''Spartan'' is a

computer wargame A computer wargame is a wargame played on a digital device. Descended from board wargaming, it simulates military conflict at the tactical, operational or strategic level. Computer wargames are both sold commercially for recreational use and ...

developed by

Slitherine Strategies Slitherine Software UK Limited is a British video game developer and publisher Publishing is the activity of making information, literature, music, software and other content available to the public for sale or for free. Traditionally, the t ...

in 2004. The game is set in

ancient Greece Ancient Greece ( el, Ἑλλάς, Hellás) was a northeastern Mediterranean civilization, existing from the Greek Dark Ages of the 12th–9th centuries BC to the end of classical antiquity ( AD 600), that comprised a loose collection of cult ...

and

Asia Minor Anatolia, tr, Anadolu Yarımadası), and the Anatolian plateau, also known as Asia Minor, is a large peninsula in Western Asia and the westernmost protrusion of the Asian continent. It constitutes the major part of modern-day Turkey. The ...

. ''Spartan'' is a

turn-based In video and other games, the passage of time must be handled in a way that players find fair and easy to understand. This is usually done in one of the two ways: real-time and turn-based. Real-time Real-time games have game time progress cont ...

game; however, when armies encounter each other in battle the game switches to real time combat available in both 2D and 3D visuals. Most reviewers were positive about the extent of simulated real history present in the game but were critical of how timid the AI is which hampered the playing experience.

Gameplay

Tactical game

The player deploys their forces behind a start line, usually with the benefit of some information about the enemy deployment. They are also able to give some limited orders such as hold or advance. When the battle is started the player has very limited control over events - something which was very much the case for generals of the period it depicts. Philip Veale has said that the designers wanted to avoid the game becoming a click race but conceded that though deployment did affect the outcome of battles this was often not apparent to players. The player may sound an attack signal which will cause all troops with a hold order to move to the attack and also the retreat for when all hope is lost. Winning battles is then a question of anticipating how the troops are going to behave and so ensuring that when the troops clash it is in a way favorable to you.

Strategic game

The player controls a faction picked from a massive selection, which may be Greek (such as

Athens Athens ( ; el, Αθήνα, Athína ; grc, Ἀθῆναι, Athênai (pl.) ) is both the capital city, capital and List of cities and towns in Greece, largest city of Greece. With a population close to four million, it is also the seventh List ...

Thessaly Thessaly ( el, Θεσσαλία, translit=Thessalía, ; ancient Thessalian: , ) is a traditional geographic and modern administrative region of Greece, comprising most of the ancient region of the same name. Before the Greek Dark Ages, The ...

tribal The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

(such as

Thracian The Thracians (; grc, Θρᾷκες ''Thrāikes''; la, Thraci) were an Indo-European speaking people who inhabited large parts of Eastern and Southeastern Europe in ancient history.. "The Thracians were an Indo-European people who occupied ...

Asti Asti ( , , ; pms, Ast ) is a '' comune'' of 74,348 inhabitants (1-1-2021) located in the Piedmont region of northwestern Italy, about east of Turin in the plain of the Tanaro River. It is the capital of the province of Asti and it is deeme ...

), or some Eastern (such as the

Lydia Lydia ( Lydian: ‎𐤮𐤱𐤠𐤭𐤣𐤠, ''Śfarda''; Aramaic: ''Lydia''; el, Λυδία, ''Lȳdíā''; tr, Lidya) was an Iron Age kingdom of western Asia Minor located generally east of ancient Ionia in the modern western Turkish provin ...

ns or

Mysians Mysians ( la, Mysi; grc, Μυσοί, ''Mysoí'') were the inhabitants of Mysia, a region in northwestern Asia Minor. Origins according to ancient authors Their first mention is by Homer, in his list of Trojans allies in the Iliad, and accordin ...

). All factions have a different number of cities to conquer and specific victory conditions to win each with their own special unique buildings and units. Resources play a role in the game economy. There are number of resources, and they are not available to all cities; trade allows for

imports An import is the receiving country in an export from the sending country. Importation and exportation are the defining financial transactions of international trade. In international trade, the importation and exportation of goods are limited ...

and

exports An export in international trade is a good produced in one country that is sold into another country or a service provided in one country for a national or resident of another country. The seller of such goods or the service provider is an ...

Silver Silver is a chemical element with the Symbol (chemistry), symbol Ag (from the Latin ', derived from the Proto-Indo-European wikt:Reconstruction:Proto-Indo-European/h₂erǵ-, ''h₂erǵ'': "shiny" or "white") and atomic number 47. A soft, whi ...

is used as

currency A currency, "in circulation", from la, currens, -entis, literally meaning "running" or "traversing" is a standardization of money in any form, in use or circulation as a medium of exchange, for example banknotes and coins. A more general ...

, in trade, and to pay soldiers. All cities will produce some silver (through taxes, etc.), but only a few have the ability to have

silver mines Silver mining is the extraction of silver from minerals, starting with mining. Because silver is often found in intimate combination with other metals, its extraction requires elaborate technologies. In 2008, ca.25,900 metric tons were consumed ...

constructed. Food is needed to feed the population, but only a few areas have enough

farmland Agricultural land is typically land ''devoted to'' agriculture, the systematic and controlled use of other forms of lifeparticularly the rearing of livestock and production of cropsto produce food for humans. It is generally synonymous with bot ...

to feed a larger faction (small factions can get by simply importing the necessary food, larger factions may find the cost too large unless they have at least some cities that can produce food). Bricks are used for construction of most buildings, as well as their upkeep. Other resources are used for training warriors or the construction of advanced buildings.

Diplomacy Diplomacy comprises spoken or written communication by representatives of states (such as leaders and diplomats) intended to influence events in the international system.Ronald Peter Barston, ''Modern diplomacy'', Pearson Education, 2006, p. 1 ...

is carried out by sending the limited number of diplomats to whatever factions one deem they would be most useful to influence where they can be given various orders, ranging from those beneficial to the players relations with that faction like seeking

asylia In ancient Greece and Rome, an asylum referred to a place where people facing persecution could seek refuge. These locations were largely religious in nature, such as temples and other religious sites. A similar concept, the Cities of Refuge, exis ...

for merchants or gifting horses, or actions that hurt them, or just recalling them to send them somewhere else. If the enemy dislike the players actions they may decide to expel or kill the player's diplomat (and the player may do likewise to any diplomats the other factions might have in the player's lands). If a diplomat is lost, a new one will be gained, but that diplomat will not have whatever experience the old diplomat might have gained.

Expansion

expansion pack An expansion pack, expansion set, supplement, or simply expansion is an addition to an existing role-playing game, tabletop game, video game or collectible card game. These add-ons usually add new game areas, weapons, objects, characters, or a ...

, ''Gates of Troy'' was released on December 6, 2004. It adds six missions, 17 heroes, and 12 units. The release of the expansion was delayed when a postal carrier delivering the master disc from a duplication plant was assaulted and his bags taken.

Reception

At its release the game was praised for its extent of simulated real history and a large replay value but they gave negative thoughts about the games AI because of how timid it was.Spartan PC Review, Spartan Player Reviews
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References

External links

Review
{{DEFAULTSORT:Spartan (Computer Game) 2004 video games Computer wargames Independent Games Festival winners Single-player video games Slitherine Software games Turn-based strategy video games Video games developed in the United Kingdom Video games set in Greece Video games set in antiquity Video games with expansion packs Windows games Windows-only games Graphsim Entertainment games