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An RTS game with style is still an RTS game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 50 / 52
Date: April 11, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Praetorians is a real-time strategy game in which you command companies of troops (Romans, Gauls, Egyptians) rather than individual units and it concentrates on battle with almost no resource gathering (you must "recruit" troops from captured villages.)

There's plenty of cool stuff like legionaries that can form the Roman shield wall ("testudo"), birds that fly out of forests alerting you of approaching enemy troops, ambushes in grasslands, desert battlefields, elevation effects, 3D graphics (with a limited camera angle though), scouts with hawk/wolf spotters, catapults, ballista, axe-throwing Gaul infantry, Nubian archers, Balearic slingers, camel archers,etc.

However, as much as I'm enjoying both the campaign and skirmish mode, I have to point out this is not a wargame. There is little time (in the skirmish mode particularly) for thoughtful maneuvering: you must attack at once! It's fun, but I never feel as though I was really a general or consul or whatever the term is. It's still RTS and if you're enjoying watching your archers shoot down a Gaul warrior company from the safety of a hill, you're probably wasting valuable clicking time.

This is not Medieval: Total War in which you can maneuver companies like a general. It's a bit closer in spirit to Empire Earth or Age of Empires in combat terms - only here you fight with companies rather than mobs of men.

I'm really enjoying it for lighthearted quick gameplay, but I wish it were a little less frantic, a little less like Age of Empires and a little more like Medieval: Total War.

The skirmish mode is fun (unfortunately we get only about 20 different maps), multiplayer could be cool (haven't got my friend to buy it yet), and the campaign is decent (only played 5 missions so far). The AI appears to be strong and doesn't seem to cheat by unfairly building faster or by being able to see all your troop locations. It may appear that way but I've saved the games and watched the replays and it just seems to play better (than me anyway). It organized its units better, captured more villages, recruited more troops, scouted intensively (and didn't notice when I captured a village unless its scouts saw me - it's troops marched past out of sight).

(I think it's a bit harsh of one reviewer to say this game is only for kids or newcomers to RTS games. If you realize that Praetorians is not trying to be a realistic wargame but rather a light-hearted RTS then you're more likely to enjoy the game on its terms.)

Pray to Reruns

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 31 / 40
Date: March 28, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Once again I have been duped into buying a game based upon the advice of so-called consumer reviews only to discover that the game fails to live up to the hyperbole. Lets be brutally honest, Praetorians is a game which is marketed to appeal to the Medieval Total war fans but delivers a product more akin to Age of Empires. If you are about seven years old and/or have a basically juvenile sense of wonder then surely this game was tailor made for you. With the exception of the even more awful Platoon PC game this has to rate as my biggest gaming disappointment to date. The pundits for this mediocre yawner glory over the fact that the game has no resource management thus freeing you up to do lots of scrapping. This is basically true but on the down side the maps are so badly designed that manouvering units in anything other than a gaggle is practically impossible. Units will often blunder into one another and become entangled, this is not conducive to a happy gaming experience and the battle has not even been joined yet. But this is pretty much the essence of the game. It (bottlenecked maps)force you into waging war between individual units rather than the grand battles of the ancient kingdoms which were set piece affairs on open ground. Units are created in villages/towns which sounds fine but once again we are dealing with an abstract depiction - a few huts and structures surrounded by a simplified pallisade and peopled by a few sprites which bustle about to simulate an occupation of sorts. Oh did I mention that this village/town is just slightly larger than a unit of infantry? Must have slipped every reviewer's mind I guess.Even creating units is a puzzlement. Just create a barracks and then instruct your leaders to train this or that and voila there they are-a couple of minutes later. Although some units require that your leader sacrifice honour points to create-Oh did I forget to mention that, must have slipped my mind....Honour is won in the slaying of enemies. In short there is an artificiality pervading the game which rather than enhancing gameplay reduces it to a farce. The Ai prefers to operate with a mob mentality - so much easier than trying to reproduce the model of efficiency and co-ordination which was the Roman Legionary system. Unlike the Total War series which relies upon maps with realistic terrain, Praetorians has opted for an even more simplified version of Age of Empires (the original one at that). Even the camera view is severely limiting because you can only see in line of sight which is not very far in this abstract representation of the real world. The map is revealed - not blacked out- thank heaven for small mercies. Pulling the camera back to take in anything more than a top down view of a small area is impossible-pretty much like playing the game. This even extends to the lack of ability to angle the camera - something I haven't seen in a game like this since I don't know when. PC gamers deserve so much more than a retro update on a much worn out formula given the relative expense of a new purchase - $40 or more for most, including this one. In mere value for the dollar I would be hard pressed to say that at half the price I paid for it ($20) that it is a worthwhile purchase. I could go on but just move along folks - nothing to see here....

