|
History Channel: Great Battles of Rome
History Channel: Great Battles of Rome is a
real-time strategy game for the PSP that combines historically accurate
information with modern day gameplay that unfortunately leaves the
viewers cussing their PlayStation Portable with its fiddle some control
system and frustrating game mechanics.
Features
-
Developed
simultaneously for Playstation2, PSP and PC.
-
Highlights 14 Roman
Campaigns and more than 100 of the most significant battles of the
Roman Empire.
-
Includes 10 Celtic
campaigns from the barbarians perspective and 35 fantasy battles in
the Cult of Mithras (PSP Only).
-
50 minutes of
captivating program footage from The History Channel(R).
-
Unique soundtrack
and voice talents narrate the story of Marcus Aurelius.
-
3 difficulty levels.
-
More than 20 troop
types.
-
Unique and intuitive
user interface for PSP (PlayStationPortable) and Playstation2.
-
Game controls allow
command of up to 20 squads simultaneously.
-
Customizable troops
and battle conditions.
-
Innovative combat
model specially adapted for PSP and Playstation2.
-
Incorporating
special visual effects and advanced levels of detail including night
battles.
-
Realistic
battlefield conditions and terrain effect the underlying complex
battle engine.
-
Easy to learn, hard
to master.
-
Multiplayer
capability on PSP.
The presentation of History Channel: Great
Battles of Rome is a first class experience that features dramatic music
and commentary, courtesy of the History Channel, however fails to truly
delivery an enjoyable gaming experience. The PSP is a great console,
however some games unfortunately don't translate too well to portable
content and this game fits nicely into this category.
Giving orders to your troops or trying to
control your entire armies is a rather frustrating experience as this
game was originally designed on the PC to be used with a mouse. The
PSP's analog stick and in-game menu system fails to deliver the accuracy
of a mouse as you valiantly try to give your troops orders.
However, it should be noted that the
battles are quite realistic and contains real-world terrains from these
ancient times. You can also give you troops a variety of different
orders and with over 20 different types of units in the game, the
developers have to extreme lengths at recreating the accuracy of these
ancient battles.
As this title is follows your traditional
RTS game, players have a variety of options such as recruiting and
upgrading your troops as you engage in over 100 different battles that
is carefully split over three different campaigns.
The game does have some highlights such as
the interesting historical aspects of the title that is impressively
done through in game cut scenes that depicts the history of this once
great empire.
Although I was quite impressed by the
actual footage from the History Channel, however it would have been
better to release it as a UMD, rather than a game to witness this. The
title also contains an interesting multiplayer aspect that is as fiddle
some as the main game mode.
Graphically, the title looks quite decent
on the PSP with the exception of a few levels that is rather "Spartan"
but generally, the developers have done a great job at dumbing the
graphics down for the PSP. Musically, the title contains a great
"documentary" sounding soundtrack with realistic sound effects and great
over the top and dramatic voiceovers.
In conclusion, The History Channel: Great
Battles of Rome is a hit and miss affair on the PSP that is probably a
great game on the PC but the transfer to the PSP has unfortunately lost
the playability. Definitely recommended for patient and lovers of Rome
or check out the PC version! |
