In relation to
Legion, the first game like this from Paradox Entertainment,
Chariots of War can't be called much of a sequel, but more of a prequel. The gameplay has been pumped up a bit, but this time around, the setting isn't in Europe during the height of the Roman Empire. Instead, you take on the Middle East 2000 years before the birth of Christ.
The game is turn based, and instead of each turn being a season, as was the case in Legion, the turns are now incremented in months. This fixes a huge problem from the last game, where everything was built in Spring no matter how long it was in production. This time, everything you build will take a certain number of months to complete.
In a number of different scenarios, you can control one of ten different civilizations of the time, either in a historical setting or to your own liking. You start the game in a predesignated territory controlled by your civilization with the cities already laid out for you. You cannot build more cities, you must only expand the ones you have or capture new ones.
Raising an army is another task crucial to the survival of your people. Chariots of War takes a squad based approach to army building, where you can only have up to 8 units in a single army. They can then travel the countryside in search of rival cities or armies.
This is where the game will either make you a fan or turn your stomach. When two armies fight, you are given the opportunity to set up your units on your side of the field, give them a limited set of orders, and then let them have at it. When the battle begins, you can only watch and pray. You have absolutely no control over your units at this point, but must rely on the skills of your officers. This system may not be the best out there, but it definitely isn't the worst. Somehow, it captures the scale of battle of this nature, which basically boils down to two sides running full steam at each other to make a nice big bloody mess on the field.