The best tactical game of all times!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 14
Date: March 17, 2003
Author: Amazon User

Guys, I have to admit - I'm not a big time tactical strategy fan, but this game totally got me on the hook. I like Starcraft, Warcraft III and Age of Empires, but couldn't imagine that a game like Praetorians can grab me and never let me go.
I've been playing the multiplayer skirmish demo since it came out - I've never played a demo version of the game for more than an hour!!! It's AMAZING. Plain amazing. The strategy is beautiful, all the terrain tricks, everything you could expect from a real battle. ... - the troop building model there is so beautiful that I can hardly type these words now, I want to get back to the game. I love it!!! If you love any kind of RTS games, this is a MUST in your collection!

Like Caesar 1,2 &3 series but definitely not Rome:Total War

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 18 / 23
Date: April 16, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I have played many strategy games: Red Alert, Starcraft,
Star Wars, Caesar 3 to name a few.
I have even tried this game on the demo level, while
playing another game called Medieval: Total War. However,
that was before I knew another game coming out in November, Rome:Total War. To be honest with you all, I am more of a
'deep-thinking;micro-managing' type of player. I still
recommend Praetorians, since it is quite similar (not the
same) to the Caesar series. The gameplay is still good, and
the time line is also similar to Rome:Total War. But, after
Shogun and Medieval, I am currently hooked to 3D battles
and deep micro-management. So therefore, if you:
1) like Romans but prefer less management and straightforward
stuff, Praetorian is for you.

2) like Romans but would want to experience the
'Gladiator' Roman general Maximus style of crushing
barbarians in 3D battles, then go for it.

I miss playing Caesar 3, but Praetorian is the next phase
and so is Rome:Total War. Choose according to your taste,
or choose both if you want. I am on a tight budget ;)

PAX ROMANA

Great strategy game!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 14 / 16
Date: May 23, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I had experience of RTS games (Total Annihilation, Age of Empires and Empire Earth) and after I bought Praetorians and played the first time, I found it very very interesting.
It's not the typical RTS game where you have to produce a lot of units and simply attack the enemy (like for example TA kingdoms or others) but you have to think in a strategic way before moving and attacking the enemy. In this game, mission by mission, you learn how to balance your troops and how to move in the territory. It's important the fact that troops can interact with territory (hills, woods). You can hide your troops, you can stay higher than the enemy and then attack you enemy suddenly (for example,if your bowmen are in a higher position they will hurt more seriously the enemy). In some missions you have to lay siege to a fortess with war machines.
To sum up, I think it's a good game, if you want to enjoy yourself and live the experience of "De Bello Gallico"!

Well done and entertaining

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 10 / 11
Date: September 29, 2003
Author: Amazon User

This game is better than most game magazines make it out to be. It is a very accessible strategy game. Battles are relatively involved, although one could argue that strategic depth is not really this game's strength. But that is probably what makes this game so entertaining and accessible for people who normally do not like stragety games.

I like the game's graphics. Not the greatest I've ever seen, but once again, they make the game very accessible. All the different types of troops are relatively easy to spot and tell appart. When some of the troops build things, such as bridges or towers, one can watch them do their work. Not truely great and innovative, but it certainly gets the job done.

So I have to say that I have been (and still am) very entertained by this game. At the same time, it isn't the best game ever made. Some of the controls are a bit weird, and sometimes, your troops will run into battle before you'd want them to.

Overall, a very good game. Well done, Pyro!

The Best PC Game out there

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 13
Date: December 22, 2003
Author: Amazon User

I definately recommend this game, which can be played on three different levels. It's an exciting game which not only has 24 chapters at 3 levels, but also a dozen skirmish games to pit your skill against the CPU. If you are serious about realism and into ancient warfare, then Praetorians is the game for you. One other great thing about this game. You can rebuild destroyed units and with that add different fighting units once a certain plateau of wins is acquired. It will keep you glued to your seat as well as keep your attention on the screen.

Many sleepless nights later...

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: August 21, 2004
Author: Amazon User

This is an amazing game. The detail is super and the gameplay is straight forward and engaging. The level of control is not in the same level as Age of Empires or Warcraft - but if you're playing these kinds of games you really need not be concerned with farms and food and all that other Simcity kind of stuff. This game will give you what you're looking for - plenty of war, plenty of units and the quickest time into battle. If you've been around at the time of Broderbund's Ancient Art of War (1987-88) - you'll definitely like this game because it has many elements of that original game and amzing graphics to boot.

Superbly immense

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: February 04, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Some have speculated about whether this game was of brilliant quality. Well, they were dead right. The graphics and gameplay of Praetorians are absolutely Phenomenal. If you are a fan of any sort of war game at all, then you will love this to bits. It has panache about that is like no other game I have ever played. Absolutely superb!

Better then you'd think

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 8
Date: August 24, 2003
Author: Amazon User

With a lot of games in competition on the shelf, this game should stand out as one of the best. Hardly trying to conquer every genre along the way, it instead concentrates on the period when wars were fought with arrows and swords. This game can also be used as a teaching tool on how warfare was in the past, as well as how to plan battles based on superior numbers and superior strategy. If you like the whole concept of conquering towns, and recruiting soliders from that town to attack the next town, and need a slight break every once in awhile from resource management, this is the game for you.

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