As many of you know, every last week of each month will be dedicated to a game that many of us enjoyed in our early gaming days.
I’ve been somewhat confused as to where exactly to draw the line between ‘past’ and ‘present’. After giving it some thought, I think ‘past games’ should include all those games that we used to love playing when we were younger but would find totally unbelievable if we try playing them now because they have been completely outclassed by the latest generation of games. I am sure many of you have experienced this and if you have any particular games in mind, please let us know!
Personally, Legion is probably the earliest TBS+RTS strategy games I ever played. This was released way back in 2002, when a game was easily contained within a single CD so you can imagine. After this came War of Nations, Total War, etc. What made this game interesting to me was the gameplay (at the time), because I’d never seen anything like it before. I had certainly played AoE by that time but after playing virtually every version of the game, I was desperate for something different.
As its name suggests, the campaigns are set in the ancient Roman timeline, when the empire was growing. Different campaigns were based in Britain, Gaul and Italy. In terms of comparison, this is similar to Rome Total War, but only in the slightest of terms. Obviously it is the player’s job to manage the economy and launch battles in an effort to subdue the enemies of Rome. The game featured more than 22 different units from Rome and different Barbarian tribes. In addition, there are 20 AI factions to battle against.
In terms of gameplay, I admit I found it hugely enjoyable but after playing Total War Games and a variety of other RTS+TBS games, I wouldn't dream of spending time on this game again; the memories are just fine. The game featured two basic models: economics and combat. Unfortunately, both elements were stripped of much value because they were highly automated.
A typical battle would allow players to pre-programme their units based on a number of shapes, speed and battle stances (defensive, stand ground, etc.). However, once the game started, there was no way to make any changes. So basically, you had to sit back and watch the battle without any control once it began. Apparently, this was supposed to reflect a realistic feature of ancient battles (commanders generally didn’t make many changes while the battle was in progress because of the lack of communication) but this is only half true and ancient armies did manage to develop communication systems, especially the Romans. Another problem was the AI, which wasn’t particularly smart and would either just go on an all-out offence or reuse the same battle tactics throughout the game. Units controlled by the player were not so lucky either. Assuming you had the misfortune of pre-programming a unit to hold its ground at a particular point of the map, the unit would do just that, even if it was right in front of enemy archers.
The economic model was highly automated too. Players could build a standard number of buildings everywhere they went and then assign the necessary labour, which was also necessary for recruiting armies. However, sensitive issues like managing a city’s stability, which are essential in Total War games, was completely missing. All you had to do was manage the labour allocated and the cities would continue to create the necessary resources for your empire.
In terms of graphics and audio, the game featured rather beautiful 2D models. It wasn’t nearly as great as many modern RTS games but it was actually quite beautiful and that’s how I would like to remember the game. The background music was pleasant and left me relaxed, which in turn allowed me to easily play entire campaigns all day long while losing track of time. Unfortunately, once the campaigns were over, the game was basically useless because it did not feature skirmish battles or multiplayer options.
In retrospect, the problem with Legion was that it was far too successful in removing the micro-managing elements of the game. This stripped the game of much needed substance and is something not many of us would bother playing today. However, I’ve enjoyed researching Legion, which I enjoyed playing while still in school and I wouldn’t undo the experience even if I had the chance.
If there are any games you loved playing back then, let us know!
(By Navam Niles)
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