It's also possible to play competitive multiplayer online or via a LAN connection, with various maps and all three races playable.

Some of the lighting effects, especially on the water, are lovely-even if the action isn't quite so slick.Īll three campaigns have reasonable depth to them, with about 30 hours of gameplay estimated for the three campaigns combined. This story follows Inaros, a dutiful Egyptian warrior pushed too far by the oppressive new governor, who steals away his true love. The Egyptian story is further removed from the first two, with the country having been enslaved for many decades by the Persians.

The main thrust of this campaign lies in organising the war against Sparta, with the help of the former Spartan king, Demeratus, although there's also unrest to deal with at home. The Persian campaign lets you see things from the opposite side, playing as Xerxes, starting out just as he's taken the throne. But not everybody is of the same opinion, which means you'll need to guide Leonidas and his army against a variety of enemies before you're done. The Spartan king, Leonidas, is keen to move quickly to Thermopylae, a defensible position at which it would be possible to hold the Persian army off for some time. The Spartan campaign is based on the imminent Persian invasion of Greece and the disagreements that the various Greek factions have about whether to resist or not. In general, the missions task you with either locating key heroes or destroying opposing armies and bases, while the story for each faction unfolds in cutscenes along the way. It's the kind of game that encourages you to build up your stash of supplies and take on the various challenges around the map piecemeal, gradually increasing your army's strength and taking over vital resources as you go. Right off the bat, the game feels a lot like the classic RTS game Age of Empires II: Age of Kings, but with a significant graphical overhaul. Some missions require you to complete them with the units you're given at the beginning of the game, but most missions require you to act in the more traditional resource-building fashion, giving you a base from which to develop and build your forces. Each faction has its own unique story campaign, which builds in size and complexity as you go. The game is set in ancient Greece and the surrounding area and features three factions: Spartans, Persians, and Egyptians. Recently, we dove straight into the game when given the chance to revisit it.Įach mission is nicely set up with a backstory as an introduction. When we first saw the game back in September 2006, it showed some promise.

Initially set for a fourth-quarter 2006 release, Ancient Wars: Sparta was pushed back to April 2007 to give Russian developer World Forge more time to polish the code.

Ancient wars sparta world forge