If you speak Greek

If you or your children speak Greek, the Foundation of the Hellenic World produces several multimedia educational games about various topics in Greek history:

Searching for Alexander the Great

Travel with Jason and Danae and follow the course of Alexander the Great! Travel around the world, see museums and monuments and learn about the civilizations that were influenced by the Macedonian king all over the world! Have fun with amazing games, collect objects that testify to the glorious history of Alexander the Great, solve the riddles and face the obstacles of the cunning Leo Foxy. At your disposal there will be a large encyclopaedia with all the necessary information! Do not waste any time! Create your own presentations and take part in the great competition of the game. Discover the ancient civilization and unfold the magic world of Hellenic history, in an educational game that combines learning and action! In our new adventure, with Jason and Danae as the leading characters, you will discover the unique history of Alexander the Great. In the beginning of the game, listen carefully to the information provided by the teacher at school regarding the paper you must prepare, which is a presentation of the Macedonian king. Solve the initial riddle, take the book with the rules of participation, which is also the manual of the game, and prepare yourselves for a magic journey to history! Lead Jason and Danae to the areas of their yard and speak with the heroes that are in the rooms: their advises and inventions will be very useful! If you search well and use your power of reasoning, you will manage to collect the necessary gear which will help you to travel in nearby and far away destinations and discover unknown aspects of the fearless Alexander the Great. You should ask the people you meet in your way, you will see impressive museums, mysterious tombs and traditional Greek hamlets, in order to collect as many objects as possible so you can create your own unique presentation. When you return to school you will have the opportunity to prepare your presentation and, when you are ready, to show it to your classmates! But the most important fact is that you can save it and send it to us, participating thus in the competition that will regularly take place, with great gifts. Language: Greek!

Mystery in ancient Miletus

"Mystery in ancient Miletus" is a game in which knowledge and entertainment coexist harmoniously. It is addressed to children above the age of 10, but also to everyone who wishes to learn about ancient Miletus in a pleasant way. Starting the application, the player has the possibility to meet the family of the heroes of the series "Jason & Danae". He can also colour various images with the heroes and print them out in colour or black and white. The game is essentially divided into two parts. The first part consists exclusively of cartoons. The player "experiences" the game through the eyes of its leading characters, Jason (High School student) and Danae (Primary School student). The heroes, always under the guidance of the player, must in the beginning roam through the areas of their residence, in order to collect more information about the story of the game. In these areas there are hidden many riddles, which every time include a new element that furthers the development of the story. Their solution leads to key objects that contribute to the solution of the game. After they collect all necessary information, the heroes are ready to "travel" to ancient Miletus. The second part of the game includes a tour to ancient Miletus, which takes place through the use of interactive virtual reality video (QuickTime VR). Through it, the player experiences the area as it was in the Roman Period, as does the visitor of "Kivotos", FHW's virtual reality system. The successive images (QuickTime VR) that have been used allow for the 360o visual coverage of the areas, solely using the mouse. At the same time, brief historical information is provided for every area. Historical information appears both in text form and images as well as in video format, which comes from the documentary "Miletus... A City in Four Dimensions". In addition, the CD-ROM includes a glossary and an encyclopaedia with historical data about Miletus, information about the areas and the buildings, the important people that lived in this city, general information about various sports and buildings of Antiquity, but also many ancient sayings. And some advice!!! Try to call from the devise in the room of uncle Pericles. All telephone numbers can be found on the bulletin board. You will discover many secrets, which will help you solve the game. Language: Greek!

Fight with Alexander the Great in "Fate of Hellas"

JoWooD Productions announces a new title for 2008 and expands their strategy portfolio.

The RTS game "Fate of Hellas" combines economic development with tactical real time battles, all fully shown in 3D. In two campaigns with seven missions, each the player is able to take over control of the legendary people of Macedonia.

You will fight alongside Alexander The Great and bring peace to the city states of ancient Greece. Put together an army and fight with your soldiers for wealth and peace, becoming more successful than Alexander The Great has ever been. But beware: It will not be just your enemies that will envy you!

