Thursday, May 27, 2004

Gates of Troy add-on released for Spartans

GATES OF TROY is a Trojan themed expansion pack for SPARTAN, the award
winning turn-based strategy game from Slitherine Software. Slitherine have
been secretly working on GATES OF TROY for months and are now finally ready
to announce it to the strategy gaming world. Available on PC CD ROM.

It includes 17 new heroes ranging from Achilles and Hektor in the Trojan
Wars to Leonidas & Demophilus in the pass of Thermopylae. Play as Achilles
with his Myrmidon warriors, or maybe you prefer Odysseus or Hektor? Control
vast armies of Trojans and Greeks and lay siege to the most powerful city of
its time – Troy!

Take command of Leonidas and his 300 Spartans against the mighty Persian
horde. The pass of Thermopylae has been re-created on a one for one scale
with 300 Spartans, 700 Thespian allies under Demophilus & 400 unreliable
Thebans who really didn’t want to be there – and can you blame them! This
small force stands against the might of the Persian army with wave upon wave
of increasingly powerful troops hitting your lines until the mighty
Immortals arrive. Xerxes launches attack after attack from his inexhaustible
horde and your objective is just to hold the pass long enough for Greece to
muster her forces.

The expansion pack includes 6 new historically accurate campaigns : The Trojan Wars The pass of Thermopylae Greek Colonization Pre-Historic Greece The Ionian Revolt Grand Campaign with Rome & Persia

Thursday, May 13, 2004

Australian game producer awarded "King Arthur" contract

"Jerry Bruckheimer, producer of upcoming Hollywood epic, "King Arthur", has given Australian game company Krome the responsibility of turning the movie into a quality game. John told us that Mr. Bruckheimer's production team worked hand-in-hand with Krome in order to give the game the same feel as the movie: actual voice recordings from the film, extra dialogue just for the game, headscans modeled directly from the original actors and consistent input between the studio and the developer. Apparently the game will follow the same storyline as the movie, which pits Arthur (a Roman originally named Arturius) and 'Celtic battle queen' Guinevere against the Roman empire, which the developers say is more closely related to original historical context rather than the magic and fantasy elements of other Arthur-related movies such as Excalibur or more romantic endeavors like First Knight. The developers say the game should have a release in time for the release of the DVD sometime around Christmas. King Arthur will be published by Konami."

Shadow of Rome demo wows gamers at Capcom Gamers Day

Shadow of Rome's story is set in the year 44 BC. The leadership of the Republic of Rome has been tarnished by political corruption, and Roman society has been overrun by unruliness and violence. Julius Caesar advocates for drastic reform into imperialism in order to restore Rome, but he is met with opposition. However, being the stubborn sort, old Julius keeps on pressing for change. Unfortunately, as any history buff can tell you, things don't work out quite like he'd hoped. Caesar is murdered before the changes he had advocated could be implemented. As the news of the head of state's demise starts to spread, a soldier named Agrippa rushes back to Rome to be faced with even worse news. Agrippa's father, Uesnius, who was a close advisor to Caesar, is the accused murderer. Unlike today's poky court system, the Roman judicial system keeps a pretty brisk pace and slates Uesnius for public execution by the winner of the next gladiatorial event, which is coming up fast. Anxious to keep his father alive, Agrippa sets out to prove his innocence and uncover the truth about Caesar's assassination. Thankfully Agrippa isn't in this alone. He has the help of his best friend, Octavius, and a freed female gladiator named Claudia. As you'd expect, the road to help Uesnius is a long one, chock-full of murder, intrigue, false accusations, and a whole lot of spilled blood in gladiatorial combat. An interesting twist to the narrative is the extended cast of characters you'll interact with, which will include actual historical figures.

Tuesday, May 04, 2004

Battle for Troy

Paris, King of Troy, has stolen the heart and soul of Helen, Queen of Sparta. Feel the wrath and fury of a king betrayed as Menelaus rages to return his queen. Now two great legions stand poised on the brink of war. May the Gods be with you as you choose sides in an alliance that will soon drown the city of Troy in a sea of blood, all for the love of a woman.

• Command King Menelaus' Greek Alliance to lay siege against
a rebellious Troy to restore the honor of their crestfallen king.

• Defend your city and your stolen queen against the
bloodthirsty onslaught of the raging Greeks.

• Immerse yourself in historic action with 2 extensive campaigns,
each with 8 challenging missions

• March your armies onward controlling 9 unit types:
spearmen, swordsmen, archers, cavalry, healers and more.

• Take your place deep inside the Trojan horse prepared to
vindicate your king's honor.