''Legions of Death'' is a one or two-player

strategy video game Strategy is a major video game genre that emphasizes thinking and planning over direct instant action in order to achieve victory. Although many types of video games can contain strategic elements, as a genre, strategy games are most commonly defi ...

published for the

Commodore 64 The Commodore 64, also known as the C64, is an 8-bit home computer introduced in January 1982 by Commodore International (first shown at the Consumer Electronics Show, January 7–10, 1982, in Las Vegas). It has been listed in the Guinness ...

Amstrad CPC The Amstrad CPC (short for ''Colour Personal Computer'') is a series of 8-bit home computers produced by Amstrad between 1984 and 1990. It was designed to compete in the mid-1980s home computer market dominated by the Commodore 64 and the Sin ...

and

ZX Spectrum The ZX Spectrum () is an 8-bit computing, 8-bit home computer that was developed by Sinclair Research. It was released in the United Kingdom on 23 April 1982, and became Britain's best-selling microcomputer. Referred to during development as t ...

personal computers. It requires players to control the navies of

ancient Rome In modern historiography, ancient Rome refers to Roman civilisation from the founding of the city of Rome in the 8th century BC to the collapse of the Western Roman Empire in the 5th century AD. It encompasses the Roman Kingdom (753–509 B ...

and

Carthage Carthage was the capital city of Ancient Carthage, on the eastern side of the Lake of Tunis in what is now Tunisia. Carthage was one of the most important trading hubs of the Ancient Mediterranean and one of the most affluent cities of the classi ...

during the

Punic Wars The Punic Wars were a series of wars between 264 and 146BC fought between Roman Republic, Rome and Ancient Carthage, Carthage. Three conflicts between these states took place on both land and sea across the western Mediterranean region and i ...

, in order to conquer the

Mediterranean Sea The Mediterranean Sea is a sea connected to the Atlantic Ocean, surrounded by the Mediterranean Basin and almost completely enclosed by land: on the north by Western and Southern Europe and Anatolia, on the south by North Africa, and on the ea ...

Gameplay

''Legions of Death'' is a one or two-player strategy game set during the Punic Wars between ancient Rome and Carthage. In single-player mode the player controls the fleet of Carthage, in two-player mode one player controls the Roman navy while the other controls the Carthaginian fleet. Each player must try to destroy their opponent's fleet and gain control of the Mediterranean. At the start of play each player receives a number of points to construct their navy using a combination of faster

bireme A bireme (, ) is an ancient oared warship (galley) with two superimposed rows of oars on each side. Biremes were long vessels built for military purposes and could achieve relatively high speed. They were invented well before the 6th century BC an ...

s and

trireme A trireme( ; derived from Latin: ''trirēmis'' "with three banks of oars"; cf. Greek ''triērēs'', literally "three-rower") was an ancient vessel and a type of galley that was used by the ancient maritime civilizations of the Mediterranean S ...

s, along with various heavier combat ships, up to Heptares class. Additional points may be spent to upgrade individual ships, such as adding marine detachments, archer platforms, and boarding hooks. Lighter ships can be used to collect funds from outlying ports and transport it back to the player's home port, while heavier ships are needed to counter the other player's attacking fleet, as they can more effectively ram and sink enemy vessels. Gameplay is turn-based, with movement resolved simultaneously, and plays out on a square grid. Ships may accelerate or decelerate each turn by one speed point, up to a speed limit which depends on the class of ship. Ships may turn up to 45 degrees maximum per unit of movement (so no right-angle turns). This movement system adds a unique tactical element in which the player must carefully plan out routes and speeds several turns ahead in order to intercept enemy ships, and bring ships into harbours without crashing.

Development

Reception

''Legions of Death'' received generally positive reviews.

References

External links

* * * 1987 video games Amstrad CPC games Commodore 64 games Video games set in ancient Rome Turn-based strategy video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games with historical settings Video games set in the Roman Empire ZX Spectrum games {{strategy-videogame-stub