textfiles/games/REVIEWS/annals.rev

 ANNALS OF ROME 

 ANNALS OF ROME is one of three strategy games in the Wargamers
Series from PSS. FIREZONE and SORCERER LORD are the other two, and
all are distributed by Datasoft. ROME offers strategic depth, a
save-game option, and keyboard control. The Commodore 64/128 version
is the basis of this review; Atari ST, IBM-PC, and Amiga version
notes follow. 

 Subtitled "A Game of Empire Building," ANNALS OF ROME is the most
ambitious simulation in the Series. The entire Roman Republic is
under your control, starting with the tax rate. You'll have to
withstand invading barbarians, the ups and downs of public opinion, 
and the political shenanigans of army commanders. Although ROME
can't compare with an SSI tactical epic, it does provide plenty of
strategic opportunities. 

 The year is 273 B.C. The lone country under your control, Italia, 
is the seat of the Empire. It is also surrounded by aggressors: the
Gauls, the Macedonians, and among others, the Carthaginians (led by
Hannibal, the "father of strategy"). As the game progresses, 
barbaric hordes -- Dacians, Huns, Arabs, Turks -- appear to test the
mettle of your Empire. 

 At your disposal to defend the Empire are the Legionaries, the
Auxiliaries, and the Limitanei. Auxiliaries are non-Roman soldiers
recruited from conquered provinces; Limitanei are garrison troops
that remain in fixed fortifications. The Legionaries have a combat
rating of ten. Of all the possible invaders, only the Carthaginians
have an identical rating, at least until the Visigoths appear in 350
A.D. After 350 A.D., however, Ostrogoths, Vandals, Huns, Arabs, 
Germans, and Turks will overload the Republic with high combat
ratings. 

 ROME spans centuries: A turn covers from one to 25
computer-determined years; there are eight turns to a century, and
each is divided into seven phases: Start/Save, Economics, Personnel
Display, Personnel Assignment, Loyalty, Civil War, and Foreign
Wars. Should the popularity of the Commander at Rome slip below
zero, the Personnel Assignment Phase won't occur. Should the Roman
population remain content, the Civil War Phase won't occur. 

 In the Economics Phase, you'll set the tax rate -- perhaps the most
important act of the game. Choosing the normal tax rate prevents
inflation but instantly creates a treasury deficit; doubling the tax
rate fills the treasury but instantly creates 50% inflation. Rampant
inflation not only puts further strain on the treasury, it irks the
populace. Should the people revolt, you'll have to deal with
internal strife as well as invading barbarians. Tax money is
necessary to rule the Republic, and will, at times, be used to bribe
your armies should their loyalties wane. 

 In the early stages, invaders won't necessarily attack Rome; 
they'll attack neighboring regions. When a region under Roman
control is attacked, you'll send Legionaries. Army officers are
taken from the Senate, given command of the armies, and sent to
areas that have been invaded. As the years tick away, officers will
die of natural causes, retire, set themselves up as dictators, be
overthrown or executed, or killed in battle. 

 The end of the Foreign Wars phase marks the end of a turn, at which
point the game can be saved. 

 The C64 screen display consists of a map of the Roman Republic. 
Game information is displayed below and to the right of the map. As
Italia and neighboring regions are invaded, you'll be informed and
given the chance to respond. The area depictions on-screen will be
shaded to indicate complete takeover or unresolved conflicts. 

 ROME is controlled with the keyboard. Numbers and letters are
entered at prompts in order to select and assign army commanders, 
bribe the armies with tax money, transfer Rome (as the capital of
the Republic) should the Empire be lost to invaders, and appoint new
rulers. 

 The game ends when the Empire and Rome are lost. Since Rome can be
transferred to another region ruled by the Empire, the game might
not end whe the Empire falls; you'll still have a chance. The goal
of ROME is to hold on to the Empire for as long as possible. 

 The ANNALS OF ROME game package comes with a map of the Roman
Empire (showing invasion routes used by aggressors), a reference
card, and a good instruction manual. The manual includes general
instructions, discussions of various aspects of play, background and
history of the Roman Empire, and vivid descriptions of the nations
and barbarians. 

