Centurion: Defender of Rome

The Good
This is one of my favorite games of all time. While old and primitive by today's standards, Centurion was years ahead of its time and offers hours of fun gameplay.

The centerpiece of the game is real-time land battles. It may take a while to figure out the quirks and strategies of the units but it is well worth it. The game takes into account factors like unit moral, the direction units are facing (and being attacked by) and the general's abilities. These factors, along with army formations and tactics form an eligent and challenging experience which was unmached in gaming until the likes of "Shogun: Total War" came out almost 10 years later.

The empire level is fun as well. It's a turn based system where you can move your legions around, invade provinces, fight off invaders etc. Its deep enough to have stategic depth without being complicated or requiring micomanagement. There is only 2 resouces: money (talents) and manpower - both of which are usually in short supply. Eventually you earn enough promotions to command up to 14 legions and once you conquor the world you become Ceasar and win.

I also liked the fine tuned difficulty settings, where you could change how difficult each part of the game was, rather than the game as a whole. You could even change difficulty levels mid-game if things were too easy or too rough.

The Bad
But there are many flaws in the game. Graphics were clunky, even for 1991.

The costs of some things don't make any sense. An infantry legion (4200 foot soldiers) costs 20 talents, the same as a single galeon (which can carry only 200 soldiers) and the same as a heavy chariot for racing. This makes sea battes overly expensive and dangerous since you can lose your whole fleet if the battle goes badly. Its often easier to simply go around the whole mediteranian to conquer north africa than to build a fleet to cross it.

While land battles are excellent, chariot races and fleet battles are boring and poorly made. Thankfully we don't have to fight gladiator battles in the genisis version - which are even worse.

There are other minor detals which are irksom. Like not being able to combine armies or transfer troops, not being able to dismiss bad generals (being forced to suicide them in battle to be rid of them) and the really bad savegame password system.

The Bottom Line
A well designed empire building game with real-time land battles. A game ten years ahead of its time.

The Good
I loved the challenge of conquering the world. I loved trying to figure out the right combination of responses to negotiate treaties. And also racking up huge kill numbers was fun! The sea battles were great (modeled right after Pirates!), the chariot races were fun, but the best part had to be the responses of the enemy generals. Stuff like "Your tribe wear clothes not right" by Galba of Narbonensis and "I shall rip out your lying tongue, dog of Rome!" by Vercingetorix of Gaul just rule. :D

I really liked the music, but there were only like 2 in-game songs... I wish there had been more.

The Bad
Well, it didn't have a way of recording the "Record Achievements" at the end of the game. That would've been nice.

Also, I would have liked to see a greater diversity of units (Roman elephant units, archers, catapults, different types of cavalry, etc.), more flexibility of movement on the battlefields (you couldn't move units diagonally), more types of battlefields (trees, rivers, etc.), and stuff like that.

They really needed to cut down on the amount of gladiator fights! Practically every 3 years the citizens of Rome would "grow restless" and you'd have to hold a gladiator fight. That part was pretty pointless.

The Bottom Line
This is a really fun game. You should try to play it if you never have.

The Good
Centurion: Defender of Rome has a prestigious pedigree, being a close spiritual descendant of the classic Cinemaware titles of the late 1980s. In particular, it tries very hard to be a Roman Defender of the Crown. In some ways, it actually succeeds.

The game concept itself is awesome, as there is a wealth of both real and fictional (AKA “Hollywood”) Roman history for the designers to draw upon. Even if you don’t think you know anything about the Roman Empire, you probably do – even if it is just the vague references and images you inevitably pick up on from reading books and watching movies and television. As you would expect from a Cinemaware-style game, the graphics are splendid, particularly in the “splash” screens that set the scene for the game’s big events.

Diplomatic encounters inject quite a bit of personality into Centurion, in addition to providing a non-military path to victory over your enemies. Sometimes this “personality” is quite literal; your pulse can’t help but quicken a bit when you first encounter the legendary Cleopatra herself!

The tactical battles are amusing and manageable at the lower difficulty levels. As for the bigger picture, the grand strategy involved can be rather interesting and challenging. Care to play Roman Risk, anyone? I also enjoyed the gladiator combat once I got the hang of it and figured out its function in the game (which makes sense but isn’t all that obvious if you just play the game without studying the instructions first).

The Bad
I had some fun playing Centurion, but I have to admit to being disappointed with it in the final analysis. The good intentions are there, but the designers just didn’t come through with the level of quality I expected.

The PC-speaker sounds/music are not just bad, they are downright intolerable. The legion listings have no information on commanding generals, even though managing your generals is (or should be) a key to your success. Land battles are highly unrealistic; there is no variation of terrain, no missile warfare, etc. It is very tedious and awkward to direct individual units in battle, which would not be a problem except for the fact that you absolutely MUST micromanage your troops at higher difficulty levels to have even a prayer of winning.

The naval element is not properly balanced, as sea battles are generally unnecessary, and not an efficient path to conquest anyway. Navies are way more expensive than armies, and not as much fun, so you’ll probably end up conquering the Mediterranean by traveling exclusively overland. Not exactly true to Roman history, is it?

As for the chariot racing, it simply isn’t fun. Races are long, dull, and difficult; the control scheme frankly feels broken. Good thing chariot races aren't required to finish the game! Also, even though I enjoyed the gladiator matches, they don't seem to be necessary for finishing the game, as the masses can be appeased in other ways. Dueling in the arena can be a welcome respite from the rest of Centurion, but that’s about all its good for.

The Bottom Line
Some aspects of Centurion are entertaining, but the game as a whole is ultimately more "bread and circuses" than substance. It's ok, but it's no Defender of the Crown.