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| Ancient Wars: Sparta | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | World Forge |
| Publisher(s) | Playlogic |
| Director(s) | Vladimir Nikolaev |
| Producer(s) |
|
| Designer(s) | Roman Volkov |
| Programmer(s) | Evgeniy Lominin |
| Artist(s) |
|
| Writer(s) | Egor Gudovich |
| Composer(s) | Dynamedion |
| Platform(s) | Windows |
| Release | |
| Genre(s) | Real-time strategy |
| Mode(s) | Single-player, multiplayer |
Ancient Wars: Sparta[a] is a 2006 real-time strategy video game for Windows. Developed by World Forge and published by Playlogic, it was released in Russia in December 2006, in Europe and North America in April 2007, and in Australia in October 2007.
Set in the Eastern Mediterranean during the years 485-479 BC, the game features three playable races (Egyptians, Persians, and Spartans) each of whom has their own campaign, featuring fictional depictions of historical figures such as Xerxes I, Leonidas I, Demaratus, Inaros II, Pausanias, Mardonius, Artabanus, Megabyzus, and Miltiades. Although the three campaigns are separate, they do combine to loosely tell an overarching story, depicting the Egyptian uprising against Persian rule, the Second Persian invasion of Greece, and Sparta's resistance to Persia, culminating in the Battles of Thermopylae, Salamis, and Plataea.
World Forge's debut title, the game featured a newly designed game engine dubbed the Ancient Wars Engine (AWE) which World Forge specifically developed for Sparta. Only a few days after the game was first published, World Forge accused publishers Playlogic of failing to provide the agreed-upon funding during development. Issuing a breach of contract notice, World Forge claimed that the rights to the game had reverted to them, so they sued Playlogic. The District Court of Amsterdam later ruled that the game's rights were owned by Playlogic and had never reverted to World Forge. The game was originally intended as the first entry in a franchise to bear the Ancient Wars name, but no further titles were made under that banner. However, World Forge did release three further real-time strategy games using the AWE and very similar gameplay - Fate of Hellas (released as Great War Nations: The Spartans in North America), The Golden Horde (released as Great War Nations: The Mongols in some territories), and Age of Alexander (released as Sparta II: Alexander the Great in some territories).
Ancient Wars received mixed reviews. Although some critics praised the graphics and the ability for the player to arm their soldiers with opponents' discarded weaponry, many found the game's pace too slow and the combat devoid of strategy. The voice acting and script were singled out as especially poor, and most critics felt the game was unoriginal, bringing nothing new to the genre, and failing to stand out from current and previous real-time strategy titles such as Medieval II: Total War, Supreme Commander, and Command & Conquer 3: Tiberium Wars.
- ^ "Ancient Wars: Sparta". Eurogamer. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "Войны древности: Спарта". Igromania (in Russian). Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
- ^ "Ancient Wars: Sparta". GameSpy. Archived from the original on March 11, 2021. Retrieved March 11, 2021.
- ^ "Ancient Wars: Sparta". Australian Classification Board. Archived from the original on May 5, 2021. Retrieved May 5, 2021.
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