Praetorians

Praetorians is a real-time strategy game set during the last days of the Roman Republic and Julius Caesar's ascension to power. As a Roman general, you will travel through 24 missions across the desert battlefields of Egypt, the frozen lands of the barbarian tribes, and to the heart of the republic itself, Italy. While fighting for Caesar in the Gallic Wars and the Great Roman Civil War you'll have the chance to employ the military achievements of three civilizations (Roman, Barbarian, and Egyptian), each featuring a unique set of troops and war machines. For example, the legionaries, praetorians, gladiators and the balearic slingers are specific to the Roman army, the Egyptians have war chariots, camel riders and Nubian archers, and only the Barbarians can recruit berserkers and hunters. The availability of these factions depends on the mission in the single-player campaign, but otherwise they can be selected freely in the multiplayer mode.

The terrain and landscape play a major part in battle. Ranged units can be positioned on ridges in order to ambush the enemy from above. Without the services of a scout, units traveling through valleys will have difficulties in spotting the troops on higher grounds. Furthermore, not all types of terrain are accessible to everyone. For example, the legionaries will never set foot in swamplands or in the marshes, but they have no qualms about entering forests to rout hiding enemies. The spearmen are the opposite, while praetorians are proficient in both. The maps can also have the occasional patches of grassland where you can hide your troops. If spotted, they will be vulnerable, because enemy archers can set the dry grass on fire.

Every unit has its advantages and weaknesses against certain enemy units. Some can switch to an alternate formation that makes them more effective, sacrificing mobility in the process. In this regard, while stationary, the archers benefit from an increased range and the spearmen are deadly against charging cavalry. Besides variables such as defense, attack and speed, all units possess health and stamina. Health is lost in battle and can be replenished by a healer (called physician, druid or priest). Stamina is used for running and special abilities/formations, and will be recovered automatically with time. The generals (centurion, chieftain or official, depending on the faction) give bonuses to certain variables when nearby. Besides that, only they can enter captured villages and start recruiting more troops.

The missions in the campaign have several objectives that must be completed to achieve victory. They range from defending against a siege, sieging a fortress, conquering enemy villages, and killing a specific person to escorting caravans and defectors to safety. Additionally, there may be heroes in your army. Since they are central to the story, you will automatically lose if they get killed.

Up to 8 players can play over LAN and Internet.