 The more I fool around with ANNALS OF ROME, the deeper the game
becomes. The goal of holding on to the Empire rather than conquering
all invaders, makes the game strangely compelling, despite the
advance knowledge that you're going to lose. ROME makes up for this
less than heartening prospect with its strategic depth. You feel
that you're really controlling the Empire, as opposed to merely
moving troops here and there, or invoking tactical routines. 

 Tactical combat is all but non-existent; battles are fought and
resolved by the computer. Other than the (relatively) minor task of
sending armies to trouble spots, ROME is pure strategy from
beginning to end. 

 Of the three games in the PSS Wargamers Series, ANNALS OF ROME is
the most ambitious and the most difficult. Both FIREZONE and
SORCERER LORD are fast-moving and tactically oriented; both would be
hampered by strategy. On the flip side, ROME would be hampered by
tactics. If you have time to watch history unfold, and the strategic
mind to work at changing it, ANNALS OF ROME fills the bill. 

 ATARI ST VERSION NOTES 

 The Atari ST version of ANNALS OF ROME functions all but exactly as
the Commodore version. The only difference lies in the
implementation of the graphics display. 

 Each time the map of the Roman Republic is replaced by another
display (for example, the Personnel Assignment text screen), upon
returning to the main screen, the map is redrawn. On the C64, the
event happens swiftly; on the ST, it happens at a crawl. Other than
this, both the ST and C64 versions are identical. 

 IBM-PC VERSION NOTES 

 The IBM version of ANNALS OF ROME is virtually indistinguishable
from the Commodore version. (The implementation of changes in the
graphics display is dazzlingly fast.) The game is not copy-protected
and is easily installed on a hard drive. Graphically, it supports
CGA and EGA, and the graphics are sufficient for the purposes of the
game; that is, you can distinguish one country from another easily
enough. The game requires 512K memory and comes with both 5-1/4" and
3-1/2" disks. 

 I don't care for wargames, but ANNALS OF ROME is not really a
wargame. You do not control individual army pieces on a hexagonal
board as you would in KAMPFGRUPPE or the like. Instead, you appoint
commanders, legates, and tribunes, assign them troops, and send them
off to pursue dreams of conquest. There is a certain sense of
elation when you finally conquer the last Carthaginian army on the
board. This is usually followed by a sense of impending doom as
ninety legions of Germans come thundering down upon you. 

 On the surface, this may appear to be intended as a historical
simulation of ancient European history, but don't expect anything
remotely approaching historical accuracy. What I enjoyed most about
the game was not the feeling of power you'd expect as surrogate
Emperor, but the more gonzo parts of the game. There's the unending
list of possible commanders with pseudo-historical names, like
Flavius Scipio, Octavius Cato, and Marcus Drassus. And there's the
unceasingly changing face of Europe as the Celts invade Spain, or
the Gauls inexplicably show up in Greece. Later, I took particular
perverse pleasure in waiting to see if my newly appointed Commander
of the Garrison of Rome would rise up in rebellion and declare
himself Imperator. These are moments you won't see in any other
game. 

 Here is a strategy tip: Always bribe your armies as much as you
can. At times, even that won't be enough. I have played several
times and never made it to 350 A.D. to face the hordes of
Visigoths, Vandals, Huns, Arabs, Germans, Russians, and Punk Rockers
yet to come. Sometimes I found myself mentally comparing the game to
PAC-MAN; you know the enemy's going to get you, but you have to keep
out-maneuvering him as long as you possibly can. 

 The more I played ANNALS OF ROME, the more compelling I found it. 
Occasionally it reminded me of the movie "Koyaanisqatsi," which
conveyed the unexpected beauty of a city's traffic patterns sped up
almost beyond recognition. I also enjoyed the game's ability to
compress the slow march of centuries and the rise and fall of
nations into the flick of a few key strokes. 

 AMIGA VERSION NOTES 

 The Amiga version of ANNALS OF ROME is like the Commodore version: 
no mouse control, no pull-down menus, and keyboard entry only. 
Additionally, the sound and graphics capabilities of the Amiga are
barely utilized. There are no significant delays (as there were in
the Atari ST version). 

 The program supports only 512K, so if your Amiga has more memory
than that, you must run the "NoFastMem" utility prior to booting the
game. ANNALS' problems are relatively minor, and don't seriously
detract from the playing experience. Further, the game becomes more
interesting and challenging each time it's played. 

 ANNALS OF ROME is published by PSS and distributed by Datasoft. 

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