[{"TitleName":"The Fall of Rome","Publisher":"ASP Software Ltd","Author":"Martin P.J. Edwardes, P. Rawling","YearOfRelease":"1984","ZxDbId":"0001723","Reviews":[{"Issue":{"Name":"Crash Issue 8, Sep 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-08-30","Editor":"Roger Kean","TotalPages":112,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Kean\r\nConsultant Editor: Franco Frey\r\nProduction Designer: David Western\r\nArt Editor: Oliver Frey\r\nAdventure Editor: Derek Brewster\r\nStaff Writer: Lloyd Mangram\r\nContributing Writers: Matthew Uffindel, Chris Passey\r\nClient Liaison: John Edwards\r\nSubscription Manager: Denise Roberts\r\nCirculation Manager: Tom Hamilton\r\nAll circulation enquiries should ring [redacted]\r\n\r\n©1984 Newsfield Limited.\r\nCrash Micro is published monthly by Newsfield Ltd. [redacted]\r\n\r\nGeneral correspondence to: [redacted]\r\n\r\nTelephone numbers\r\nGeneral office [redacted]\r\nEditorial/studio [redacted]\r\nAdvertising [redacted]\r\nHot Line [redacted]\r\n\r\nNo material may be reproduced in whole or in part without written consent from the copyright holders.\r\n\r\nPhotosetting by SIOS [redacted]\r\nColour origination by Scan Studios, [redacted]\r\nPrinted in England by Carlisle Web Offset Ltd (Member of the BPCC Group), [redacted].\r\nDistribution by COMAG, [redacted]\r\n\r\nSubscriptions: 12 issues £10.50 (UK Mainland post free)\r\nEurope: 12 issues £17.50 (post free).\r\n\r\nWe cannot undertake to return any written or photographic material sent to CRASH Magazine unless accompanied by a stamped addressed envelope.\r\n\r\nCover by Oliver Frey"},"MainText":"Producer: Argus Press Software\r\nMemory Required: 48K\r\nRetail Price: £6.95\r\nLanguage: BASIC\r\nAuthor: M. Edwards (Spectrum version by P. Rawling)\r\n\r\nThis strategy game is set in the period starting from 395 AD, the moment when the sweeping pressure of the barbarian tribes finally forced the Roman Empire to its knees. The object of the game is to see whether, by skill and manipulation of the forces at your command, you can alter the events of history and maintain Rome as a great empire. The Fall of Rome is for one player against the computer.\r\n\r\nAll the events take place on a map of Europe which is divided by red border lines into the various provinces. At the start of the game you are shown those which are under Rome's control. Playing is split into three distinct phases. During the first you are asked to create and move your forces province by province and any money balances left over. Your military forces are split into Mobile and Static legions, Cavalry units and Auxiliaries. You are allowed to create one mobile legion per province per tum if you have sufficient funds. Static legions are converted from mobile ones but, once converted, may not be changed back. Again, depending on funds, you may create cavalry or auxiliary units in a strict ratio to the number of mobiles in the province. If any money is left over, it may be moved to one of the adjacent provinces indicated on the map where it may do more than leaving it where it is.\r\n\r\nThe second phase is the movement part of the game. Here you are asked how many mobile legions you wish to move, again, province by province. The same goes for cavalry and auxiliaries if there are any present. With each province, the map will indicate the possible destinations of the movement.\r\n\r\nThe third, or attack phase, shows you how many enemy tribes there are in the various provinces where Roman military forces have been moved, and it gives their varying strengths. You are allowed to attack one enemy per province per move. The computer calculates the result based on enemy strengths and Roman forces available, this completes a turn and one turn represents five years. At the commencement of the second turn you can see how well you have done, where you have hung on and where you have lost control.\r\n\r\nCOMMENTS\r\n\r\nControl keys: general input of figures or first three letters of a province\r\nKeyboard play: a user-friendly program with good error trapping\r\nResponses: the BASIC program works with commendable speed and computer assessment time is kept to a minimum\r\nUse of colour: sensible rather than exciting\r\nGraphics: very good map, clear display\r\nSound: poor\r\nSkill levels: 1","ReviewerComments":["The Fall of Rome is quite playable but it misses the quality that makes adventures, strategies and some arcade games good, the quality of making the player believe he is in the situation depicted by the computer. The graphics aren't bad, but a game about the fall of Rome doesn't need graphics - after all, adventures and strategies are in the mind of the player.\r\nUnknown","I'm a little surprised at Argus for their covers on these games. Nowhere does it state which computer the game is for, although there are obviously several versions available, and yet inside on the inlay it states that you should check on the cover carefully to see if you have the right version for your computer! The instructions are reasonably comprehensive and the game is easy to handle after a few minutes' playing. The map is well generated and the included insert showing the names of provinces is useful- it doesn't, however, tie up fully with the map on the screen which is confusing when you want to move troops into unoccupied areas. The element of strategy is interesting when replaying real history, even within the confines of what is a very limited amount of memory for this type of game. I found coping with troop movements was easy and interesting for a while, but this is not a fully blown strategy war game and it therefore has its limitations. It also lacks something in 'atmosphere'. 