Rome wasn't built in a day

Centurion: Defender of Rome logo

Publisher: Electronic Arts Price:£29.99

All I can say about the Romans is that they must have had good night vision. Well they say that Rome wasn't built in a day! But enough of the bad jokes.
As you probably already know, the Romans' idea of a good time was either to organise gladiator battles that made even Millwall football fans look like wimps, or to race around in chariots that would put boy racers to shame. And if that failed to amuse, they would go and invade some poor country for a bit of fun.

In Centurion it's up to you to do just that. You begin as a lowly officer, the lowest commanding rank in the Roman army. This lack of status is not for you - you have to move up through the ranks until you attain the respect of the masses in the role of Caesar.

There are several ways to gain favour and you will have to use a combination of them to advance in rank. The most obvious is by adding other provinces to the Roman Empire.
There are two ways to do this - you either negotiate a treaty or you go in and kick the butt of the defending army. Of course, with the latter option you run the risk of having your own butt kicked in the process.
Strengthening any peace treaties you have made is also a good way to gain popularity with the hierarchy. A slightly more action-packed way to gain favour is to organise chariot races or gladiator fights. This method never fails to please an angry population and make you a few talents in the process.

The main screen of the game shows a map from which you can move your forces into neighbouring countries, but be prepared to be met at the border by some pretty angry natives. You have the choice of behaving aggressively or politely towards them in your attempt to add their lands to your own.

If all else fails you move to the battlefield where the two opposing forces line up to fight.
You can adopt various strategies in battle which will affect the eventual outcome - and whether your army is decimated or not.

The arcade-like parts of the game are the races and the gladiator battles. The races feature a two-part screen, the top is a map showing your position on the track and the position of your opponents. The bottom shows your chariot as it hurtles around the track - just watch out for the corners.
In the gladiator battles you train up a gladiator and take him to battle with an opponent. The idea is to make the fight as bloody as possible to please the crowd.

Centurion is a fine war game which includes some great arcade sequences. It's ideal for newcomers to the genre because it has a simple control system.
Of course, it's tough at the start - but no one said becoming a Caesar was going to be easy!


Centurion: Defender of Rome logo

ELECTRONIC ARTS * £29.99 Joystick and Mouse

There's a tide in the affairs of men which taken at the flood leads on to fortune. Omitted, all the voyage of their life is bound in the shallows and in miseries". Centurion - Defender of Rome gives 20th century legionaires the chance to try their career surfing skills during the halcyon days of Caesar.

Centurion essentially fuses together a war-game and test of logistic skill, as you try to battle from the rank of Officer up to the title of Caesar in ancient Rome. Success is dependent on both battlefield victory and popularity amongst the peeps. Blood, bread and circuses will keep the home front happy; a necessary foundation stone for the construction of your own personal Empire.

Give until Ceasar
Centurion falls into two very distinct camps: foreign and domestic affairs. Foreign problems are initially close encounters of the warring kind. Arriving in a strange land you tell the natives they are now Roman subjects (not citizens) in a friendly, diplomatic or aggressive manner. To start with, all meet the same reaction and a battle ensues. Victorious centurions may plunder the nation or try to woo them into subservience.

Once conquered the country is controlled using the domestic commands as used in Rome. You levy tributes from the people to gain cash or hold extravaganzas to keep them sweet, depending on the popular mood; which swings from content to rebellious.

First the game assaults you as a war sim, with legions sweeping around Europe bashing armies, using authentic tactics under battle conditions. Then comes the population management side which is less inspired. At every game turn you have the chance to set the rate of tributes. Harsh demands turn the folk against you, while letting them off causes cash-flow problems.

Money is needed to rebuild or establish new legions, but it is also vital to keep the populace sweet. Chariot races and gladiator challenges put a large hole in the wallet, but provide sub-games where extra cash or credibility can be earned. For glad' matches you control one fighter, the action is slow, s you try to kill and entertain. When you are chariot racing there's more scope as you can bribe to affect, and bet on, the result. Neither stand up to the battle sections and with the continual cash shortages prove to be little more than irritants.

Loads
The graphics in Centurion are of the highest quality, giving this historically strategic jaunt an epic quality. The downside of this is that there are a large number of loads. Hard drive or second drive owners are fine, but single-drive users prepare to get those drive fingers flipping. The style of the graphics underline the game's strengths with a visual assurance.

Centurion - Defender of Rome pits you against the world and it often feels like it. Just when a strategy begins to work, a barbarian horde drops by to smash your dreams. You can control your own destiny on the field of battle, but elsewhere there seems little else to do other than respond to the game's prompts - "the people of Rome are bored and demand a circus". As a management sim, the lack of flexibility inhibits long-term interest, while the battlefield scenes are fascinating exercises in how man used to fight and demand deeper study.

