Game Review: Sparta: War of Empires

BY ADITYA KUMAR SAROJ

It’s been a few months since I've been playing Sparta: War of Empires on Facebook.  And, being an Age of Empires fan, this game got me straight away.

I hope you are familiar with Sparta. For those who are not- Sparta was a small ancient kingdom, neighbor of the then mighty Greece. Their army consisted of just 300 hundred men. They almost succeeded in defeating the Greeks to save their kingdom. But the Spartans lost at the end after a spirited fight. The story of Sparta became popular worldwide after the release of the Hollywood blockbuster 300 , and later a mockery of 300, called Meet the Spartans. Spartans are believed to be the descendants of Hercules (and I am not going to tell you the story of Hercules).

Now, coming back to the game; the game is simple. You just have to create a mighty empire. You are guided in the game by Leonidas (the King of Sparta).

Your city works due to three basic resources- Timber, Bronze and Grain. You need these to construct building, train soldiers, and feed the people and to sign agreements. So, basically, to do almost anything you need these resources.

But in every popular kingdom/city/airport/restaurant (you get the idea) making online game, there’s always one hard to earn ‘currency’. In this case, it is Drachma. Although you can earn 50 drachmas in every five days by logging in regularly, it’s just not so easy for everyone. By using drachmas you can buy fortifications, décor items, resurrect dead soldiers from the healer, buy resources, buy articles for agreements, buy troops and boost construction.

When you log in the first time, you build farms (for grain), forge (for bronze) and lumberyards (for timber). You sign some agreements. And, you create soldiers. So, you have a city and an army what to do next?

Yes, it’s the gaming world’s game favourite part, WAR. You can attack Persian positions or other players’ cities. Many times the more powerful kingdoms may attack your small city, again and again and again, but it’s up to you, whether you cripple under the pressure or defy all the odds and rise to the occasion.

If you win, you expand and you develop your kingdom and army. If you lose, try again.

And yes, like kings you can have allies. You can be a part of a group of players called a Coalition.

All-and-all, the game’s good. With average graphics and average sound effects, this game deserves 3-out-of-5 stars.