Timeline: Ancients. Theatre: Africa. Difficulty: Basic. Players: AI: Present. Multiplayer: None. Game Editor: No. Unit Scale: Regiment. Info Features Requirements. Store Info. Our Digital Download service sends you a download link to the master game file once your order is complete. You can use this link to download the game directly to your computer over the internet and start playing right away. The download is available to you for thirty days after your order.
No shipping is involved and the game is immediately available for you once the order is complete. When you select this option you can use our digital download option to get the game right away and start playing. Then have a boxed copy of the game shipped to you as a backup for permanent storage. With a backup, you'll be prepared for whatever comes your way-whether it's a system crash, a computer virus damaging your files or the software simply no longer functioning as it should.
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Standard Edition: This edition comes with a full color printed box, full color printed DVD with your order number and serial number printed on it , a Printed grayscale manual and a PDF E-Book indexed manual.
The armies met on the plains of Gaugemela near the river Tigris. Hydaspes River B. The elephants of King Porus decisively blocked passage. Incredibly, Alexander was able to cross upstream under the nose on Porus' brother Spitaces who was assigned to mirror Alexander's movements.
Porus was forced to abandon his original position and turn to meet Alexander's force. Design The look Alexander at Thebes. Tabletop miniatures was the inspiration for the graphical style of the game. Each unit looks hand painted an comes mounted on a stand. There is even a disembodied hand that reaches down from the top of the screen to remove killed units to enforce that miniatures feeling. Turns The game is played using simultaneous turns. A player does not take turns with his opponents, instead each opponent plans out their strategy and issues orders to their units simultaneously, then presses a play button and the battle rages as all the units execute their orders for that turn in unison.
In addition, there is a reaction system that enables mid-turn adjustments to battle strategy. The Battles Each of the six previously mention single-player battles have to be unlocked, in successive order, during the campaign game. As each battle is unlocked, it becomes available in single-player skirmish mode. Also, two special multi-player battles, Bactria and Elysium, are included.
O bjectives Each battle has a set of objectives. Some objectives are dependent on prior objectives and will not be revealed Only a minor victory at Gaza. Objectives are denoted on the map by a flag. Once a battle ends, the player sees a summary of the battle including awards and medals given to especially heroic commanders. With a victory, the player continues to the next battle; with defeat, the current battle must be replayed.
Winning Each battle lasts either a set amount of turns, until the player has met a all objectives or one of the armies' will to fight is broken. After the scenario ends, a degree of victory or loss is determined based upon the relative amount of combat damage the player inflicted, meeting objectives and for each turn prior to the turn the game ends because of the player meeting all objectives or breaking the enemy will to fight.
Campaign Do you replace your losses and what strategy cards do you buy? Before each battle, there are cut scenes to explain the history leading up to it. Then, the player has to deploy his army in troop placement zones. After the battle is won, gold is added to the treasury which is earned through plunder, taxes and salvage.
That gold is spent in between battles on reinforcing units, recruiting new units, training and what strategy cards to buy. Playing the Game Command Phase Both opponents simultaneously issue orders to all their units during this phase.
The orde given during this phase represents what the player whats the unit to perform for all three phases. Once the Play button is pressed, the sequence of execution is based on unit's initiatives, sorted from highest to lowest.
Reaction Phase In certain situations, a unit may be allowed to react to events that occurred during the Command Phase execution of orders. New orders could be issued to units based on the skill of the unit's commander and training. Reserve Phase During the Command or Reserve Phases, a unit may be given a reserve order which holds that unit in place until this phase.
New orders can be issued to these units. Orders Melee Attack: The unit moves adjacent to the targeted location and attacks any enemy unit that it at that destination.
Missile Attack: The unit remains in place and attacks any target that is occupying the targeted location. Charge: A special form of a melee attack where the attacking unit receives charge bonus or penalties when performing its first attack round. A unit can only charge directly forward. It's too bad the cutscenes that set the stage before each battle are of such low quality, and it would be great if the unit graphics had higher resolution, but overall the game is a joy both to look at and to play.
Only eight battles are included with the game, but some are very large. Two special multiplayer-only scenarios are included, covering the battle in Bactria and a final, obviously hypothetical fight that takes place in Alexander's afterlife on the Fields of Elysium.
In the single-player game these battles must be fought in order during the campaign game, but two players are free to try any of them right off the bat in multiplayer mode. Arguments can be made that many of the battles modeled in the game are not accurate re-creations of the historical realities, but that problem is inherent to any miniatures system.
Designers must decide where to draw the line between abstraction and simulation, and in this case it's just about perfect for the subject matter.
Even when the particulars of a battle aren't modeled well, the key elements that defined it remain intact, which makes for a much more compelling and balanced game than a strict simulation would be. Proper card play can swing the battle in your favor at a crucial moment. The bulk of the fighting in each battle is done by light, medium, and heavy cavalry and infantry.
Archers and slingers are also incorporated, but they weren't used in significant numbers in most of the battles fought during this period. All combat is subject to a long list of modifiers, including the type of armor the unit wears, the unit's morale status, the skills its leader has, the weapon it uses, the type of attack or defense it is ordered to carry out, and so on.
When plotting potential moves, all of the modifiers involved are computed, and the final tally is displayed on the screen, giving an instantaneous calculation of the odds for every attack. This makes it easy to learn the game while playing it, although some understanding of the roles the different units play helps immensely when setting up for attacks or figuring out what defensive stance to take.
Unit experience is handled well and is extremely important. We learned this the hard way after purchasing some archer and slinger units with minimal training before one battle and then watching in horror as they ended up doing more damage to their own allies than they did to the enemy.
Putting them a safe distance from our infantry and cavalry units was risky, because it left the ranged units exposed, but they were such lousy shots that we were left with no other options. On the other hand, one or two strategically positioned elite units--ranged or otherwise--can completely turn the tide of battle in your favor.
Purchasing units and cards between battles adds some important choices. This seemingly simple system does a terrific job of modeling the fact that Alexander relied more on quality than quantity to achieve victory.
Elite troops with a heroic leader can cut through vast numbers of untrained troops like a buzz saw, and it's amazing to see huge armies crumple in the face of coordinated attacks by crack troops.
Battles become much tougher as the campaign progresses, but as long as you concentrate on achieving and maintaining veteran or elite status with as many units as possible, there's always a way to win.
At the beginning of each battle the first players are tasked with purchasing new units, reinforcing existing units, replacing incompetent commanders, and purchasing vital strategy cards.
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