Expeditions: Rome – Spotlight
Take them with you as you carve out your own place in history. Expeditions: Rome hands you the gladius and the scutum and sends you out on your own campaign to build your magnificent empire in any way you see fit. I had a great time with the previous two Expeditions games. THQ Nordic and Logic Artists’ attention to the historical cultures they represented in those games moved and impressed me greatly. As soon as I learned there would be a third entry, and that it would focus on the Roman Empire, I was overjoyed. And when it came to expeditions, the Romans didn’t mince words.
You take on the role of a young Legatus who finds himself in this position after fleeing the assassin who killed his father. You’ve got nothing to go on but the fact that his assassin was a political adversary to guide you now. What better way to track down the culprit than to rise through the ranks of the Roman legion?
Expeditions: Rome does an excellent job telling its storey. In some instances, I felt like I was in a Shakespearean play. Every decision you make will have an impact on your fellow soldiers in one way or another. You’ll form close bonds with your fellow soldiers, but you’ll also sever those bonds as well. As I progressed, I was enthralled to watch all of this unfold.
the real meat and potatoes of Expeditions: Rome are its three primary game mechanics. Expeditions: Rome functions as a real-time strategy game (RTS) when you’re away from your settlements. Protect the settlements that you’ve established while deploying your legion to various parts of the areas you’ve conquered in order to gather various resources. Any of your outposts will be attacked at some point, and if you don’t have troops stationed there to defend it, the outpost will fall to the enemy. Fortunately, you’ll get a heads-up on when and where your enemy is going to strike next, so you can plan ahead to ensure that you have a legion ready to go when the time comes.
Shortly after that, there are fireworks. Expeditions: Rome becomes a battle simulator when you either attack your enemy’s settlement or they attack one of your own. This was a fun simulation even though I’m not a big fan of them. Your legion will be led into battle by one of your subordinates who has been designated as a centurion. Choosing between them is critical because each one comes with its own set of advantages and disadvantages. In order to begin the battle, you must first decide on one of three stratagems (which you can craft at your camp). Overhead, you see a simple map depicting the different types of legionnaires in both legions, with simple icons to represent the various classes. The icons are constantly moving back and forth in response to the conflict. There are four stages to a battle, and each stage has its own set of stratagems that you can employ. Your legion will be led by one of the options you select. Text boxes and icons appear throughout the battle to inform you of what’s going on and how each legion is faring. These battles were engrossing despite their rudimentary presentation. I never expected to be so enthralled by the death dance of simple icons on my monitor. Depending on which legion emerges victorious, you will be able to return to the world map with your party and resume exploring and completing your missions.
This brings us to the third and final part of Expeditions, which is the city of Rome. It’s a turn-based combat system when you enter a mission objective on the world map, or run into an encounter that requires you to. A combat perspective similar to that of the Divinity: Original Sin games and the Wasteland series is used. It’s possible for each character to move a certain number of spaces and perform a limited number of actions. This means that each character has a unique set of abilities and actions based on the type of weapon he or she uses. For example, a torch you can light and throw into an oil container, or different levels to climb to gain height advantages are common in interactive environments.
When I first looked at what was going on in Expeditions: Rome, I thought the combination of these three major gameplay mechanics was a bit much. After a while, the pace slows down enough to allow you to confidently take the reins. A nagging problem with this game was the view during turn-based battles. It’s possible to set the camera to a specific distance by using the zoom feature, but that’s not how it works. When applied to maps with multiple latitudes, this is a nauseating, headache-inducing traumatization. Normally, this would not be a problem. While this was only one of a few flaws, it was a significant one when coupled with the inability to zoom out far enough to see the entire map.
During Expeditions: Rome, you’ll travel back in time to the Roman Empire’s greatest conquests. You’ll visit North Africa, Greece, and Gaul on your journey. The route’s scenery isn’t spectacular, but it’s done admirably considering the limitations of the project. As the orchestral music played, it helped to set the tone for the entire setting.
In terms of turn-based role-playing games, Expeditions: Rome has the potential to be one of the most enjoyable in a long time. Aside from historical accuracy, the setting was beautiful. When you’re in a world full of overblown sci-fi or mature fantasy dramas, this storey was a refreshing change of pace. Incredibly well-done gameplay and mechanics Logic Artists’ ability to combine and balance these three genres is nothing short of magnificent. This game is a must-have for any fan of the turn-based strategy genre who can get past the shoddy camera work.