The compaction of history helps too, as Hannibal and his elephant friends provide some lasting surprises from an early stage. Centurion's gameplay army is composed of graphics, management puzzles and tactical warfare simulations. The two flanks cut swathes through enemy lines, but the centre falters slightly - although it does not break. This leaves the Roman army as a strong foe that's slightly weaker than it should be.


Centurion: Defender of Rome logo

Der Kampf um Rom ist nicht mehr alleinige Sache der PC-Besitzer - dank der ungetrübten Konvertierungswut bei Electronic Arts dürfen nun auch Amigianer nach dem Weltreich grabschen. Aber rentiert es sich auch, extra die Tunika aus der Reinigung zu holen?

Einen Blick auf den Kalender: Wir schreiben das Jahr 275 vor Christus. Ein Blick in den Spiegel: Wir sehen einen ehrgeizigen Zenturio, der sich anschickt, als großer Imperator in die Geschichtsbücher einzugehen. Ein Blick auf das Game: Eine Generalstabskarte zeigt die Staaten Europas und des Mittelmeerraumes; von hier aus werden die gloriosen Eroberungen geplant und per Maus in die Wege geleitet...

Um sich eine neue (tributpflichtige) Provinz einzuverleiben, muß zunächst deren Heer überwunden werden. In einer schön gezeichneten und animierten Kampfsequenz stehen sich die Armeen gegenüber; per Menü wählt man für seine Römer eine erfolgsversprechende Basis-Taktik, und schon beginnt die Keilerei. Sollte die Lage kritisch werden, kann man jederzeit unterbrechen und den Kohorten individuelle Befehle erteilen - oder gar den Rückzug anordnen. Jede Legion darf pro Runde (Jahr) eine Eroberung versuchen oder ihre gelichteten Reihen auffüllen; unbestechlich wie immer, entscheidet der Computer dann über Sieg oder Niederlage. Erfolge ziehen Beförderungen nach sich, und mit einem höheren Dienstgrad ist auch die Rekrutierung weiterer Armeen möglich. Gelegentlich kann man sich aber um die Prügel drücken, indem man mit dem gegnerischen Befehlshaber redet und einen Beitritt für seine Provinz aushandelt (nach Artikel 23 Grundgesetz oder so).

Natürlich wird das Schicksal Roms nicht allein am Schlachtfeld entschieden, die dekadente Bevölkerung giert nach Entertainment: Da bieten sich die berühmten Wagenrennen oder Gladiatorenkämpfe an; um aber an den hübschen Actioneinlagen teilnehmen zu können, müssen schon tüchtig Sesterzen in der Kasse klingeln. Wer es daneben noch schafft, sich die diversen auswärtigen Lieblingsfeinde vom Hals zu halten (Stichwort: "Hannibal"), dürfte beim Griff nach dem Lorbeerkranz kaum noch zu stoppen sein. Und genau hier liegt, trotz verschiedener Schwierigkeitsstufen, die größte Schwäche des Games: Sobald man mal raus hat, wie der Hase läuft, werden spielerische Herausforderungen zur Mangelware - das gilt für Strategie und Action gleichmaßen!

Schade, denn die Präsentation kann sich durchaus sehen lassen: Stimmungsvolle Grafiken, schicksalsträchtige Melodien und netter Hintergrundlärm bei den Schlachten und Actionszenen erfreuen Auge und Ohr. Auch die Steuerung bereitet keinerlei Probleme, nur macht es Centurion dem aufstrebenden Imperator etwas zu leicht - schon bald schmilzt das Interesse an dem Sandalen-Epos wie Schnee in der Frühlingssonne. Tja, mit einer Mehr-Spieler-Option wäre Rom ganz sicher nicht an einem Tag erbaut worden... (jn)


Centurion: Defender of Rome logo

I 've never thought the Romans were much cop. Dressing up in a leather skirt and sticking a feather duster on your head is a rather odd way of going about combat duty if you ask me. But as history proves, it worked. By the 1st century AD they'd accumulated an empire stretching all the way from Britain in the north west down to Egypt in the south, and were duly bouncing up and down on their velvet cushions and scoffing lots of grapes to celebrate.

Not that you can afford to be so frisky in Centurion - Defender of Rome. Oh dear me no. This is all jolly serious stuff about a cocky officer chappy who wants to rise up through the ranks and become Caesar. A lofty aim to be sure - but one that's just about feasible if your conquer enough countries on the battlefield, while at the same time making sure you keep the plebs happy so they don't get all crotchety and rebel against you.

As a strategy game it's good; as an 'empire management' game it's not too bad; and as an arcader, well, it has to be said some of it stinks.