Features:

• Thrilling realtime battles in ancient Greece - "Fate of Hellas" is an RTS game, which takes the player to ancient Greece: 2500 Years ago, before the rise of Rome, fierce battles between the Greeks and their enemies took place.
• Build formations with your troops - 3 different formations for strategic fights!
• Equip your troops with weapons from your defeated enemies - Pick up the weapons left behind by your enemies after you have killed them in combat
• Besiege the citys of historic Greece! - The more cities you conquer, the greater your power on the battlefield
• More than 60 different characters! - Different fighters, buildings, vehicles and many more

Fate of Hellas will be available in March 2008.

Ancient Wars: Sparta filled with beautifully detailed images

I see that "Ancient Wars: Sparta" has been released and is presently being offered on GoGamer during one of their 48-hour specials for only $27.90. I checked the game review on Gamespot and noticed it received a "fair" rating from the pros but a "good" rating from the regular gamers posting reviews. I browsed through the 111 screen shots and loved the detail of the imagery, particularly the sea battle scenes so I decided it was worth the $27.90 just for the pleasure of looking at the scenery alone! If the game itself is interesting, and it sounds like it would be from the overall description of the game play including the ability to individually select weapons for your troops, that will be icing on the cake.

I am also interested in the possibility of creating online history vignettes using text from original sources accompanied by images like those in this game. It would be even better if I could capture short action clips to use in the presentation.

Playlogic releases Ancient Wars: Sparta Demo

I see that Playlogic International based in the Netherlands has released an online demo of their title "Ancient Wars: Sparta" that is due to be released this month:

"Sparta is based on the history of the ancient ages and their main nations. Spartans, Persians and Egyptians are fighting for influence around Little Asia, Europe and North Africa. Historical correct timeline is 500-450 BC and the action takes place with different campaigns for all three races. Sparta represents 3D strategy in real time with the new developed “Ancient Wars Engine” (AWE), where the player will have to use each nation’s powers to be superior over other competitors and build up a driving and ruling faction.

The main emphasis is on large-scaled battles and complex tactical manoeuvres. Additional to this, a new method of army equipment is represented. Warriors can be equipped with weapons and shields, can be put on horses or on chariots and be given special abilities. The player can collect abandoned weapons after battles or import powerful weapons from other cultures to build more powerful and different special units. Additionally the forces of nature are very important, because fire, find etc. will affect the whole environment. Cities can be upgraded (e.g. turned to fortresses), workers gather resources to ensure the economic part. Sparta offers every aspect RTS gamers like."

Features

• Haunting storyline based on proven history 500-450 BC
• Play three different tribes to conquer the known ancient world with 27 missions to play through
• Huge choice of weapons, kit and armory
• Usage of a self developed physics engine in RTS game play
• Unique weapon equipping & trading system
• Specific flora and fauna for different climate zones
• Heroes with different role system effects
• More than 15 different buildings for each tribe
• Beautifully detailed full 3D environments
• Breathtaking visuals with lovely details on every unit
• Experienced team supported by the German “The Settlers” veteran Torsten Hess

"300" places graphic splendor over inspiring story

I dutifully took the afternoon off and took my husband and another couple of friends to see the highly anticipated film "300". I had read an article by the producers of the film in which they stated their movie is more about the legend and not the actual event so I wasn't expecting much in the way of historical accuracy.

I might be getting older, but as I am not dead yet, I have to admit to enjoying the Spartan "eye candy". However, I would have preferred a more realistic depiction of the Persians. Everytime I saw Xerxes I would think of the villains of Stargate and of course, like many people, I thought Ephialtes was a thinly disguised Gollam character. I saw no reason to portray the Ephors as leprous trolls either. The men in the audience could have still enjoyed the writhing prophetess (I actually found that scene at least somewhat artistic) without deforming the Spartan elders.

I think overall, though, the film suffered from a lack of exploration of human emotions. We weren't provided with enough interpersonal relationships in the film to develop much empathy for any of the characters. I think this is a major oversight in a film whose purpose was to inspire and sadly, a common flaw in many of the films Hollywood now produces.

Of course it is accompanied by the release of a Playstation Portable game based on the film where players are invited to "Decapitate, dismember, and disembowel your enemies in bloodthirsty sword-and-spear combat."