It was usually very easy to follow troops although the inability to remove trees to view the units beneath their canopy was an annoyance. The ability to zoom from a bird’s eye view of the whole battlefield down to one group of men was nice, although as the commander there is really little practical value in zooming in so far. In short, the graphics are more akin to a comfortable luxury sedan than a high performance sports car. The upside is that it should look great on a very wide variety of video cards out there…
Sound (5/10):
The sounds of the game are fairly rudimentary. The typical clanks and shouts you’d expect during battle are there – but the music is the same for each and every battle. On the one hand I didn’t pay too much attention to the music (perhaps I became immune to it after 100+ battles!) but it would have been nice to hear just a bit more diversity here. This is probably the biggest chink in this game’s armor.
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| Battles can grow quite large at times, but never beyond manageability. |
Army camp. Pick up men, arm them, and then send them out to kill or be killed. The gameplay is brutally simple. |
Documentation and Technical (9/10):
Legion Arena actually comes with a fairly comprehensive manual in the box. Since the game is pretty simple in its layout and play, it is nice to see the bulk of the rules and information were stuffed into the printed manual. It is well organized and a quick read-through is worth the effort to maximize gameplay.
I had no technical issues during install or patching the game up to the latest point release.
Final Thoughts:
In most respects, this game was really an enjoyable experience. The role-playing aspect of managing troops over a long campaign can be quite rewarding. The simplicity of the game also allows you to sit down and get deep into it the action the very first time you play. The fact there is a lot of interesting history to learn during the campaign cut-scenes and battle descriptions gives this game more depth than I had expected.
That being said, it does have a few potentially major problems which are hinged on what you expect to get out of this title. If the history element is your sole attraction, you may want to get a good book on Rome instead since it will take a long time and effort to make it through the campaigns. If your bag is empire-building and politics, you’ll need to look to other games covering this dimension of ancient history. However, if you crave down-and-dirty brawling in ancient battles with some history thrown in for background noise then saddle up and enter the melee – Legion Arena is your road to Empire!
Pros:
Easy learning curve
The feel of role-playing an army through the course of a campaign
Interesting historical element
Cons:
Repetitive gameplay will deter some
Somewhat simplistic battles / no fog-of-war / not enough unit types
Lack of ability to choose individual battles once completed or random battles against the AI
Celtic campaign was anti-climactic
Final Word: Provides an entertaining diversion when you just want to go out and lead troops in ancient battles. It delivers no more, no less.
UPDATE 04.27.2006 – Legion Arena can now be purchased using Slitherine’s digital download service which is a very efficient way to pick up any of their titles. In our test of the service the download was blazing fast and the install was very smooth. The game appears identical to the boxed version (which we also tested previously) although you can download a "lite" version of the game without the movies (saves about 320mb from the full 600mb version). For most readers, I suggest spending the extra time to get the movies — as they play an important role in understanding the historical component of the game.
If you are one of those who prefers to always have a box, this service probably won’t appeal to you. If you are one of the growing group of gamers who prefer the convenience of downloading full digital versions of the latest titles (and keeping your closet clear of boxes) this service is another fine addition to this evolving trend.
Armchair General Score: 75%
46/60 — Gameplay
15/20 — Graphics
05/10 — Sound
09/10 — Documentation and Technical
Grab the demo.
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About the Author:
Brian "Siberian H.E.A.T." King is the CO of Armchair General magazine’s website, armchairgeneral.com. When that doesn’t keep him busy enough, he can sometimes be convinced to sit down and write articles on military history and wargaming.