But first the good news - the battle arcade sequences. Your legion is laid out beneath you in 'live it and breathe it' realism viewed from a 45 degree bird's-eye angle. You choose its formation and fighting tactic and then wait to see how the opposition line themselves up against you. At this point you'll probably suffer an initial attack of panic - your best idea might well be to interrupt play to check on the strengths of individual units and then alter the tactics of the ones on your side to compensate. And then you run for the hills. It's a bit of a gas really, and once you've got the hang of which tactic to use where and when it should be enough to get the adrenalin pumping through your various vessels fast enough.

And now for the stinky stuff. One way of making sure your plebs don't get too rattish is to host games for them. Two of these are arcade sequences - the Chariot Race and the Gladiator Fight. In the first you buy your 'cart', gamble a bit on the predicted outcome and then scootle off round the track. Only you won't have any inclination to do anything of the sort once you see how it works. The overhead-view playing area is too small and follows your wagon up-screen, meaning that you can only steer left and right and your only gauges of speed and progression (aside from the indistinct circuit map at the top) are the other competitors.

When they race ahead and disappear off the top of the track you really are a bit stumped - you haven't the faintest idea where you are or anything. A Supercars-style approach mightn't have allowed for such fine-looking wagons but at least you'd have been able to play it.

As for the Gladiator Fight, the less said about that the better. It's all about two blokes who clobber each other with all the enthusiasm of a couple of dead fish. Slow's the word, but there ought to be a better one.

The successful wargame-style strategy aside then, Centurion's a game that falls between two stools. It should either have been a much more engaging and complex management game (aside from throwing bread and circus parties the only other thing you tend to do is collect taxes, and that quickly becomes all too simple and repetitive) or it should have done more on the arcade side.

One alternative option would have been to loosen things up a bit, take the action sequences up a notch and opt for a more jokey approach along the lines of North And South. And although it certainly looks very pretty, I'd dispute EA's claim that it's a 'cinematic adventure like no other'- there are just as many static picture postcard graphics here as I've seen anywhere. So, all in all, not half as much fun as a video of Caligula and 15 more expensive.


Centurion: Defender of Rome logo CU Amiga Screenstar

Building the Roman Empire took millions of people hundreds of years - but now Electronic Arts are asking you to achieve world domination in an afternoon or two. With no need to don a sheet and eat larks' tongues, Centurion - Defender of Rome casts the hapless player as an ambitious general in the third century BC, after Rome has 'persuaded' all its neighbouring states to pledge allegiance to it. Now she is casting her eye across the natural boundaries of Italy.

At the start of the game, the only tasks that can be attempted are raising legions and building fleets. This is enough, however, to enable the conquest of a small, nearby state - Sicily's a good bet. Once the orders are given (and the game uses a one-move equals one-year system), the action switches to a display of the battlefield. Each cohort (a group of soldiers or cavalry) can be issued individual orders, and a battleplan is chosen from the menu. This ranges from an all-out frontal assault to a more sneaky flanking manoeuvre.

Retreat is always an option, but the idea is to pick on an enemy you are assured of beating! If in doubt, the battle plans include a defense option, which lets the enemy come to the Romans, and every tactician knows that defense is easier than attack. Once the foe has been trounced, it's back to the map that's the cornerstone of the game. The general then sets the tribute level, which must be a balance between revenue and diplomacy; if it's too high, the subjects may revolt.

Sea battles occur with alarming regularity, especially against the great sea-faring nations. Catapults, arrows, ramming and boarding are legitimate tactics.

Once enough regions have been subdued the successful officer starts to have problems with unhappy citizens in Rome itself. The cliché 'bread and circuses' is enough to keep them happy, and money can be spent on these events. The subgames for the chariot racing and gladiatorial contests require different skills; in the former the player controls the chariot, and the tricky corners tend to cause catastrophe. The gladiator shows are judged by the player, who decides whether the loser wins or dies - if he's given a good 'performance', it's best to let him live, or the mob have a habit of turning against you.

Keeping a large empire running is not an easy task, what with the dangers of invading barbarians and rebellions, but it has its rewards. Seducing Cleopatra is perhaps the most entertaining part of the game, requiring a mixture of tact and macho posing. That's not to say the rest of the game is dull, because it isn't. Knowing when to raise another legion for conquest and when to simply consolidate your Empire can be a difficult decision, but always enjoyable. Learning the various battle tactics takes time, but as the reward is increased revenue it's worth learning Sometimes you're better off forming an alliance, but unless you can intimidate the enemy with the power of your army it's a waste of effort.

Strategy games are traditionally a hit or miss affair, but I'm glad to report that this ahs depth and a sufficient amount of historical accuracy. The addition of the arcade sequences provide a welcome break from studying the maps and statistics, and the battle scenes allow armchair generals the chance to test their skills. The graphics are top-notch, and the relief map is extremely accurate. The sound, too, is very atmospheric, with battle sounds and crowd cheers adding to the fun of the game.

