Hannibal: Vengeance of Carthage PC

Hannibal: Vengeance of Carthage is a kind of crossroads of genres: it combines strategic elements and role-playing. As the title says, the creators offer us a trip into ancient times.

We move to Carthage in the year 219 before Christ. We play the role of a young Hannibal, who after the death of his father was proclaimed the supreme commander. It is on our shoulders that the burden of command falls, at a time when we have to face the power of the Roman Empire.

The game is played on two levels: strategic and tactical (veterans will certainly notice similarities to the popular Total War series). The first one is played in turn-based mode, we use a strategic map and make key decisions for the future of the campaign: we manage provinces, take care of supplies, collect raw materials, expand cities and facilities, recruit soldiers, and so on. The second plane, played in real time, is simply fighting battles in a three-dimensional environment. There is no room for planning anymore, everything depends on speed (and accuracy), decision making, finger skills and a bit of luck.

During the battles themselves, you can clearly see the elements taken from RPG games. First of all, Hannibal personally leads his army to battle. The player's character is described by a series of statistics influencing the fate of the campaign. What's more, the commander can control up to ten heroes, assisting in the fight of regular soldiers. These heroes have a number of skills, the proper use of which can be the key to success. Both Hannibal and his heroes have so called Command Points (we gain them by controlling strategic spots on the map), which increase the statistics and skills of soldiers.

The creators of the game give the opportunity to participate in battles taking place on thirty-two battlefields (some of them are a representation of real battles fought during the Punic Wars). Our army (consisting of many types of units) is forced to face the enemy in places such as mountains, swamps and deserts. What is more, we are often challenged not only by our rival but also by nature: weather conditions have a significant influence on the outcome of the battle.

An interesting fact is that at any time we can use the option of zooming in/out view, allowing us to see such details as blood leaking from soldiers' wounds or sweat flowing on their bodies.

Please let us know if you have any comments or suggestions regarding this description.

Last updated on 10 December 2007