Roman Empire

Crash

Producer: MC Lothlorien, 16K £5.50 In this cast of thousands it is the first century BC and you are the Emperor. (A working knowledge of 'I Claudius' might be useful but isn't essential)! What you have to do is simply conquer ten countries which hate you, and do this wiping out their troops (under-paid and under-trained) with your 90,000 men. There are nine generals on your side, including yourself, and 18 legions of 5,000 men each. The idea is to build up armies from the men, appoint generals and launch campaigns to persuade the barbarian hordes how wonderful life under the yoke can be. Three levels of difficulty.

Read it at Crash - The Online Edition

Crash

Producer: MC Lothlorien, 16K £5.50 In this cast of thousands it is the first century BC and you are the Emperor. (A working knowledge of 'I Claudius' might be useful but isn't essential)! What you have to do is simply conquer ten countries which hate you, and do this wiping out their troops (under-paid and under-trained) with your 90,000 men. There are nine generals on your side, including yourself, and 18 legions of 5,000 men each. The idea is to build up armies from the men, appoint generals and launch campaigns to persuade the barbarian hordes how wonderful life under the yoke can be. Three levels of difficulty.

Crash

Producer: MC Lothlorien, 16K £5.50 In this cast of thousands it is the first century BC and you are the Emperor. (A working knowledge of 'I Claudius' might be useful but isn't essential)! What you have to do is simply conquer ten countries which hate you, and do this wiping out their troops (under-paid and under-trained) with your 90,000 men. There are nine generals on your side, including yourself, and 18 legions of 5,000 men each. The idea is to build up armies from the men, appoint generals and launch campaigns to persuade the barbarian hordes how wonderful life under the yoke can be. Three levels of difficulty.

C&VG (Computer & Video Games)

Getting Started 4/10

Value 4/10

Playability 4/10

MORE EMPIRES TO CONQUER Roman Empire is the latest period war game from M.C.Lothlorien. This Cheshire-based company have become specialists in computerised war gaming with other titles in the range such as Peloponnesian War, Tyrant of Athens, Samurai Warrior, and Japanese Challenge. Roman Empire is a strategy war game requiring thought and application. Graphics are therefore not as crucial to the game as they are in other games. Even allowing for this the graphics in Roman Empire are very unimpressive. All you get are columns of figures with a list of menu options around which the game is based. A few more illustrations would have made the various columns of figures far more accessible. The odd map would have been very much appreciated as well. The game has now been converted for the Dragon and Atari computers and some of the above suggested improvements have now been incorporated in these new versions. Why it is not possible to upgrade the Spectrum version is anyone's guess. The idea of the game is to conquer the six countries that are hostile to you. In order to do this you must wipe out your enemies troops. You must build up your legions and launch campaigns in the regions you are attempting to annexe. A constant check has to be kept on your legions morale, lighting efficiency, energy level and status. The only graphic display Roman Empire does give you is when you press the "next period" button - which totals you victories and defeats. What the display was supposed to be, however, I couldn't tell you. My girlfriend thought it looked like a screen full of ants. Any suggestions? Confirmed war garners may get something out of this one. For the uninitiated though - it would have to have greatly improved on-screen instructions and graphics before I would reach for my wallet.

Personal Computer News

Lasting Appeal 3/5

Playability 3/5

Use Of Machine 2/5

Value For Money 4/5

John Lettice

NAME: Roman Empire SYSTEM: 16K Spectrum PRICE: £5.50 PUBLISHER: MC Lothlorien, [redacted] FORMAT: Cassette LANGUAGE: Basic OTHER VERSIONS: Atari 400/800, Dragon, Tandy Colour Computer, ZX81 OUTLETS: Mail Order, various dealers AUGUSTUS ASCENDANT If you're not quite ready to conquer the galaxy in the latest arcade game, why not start small, and conquer the ancient world first? Roman Empire is set in the first century BC - so you're not likely to meet anyone you know - and is a game for the thinking megalomaniac. OBJECTIVES The game gives you ten legions, six enemies, and sets you the problem of adding them together to come up with the answer, World Domination. You can do it at three levels of difficulty. IN PLAY If you've any notions of being Julius Caesar and fending-off countless numbers of Gauls with one legion tied behind your back, forget it - your trusty veterans may be twice as efficient as the enemy, but they only get results if there are twice as many of them. That, unfortunately, is your problem. You need to bring superior numbers to bear on each of your enemies in turn, with the ultimate aim of wiping them all out. Making a desert and calling it civilisation, as Tacitus put it. You also have to cope with the fact that fighting tires out your legions, and as there are six of the enemy and only one of you, your men tend to get tired six times as fast. You need to manage your resources so you don't end up weeny, weedy and weaky. On top of this, barbarians breed if you leave them alone, whereas the Romans don't. Battles take place at the end of every game-turn, and after a period of shilly-shallying and beeping, the-computer flashes up the result, thinks for a little longer, and tells you to press a key. It then thinks for even longer - heaven knows what it's up to - then takes you back to the main menu for the next go. Once you've killed off everyone else, or been killed off yourself, the program gives you a percentage rating for your generalship. VERDICT Roman Empire doesn't really use the Spectrum's colour capabilities, and has only one 'battle' graphic which is sandwiched between game-turns (the Atari, Dragon and Tandy versions are apparently better from a graphics point of view). You are also forced to press Enter after keying-in instructions, and this, together with the slowness of the program, is tiresome. But the game is an interesting challenge, and you keep going back to it to try different solutions to the problems. And all this in the comfort of your own Rome.

Sinclair User

ROMAN EMPIRE BUILDING Simulation of ancient wars between old-world empires has become a speciality of the software house M C Lothiorian. Roman Empire, for the 16K Spectrum and ZX-81, is the new Lothlorian product. The game is set in the first century BC. As Emperor of Rome you have to conquer six hostile countries. Those countries are regarded as hostile because you do not rule over them. At the beginning of the game you are given five generals, each with an army under his command. The armies are your ticket to absolute power. As well as the five armies you also have 10 legions, each comprising 5,000 soldiers. From those legions you can stock your armies in such a way as to make sure you will be the conqueror. The way in which you distribute the legions is an important factor in winning the game. There are three levels of play, ranging from difficult to impossible. We have managed to keep our power-base only in the first two levels. When you have entered the level of difficulty you must build your armies and send them against the countries of you choice. Matching armies is a skill which is not acquired easily. If you put the wrong army into an area which contains an enemy army of greater strength you will be eliminated. Roman Empire costs £5.50 for the Spectrum and £4.50 for the 16K ZX-81 from M C Lothlorian, [redacted].