Real Time Strategy games, for me, come in three flavors. I think of them as great, average, or what were they thinking? I have played some great RTS games in my time, and a few that I considered average or mediocre … then we have those occasional ones that can raise an eyebrow. Nemesis is one of the games in this category. In some respects the game has a novel approach but, taken as a whole, I have to question some parts of the game.
Nemesis of the Roman Empire is the sequel to Celtic Kings: Rage of War. During this period the Romans fought, and finally prevailed over Carthage in the Punic Wars. Challenges from the Iberians and Gauls tested the strength of the Romans as well, though Carthage would be the only strong challenger to the Roman Empire. Because Carthage controlled the sea lanes, they would always be a thorn in the side of Rome. Rome's eventual conquest of Carthage gave them control of the sea lanes from the Italian coastal areas, south to the African shores.
Installation is a snap once you download the game, but keep in mind the download time for dial-ups. Since the game is nearly 500mgs in size, you may want to purchase the CD version instead. Once the install was done, I began with the tutorial portion to get the basic instructions on movement, combat, supply and construction. The tutorial is pretty basic and the steps are simple, but because of that, you may be tempted to bypass this portion. I encourage you to do the tutorial, as the combat portion is not the same as other RTS games.
Building construction is also slightly different from other RTS games. When the scenario begins, you will find that all basic buildings have been assigned. This gives you an opportunity to build up an army to defend your stronghold without having to spend precious gold on constructing needed buildings. After you've had a few turns under your belt, then go ahead and concentrate on upgrading your weapons and armor, and enhancing your buildings.
Depending on your interest, there are some scenarios of famous battles that require completion of objectives. Or you can create random games with small to large maps, and switch on or off different bonuses for easy to hard game play. You can also multi-play with up to eight friends. Personally, I don't play over the internet with RTS games unless they are managed by respected companies.
What do I think of this game? It plays like RTS light is what I think. One of the most intriguing parts of capturing enemy communities is having your forces stand next to them and watch as they wave their weapons about. This is supposed to encourage the town to surrender peacefully and come over to your control. Actually, what it reminds me of is a childhood game called Red Rover. I won't go into detail about it, but if you're curious then send me an email.
It really looks strange to see your troops waving in unison, though I don't think enemy troops in real life would wave weapons around, unless it was to hack off body parts. Next on the list is how supply is treated. There is no supply line, yet you need to feed your troops, otherwise they starve to death. That means standing near a controlled town or fort which contains sufficient supplies, or routing pack mules to the area in question. By the way, the only resources in the game are food and gold, which are produced by the peasants. Gold is used to upgrade or purchase troops.
The game A.I. is pretty good, if you are playing single player. I've been in situations where the computer has come out victorious even against my force that outnumbered it. If it is in a losing situation, then the survivors will retreat toward one of the towns in hopes of counter attacking in more favorable conditions. This is where you need to keep an eye on your army, as they will give chase and you don't want them to get wiped out.
You can call in 50% of your town's population and turn them into militia. After that, training will improve their performance. There is more, but I'll leave some surprises for the interested few. When it comes to the graphics and audio I would give a bit of praise. They are both strong, yet you have the ability to tweak the settings to your preference. One thing that I thought was annoying is the playing field, since it defaults to 1024 x 768 video display, which is still too big. Because of this you're unable to see the entire village … heck, you're unable to see most of the surrounding area as well. This had me toggling back and forth between the game and mini map, so I could keep track of where my troops are located. One last thing that I was very annoyed with was the inability of enhancing any of the secondary towns. This means that you have to generate all your troops from the stronghold, then send them to garrison the controlled areas.
In summary, I would point out that if you like less managing of resources, easy town upgrades and non-complex combat tactics, then this will fill the bill quite nicely. Graphics and audio content are on par and won't disappoint you. If you prefer more then what this game offers, then look to other great RTS games instead.
Father of two, now grown children.What are my kind of games? Strategy, RTS, RPG, Fantasy, Science Fiction, and online games such as Dark Age of Camelot and Asheron's Call. Of my dislikes I would say puzzle games such as Myth, FPS type games such as Doom. Also simulation type games, and games that are just plain bad.
My knowledge of the industry mostly evolves around beta testing games, such as Earth & Beyond from EA, Saga of Ryzom, and companies like MSN and Acolade. Self taught web design is another interest I have. Family life is entertaining at times. It also can get weird as well, after you have been married 31 years.
