Walls of Rome

Walls of Rome is a cool strategy game based on early Roman warfare. It is historically themed and bears a flavour of Siege or Rome: Total War.
In Walls of Rome, the user is charged with preparing a massive Roman army to either defend or attack a besieged town. The user can choose from battle or campaign mode. The battle mode features a disconnected battle that is basically a head-to-head death match. The user has an indefinite amount of time to prepare his or her army, but of course, the enemy takes the same time as you do and is also preparing a powerful military force.

A campaign can also be selected as a mode of play. This is more of a string of related battles building up to a final goal. There are several unique armies involved in the play of this game: the Celts, the Parthians, the Numidians, the Romans, the Iberians and the Phoenicians. Each army features its own type of unit that reflects its place in actual history, such as the Carthaginian Elephant warriors from Phoenicia. Each army requires practice and knowledge in order to master its strengths and overcome its weaknesses. Besides individual units, locations and terrain are also historically accurate.
Each battle begins on pause, giving the user time to issue commands and outfit the soldiers with appropriate weaponry for either siege or defence. For example, ladders can be given to besieging soldiers. They can also be given Roman (Greek) fire, catapults and swords. When everyone is in place, the game is unpaused and the results of your strategy unfold before your eyes. It creates a type of real-time combat sequence.
The game play of Walls of Rome is good, but it is so complex that it takes a while to get the feel for all the controls. Plus, with the variety of soldiers available for command and their variety of skills, there is a lot of detail and a lot to learn in this game. The graphics are colourful and intriguing, but still standard for the time, and sound is really not a factor. Walls of Rome also features a game editor that allows the user to change the forces available and also edit the battlefield. This lends nicely to the replayability of this game. While it might not be the greatest strategy of this theme, Walls of Rome is still worth a look, especially for those who love attention to detail and a true strategy.