'There is undoubtedly a major war game yet to be written along these lines. It seems a pity that on the whole most clever or sophisticated programmers want to work on more glamorous projects than war strategy games. The Fall of Rome is quite educational, a reasonable amount of fun at first, but not really exciting enough in the end to appeal all that widely.\r\nUnknown"],"OverallSummary":"General Rating: For strategy fans and younger players this could be worthwhile, as there is a fair amount to handle. Overall on the average side.","Page":"101,102","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""},{"Name":"Unknown","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":[{"Header":"Use of Computer","Score":"65%","Text":""},{"Header":"Graphics","Score":"54%","Text":""},{"Header":"Playability","Score":"52%","Text":""},{"Header":"Getting Started","Score":"63%","Text":""},{"Header":"Addictive Qualities","Score":"47%","Text":""},{"Header":"Value For Money","Score":"49%","Text":""},{"Header":"Overall","Score":"55%","Text":""}],"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Your Spectrum Issue 7, Sep 1984","Price":"£0.85","ReleaseDate":"1984-08-16","Editor":"Roger Munford","TotalPages":74,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Roger Munford\r\nManaging Editor: Bruce Sawford\r\nDeputy Editor: Tina Boylan\r\nTechnical Editor: Peter Shaw\r\nSub Editor: Sophie Wright\r\nEditorial Consultant: Andrew Pennell\r\nSoftware Consultant: Gavin Monk\r\nContributors: Ron Smith, Gavin Smyth, Simon Goodiwn, Henry Budgett, Ross Holman, Stevenage Computer Club, John Flenley, Ian Beardsmore, John Tydeman, Stephen Stratford\r\nArt Editor: Hazel Bennington\r\nArt Assistant: Steve Broadhurst\r\nGroup Advertising Manager: Jill Harris\r\nAdvertising: Shane Campbell, Nik Saha, Dave Baskerville\r\nTypesetters: Carlinpoint\r\nProduction Manager: Sonia Hunt\r\nGroup Art Director: Perry Neville\r\nPublisher: Steven England\r\n\r\nPublished by Sportscene Specialist Press Ltd, [redacted] Company registered in England. Telephone (all departments): [redacted]\r\nReproduction: Graphic Ideas, London\r\nPrinters: Chase Web Offset [redacted]\r\nDistribution: Seymour Press [redacted]\r\n\r\nAll material in Your Spectrum ©1984 Felden productions, and may not be reproduced in whole or in part without the written consent of the publishers. Your Spectrum is a monthly publication.\r\n\r\nCover Illustration by Mark Watkinson"},"MainText":"THE FALL OF ROME\r\nASP\r\n£6.99\r\n\r\nTake command of Rome and help it to survive while the Eastern Empires are causing trouble. You have the resources of the entire Empire at your disposal; used wisely, they might just stop civilisation being swept away by the warring tribes.","ReviewerComments":["This is a good idea for a strategy game, even though the graphics aren't exactly spectacular. The map is drawn well and the result is an acceptable screen display.\r\nIan Hemmingway","The inputting of all the variables is very tedious - and so is waiting for the program to make its calculations. It even responds with \"Please be patient...\" while it's thinking.\r\nPhil Morse","Attempting to quell the fall of Rome can really be quite addictive - providing you don't expect too much razmatazz-type action. A few battle scenes would improve matters.\r\nFrank Pelling"],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"44","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Ian Hemmingway","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":"HIT"},{"Name":"Phil Morse","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":"MISS"},{"Name":"Frank Pelling","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":"HIT"}],"ScreenshotText":[],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]},{"Issue":{"Name":"Personal Computer Games Issue 9, Aug 1984","Price":"£0.75","ReleaseDate":"1984-07-19","Editor":"Chris Anderson","TotalPages":116,"HasCoverTape":false,"FlannelPanel":"Editor: Chris Anderson\r\nProduction Editor: Roderick George\r\nArt Editor: Ian Findlay\r\nTechnical Editor: Stuart Cooke\r\nStaff Writers: Steve Cooke, Peter Connor, Bob Wade\r\nEditorial Assistant: Samantha Hemens\r\nSoftware Consultant: Tony Takoushi\r\nCartoons: Kipper Williams\r\nScreenshots: Chris Bell\r\nCover Illustration: David Hine\r\nGame-of-the-month poster: Jeff Riddle\r\nGroup Editor: Cyndy Miles\r\nArt Director: Jim Dansie\r\nGroup Publisher: John Cade\r\nPublisher: James Scoular\r\nAssistant Publishing Manager: Jenny Dunne\r\nAdvertisement Manager: Mark Satchell\r\nAssistant Advertisement Manager: Jan Martin\r\nGroup Advertisement Manager: Pete Goldstein\r\nAdvertisement Production: Simon Carter\r\nSales Executives: Ian Cross, Marion O'Neill\r\n\r\nPublished by VNU Business Publications, [redacted]. Typesetting by Spectrum Typesetting, [redacted] Origination by Fourmost Colour [redacted]. Printed and bound by Chase Web Offset [redacted]. © VNU Business Publications 1984."},"MainText":"MICRO WARS\r\n\r\nFancy yourself as a latter-day Napoleon, staging intergalactic time-travelling battles or controlling the Roman Empire? Stuart Cooke surveys the latest in war games.\r\n\r\nIf you have bit blasted too many aliens for one day, or have got lost in that dratted maze in the new adventure you've bought and are about to see just how well your computer will fly through the window, why not give these 'normal' computer games a rest. Load in a strategy game and find Out just how well you would have run the Roman Empire. Take control of a group of soldiers or travel through lime and fight out battles in outer space or on planets you have never heard off.