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| Customise your men | Mere peasants face a Roman legion |
Graphics while not a war crime, are not that mind blowing either. So take note this isn’t a beauty, trying to seduce you with precious and lush eye candy. If you’ve ever played Rome: Total War though you’ll know however that looks aren’t everything that can make a game so addictive.
So exactly what gives this a twist? Well after each battle your troops gain experience, which isn’t that different than many other titles by now except that you choose the units specific upgrade. Like many RPG games that offer feats for your character, a similar way is presented here. So a group of militia could gain 'Block', an ability that adds a bonus +3 to defence for instance, or 'Anti-Infantry Specialist' which gives juicy attack bonuses when they face infantry.
This mechanic gives a great way to create really specialised units for specific battles, so if you face a cavalry heavy foe then break out the anti-cavalry hordes you’ve nurtured. To help even more you can customise units to easily let you identify what they are, so associating colours with abilities can be a big help.
Before each skirmish you’re presented with the battle field and the enemies’ position, here you select the units you wish to deploy, where and how to behave. You could let them hold and wait for the enemy to approach you or maybe a charge would devastate them best? Stances also tweak vital stats of a unit such as their offensive and defensive capabilities.
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| Ready for the kick-off | Unleash your tactics genius |
Once the battle is in motion you can still give commands to your troops, but this comes with a cost to your leader. While he can bark orders, he can only bark so many before 'recharging' so planning carefully can help avoid a dire situation. Though like the other units in Legion Arena, your General can also be upgraded with various new abilities such as quicker recharge rates, larger pool of command or an increase to his bonus radius.
The tutorial has you complete a very short Latin campaign which is designed to ease you into the saddle. It does very well and gives you the basics on who to charge and with what but as time goes on you’ll need to figure the rest out yourself. Once that’s out of the way, you can don your centurions’ helmet and charge in the name of Rome. While there’s no Empire to manage you are treated with a small video between most campaign battles, evolving your story and legacy as you go along.
Of course there are those who just want to test their mettle against other players and Legion Arena doesn’t disappoint. You can face down other Generals online and their customised hordes, making battles all the more challenging and diverse.
Sound is okay, it feels Roman-like which is what matters and you’ll hear plenty of clanking and hooves stomping. As there is hardly an opportunity to spread the audio experience about, there’s little I can comment on. Battles can be short so sound won’t be a primary concern.
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| Equip your men better |
Choose their improvements wisely |
Overall I found Legion Arena to be unique enough to garner interest. While it’s no mega contender, it does have its charm and could easily be one of those games you find yourself visiting time and time again. It has a strange little addiction to it, perhaps that’s just the RPG element beckoning you to create the ultimate legion.
Top Game Moment:
TOP GAME MOMENT
There wasn’t really a moment that stood head and shoulders above the rest, but I can say I got quite the satisfaction in running down some peasant farmers with my scout cavalry.
