison?

My top recommandation would be:

- Spartan/Gates of Troy. I haven't played them much lately, but imho, despite their age, they are still very good and the turn-based alternative to Hegemony.

Tin Soldiers: Julius Caesar (if you like the type of graphics) is really nice (though no strategy map and replayability is much lower). Strengh and Honor 2 is good (AI and various concepts) but was probably overambitious...no elephants and the strategy map doesn't look nice.  Yet, i had a real feeling of achievement when my Spartan troops took over the last chinese cities.  8)

Cheers

PS: Longblade is of course right here.

[Gusington]

Thanks Anguille! LB is often more right than not...it something I just have to grapple with :)

It's been a long, long time since I really got into any new historical eras. Probably since before college which was 20 years ago.

For that alone I give Hegemony a lot of credit. Also a lot of credit for holding my aging brain in interest after about a dozen hours, and not frustrating me with the UI, etc. For these things it will hold a special place on my hard drive :)

[LongBlade]

Thanks Anguille! LB is often more right than not...it something I just have to grapple with :)

It's been a long, long time since I really got into any new historical eras. Probably since before college which was 20 years ago.

For that alone I give Hegemony a lot of credit. Also a lot of credit for holding my aging brain in interest after about a dozen hours, and not frustrating me with the UI, etc. For these things it will hold a special place on my hard drive :)

If you're looking for a good Ancients game, I'd start with the first Field of Glory. It's best as a multiplayer game, but the single-player is good enough to teach you the ropes. Since then many more expansion have been created - I haven't kept up with them other than to note that when I installed a later version and then an earlier version the "fool proof" patching system somehow fooled itself. I had to track down a manual patch (not exactly easy) and then install that, then reinstall to get it to run. Hopefully that's been fixed.

Beyond that I'll simply say the system is good, the games are fun and although it's based on a minis game it's decent enough that you won't feel like you're playing much of a minis game.

[Gusington]

I do have the Fields of Glory Ottoman version around here somewhere.

[LongBlade]

I do have the Fields of Glory Ottoman version around here somewhere.

Give that a whirl. I think you'll like it.