The TBS that prepared the entrance of the glorious Caesar!
I don't know how much this game would have been remembered were it not for its successor, Caesar, the strategy game that inspired city building games with a strong economical background. But, nevertheless, I guess Annals of Rome is worth an objective look on its own terms, so let's see what it had in store: First of all, the gameplay roundup: Annals of Rome plays as a classic oldschool wargame. You can see a map of an entire continent and you will be tasked with the defense, invasion or other war related options, all while working your strategy to extend your empire. The game is only interested in the historical realities of the era in terms of your unit types and technology, but soon enough the game will depart from the historical realities. But that doesn't matter, because the game, for a very old one, still manages to hook you, inspire of its harsh, coarse 8bit graphics, and the very simplified war mechanics. Yap, this is not a subtle wargaming machine, nope, if that is what you want, few games of the era can substitute Romance of the Three Kingdoms but Annals of Rome holds its ground, in its own way. So, is this game similar to Caesar in any way? Well, not as much as you'd think, though a few ideas (the economic portions more than anything) will survive though, thankfully in a totally reworked shape. So, I'd say, give this a go for its historical value, but for keeps it might not be the most user friendly or interesting.