I particularly liked the touches of humour which appear in the manual, although the game itself still has a tendency to be a little dry and monotonous. That taken, I haven't enjoyed a strategy game as much since Supremacy, which had what amounted to scenarios - sadly missing in Centurion. Despite this, fans of the genre will be very happy with the game.


THE JULIO-CLAUDIANS The best-known dynasty of Roman Emperors started with Octavian - later called Augustus. He was adopted by Julius Caesar and thereby nominated as successor. Augustus was the rarest of creatures, a good leader! He reformed the law, oversaw the expansion of the Empire's borders, and lost many members of his family (including his sons and grandsons) to causes both natural and otherwise. He was succeeded by Tiberius, who was reputed to be overfond of youngboys. However, his successor, Caligula, managed to become even more depraved during his reign. He had children by his sister, had citizens tortured at a whim, and made his favourite horse a consul! The line continued with Claudius and ended with Nro, infamous for his unhealthy relationship with his mother and his pretensions to artistic talent.

Centurion: Defender of Rome logo

Electronic Arts/£24.99/Out now
Not so much Veni, Vidi, Vici as weeney, weedy and weakey, Lord Paul Lakin grabbed a bottle of Chianti and his trusty short sword before having a roam (groan) through EA's Centurion.

Rather misleadingly Centurion is subtitled Defender Of Rome. Misleading because this game isn't so much about manning the barricades round the Colosseum as trashing all your neighbours and then making them pay for the privilege. More of a Paxo stuffing than the Pax Romana. Ah well, attack is the best means of defence.

Starting as a humble but ambitious Centurion in charge of one legion you set out on the campaign trail. On first meeting your potential constituents you can have a quick chat in an attempt to convince them of the benefits of civilisation. If this works, then you can form an alliance and all's well (and still taxable).

However, since replies tend to be along the lines of "Begone dog, I spit on your Roman nose and urinate in your Public Baths", you tend to find yourself having to beat them into submission, which is a great deal more fun anyway.

Your control of the combat sequence is fairly limited. First you select a formation (balanced army, strong right, etc) and then a tactic (Scipio's Defence, Drive a Wedge, Outflank and the like). After that it's all in the hands of lady luck, though she tends to be on the side of the big battalions. Once a battle is won, the province you fought over is yours and you can start looking covetously at your next target.

Any economist will tell you that there's no point having a population unless you tax them to within a inch of rebellion. Therefore your new constituents' first introduction to the Roman world is when the tax forms start dropping through their doors. This money can be used to bring your legions up to full strength and fund new legions. If you're really ambitious and can't be bothered to wait for the channel tunnel then you can even start constructing a fleet. Since you don't fully rule the waves this is likely to lead to more fighting and that dreadful sinking feeling.

Amiga reviewPaul: Ah, the Romans - they knew a thing or two about living. In the glorious days of the Roman Empire you could let the slaves do all the hard work, while you ate and drank yourself stupid at the sort of orgies that you only see nowadays on the cover of the News Of The World. Ah, give me a toga, a flagon of wine and a few high Priestesses Of Venus...

Centurion doesn't give you any of that, but it does give you a lot of fun of a more rough, tough, gruff, soldiery sort. It's not the world's most demanding strategy game. The combat section, particularly at sea, is very limited.

Although the graphics are very sweet, in a North and South sort of way, the lack of player involvement will probably prove frustrating to most serious strategy buffs. Equally the economic/political elements are pretty basic, largely a matter of raising and lowering taxes and staging the occasional circus. It does tend to get a bit samey.

The chance to engage in the occasional spot of gladiatorial combat or chariot racing adds some variety to the proceedings, though the combat system is a tad limited. The purpose of these combats is, rather like your modern day gameshow, to distract the population of the misery of unpopular taxation and unsuccessful war. However, they don't exactly boost the tactical complexity of the game. Surely dominating the known world was a bit more demanding than that.

Ah, but I'm not a great strategy buff. Any time I try to play a serious wargame I find that Seventh Platoon, Fourth Brigade B Division has run out of diesel fuel twelve miles short of Vladivostock with only three bullets and a rusty pencil sharpener to defend themselves against an oncoming, highly armed enemy. Perhaps that's why I enjoyed Centurion. What it lacks in hardcore strategy it makes up for in fun.

A combination of entertaining graphics (especially the elephants) and straightforward playability make the game a lot of fun.
When Centurion first appeared on PC we played it to death, but the Amiga version, rather than been greeted with yawns of "Been there, done that, naff off", soon had us all reaching for our togas. Not an earth shattering game but good fun nevertheless. The chance to conquer the known world, plunder the Swiss and tap off with Cleopatra into the bargain. What more could you ask for?