\r\n\r\nWar games with scenarios similar to the above as well as many others can be found for nearly every micro. Some games will allow you to play against the computer. In others you have to play against a partner: why not have a go at killing your beloved brother, wife etc? In fact buying war games could lead to the end of family arguments as we know them. Whole families could be crowded around the television waiting to see who will win the War of the Roses and settle the latest family feud.\r\n\r\nUntil very recently most of the computer-moderated war games were shipped over from the US. All of these, although of very good quality, tended to be of a very high price. A number of British manufacturers have now produced many excellent packages, all marketed at a price far lower than their American counterparts. This feature will concentrate on products from these companies.\r\n\r\nOne British company who have really made an impact on the war gaming market are Lothlorien. Titles from this company are available fur nearly every machine: Commodores, BBCs, Dragons etc. Most of them seem to make a first appearance on the Spectrum and are converted onto the other machines at a later date.\r\n\r\nCONVENTIONAL WARRFARE\r\n\r\nConfrontation is possibly one of the most popular games from this Stockport-based company. This is a two player game of conventional 20th century warfare. One player controls the Blue forces and the other player the Red. One nice feature of this game is the option to play on a black and white TV set. If you wish to play in black and white, the pieces of the player on the left hand side of the screen are shown in inverse to make them distinguishable from those of his opponent.\r\n\r\nEach player takes control of a number of forces. The forces consist of mobile units made up of tanks, mechanised infantry and engineers. Each type of unit has its own particular use, for example it would be of very little use trying to destroy a plane with a paratrooper, but the flak guns can easily inflict damage on enemy aircraft.\r\n\r\nThe playing area is very clear with rivers, mountains, cities, bridges and other useful landmarks displayed. Pieces on the board belonging to each player are only displayed when they are actually being moved, which means that if the players agree not to look at the TV while the enemy is moving you will not know which piece is what type of unit before it is adjacent. All pieces are represented by a little picture when they are being controlled. The number of squares they can be moved and their type are displayed at the bottom of the screen.\r\n\r\nOne of the nicest and fairly original features this game offers is the option to design your own scenario. Once the program has loaded there is no map held in memory and you can load the one supplied by Lothlorien or design one of your own. Map design is very easy: the cursor keys are used to move a cursor around the playing area and the designer can place cities, rivers, mountains etc by pressing the appropriate key.\r\n\r\nBecause the map can be designed by the user there are no set victory conditions. You can play until all forces have been destroyed for a set number of moves, until a particular point is captured; in fact the list of possibilities is almost endless. Since the finishing conditions are left to the players a game could last five minutes, five hours, or until you wish to end.\r\n\r\nConfrontation is an excellent game, available on a number of popular micros. Because the scenario is left up to the player it is an ideal program for both beginner and expert war gamer.\r\n\r\nZAP THE YANKEES\r\n\r\nJohnny Reb is another popular game produced by Lothlorien. This game can be played against another player or the computer. On the Commodore 64 version you can even get the computer to take both sides. The game is set in the American Civil War and is a fairly small skirmish at a river crossing between the Union and Confederate forces. To win at this game you must capture the enemy's flag. though it is possible to set a limit upon the number of possible moves, the winner being the person (computer) who has scored the most hits against the enemy.\r\n\r\nUnfortunately, this game lacks some of the polish you find in Confrontation. Numbers surround the playing area making it easy to judge distances when moving but making the display very messy. The only symbols found on the map other than the various pieces controlled by each player are the river, marshland, forest and a bridge. None of these graphics is used very well and the video display seems to lack a great amount of interest.\r\n\r\nEach player is supplied with a number of playing pieces. These have differing movement and fighting capabilities, depending on what they represent. Artillery pieces are the only ones that can fire at the enemy from a distance. Unfortunately you can only shoot in eight directions and therefore have to be fairly close to, or in line with, the enemy or the shot disappears off the screen before you can hit him. It would have been nice to be able to select your target by moving a cursor around to point at the destination square.\r\n\r\nFirst impressions led me to believe that this was a very simple and boring game. After a few sessions at the keyboard, however, I found there was a lot more to it than you would expect. To start with, a lot of forward planning is required so you can line yourself up with the enemy to shoot at him face to face. Secondly, you must make sure that whenever you do move one of your pieces you are not placing your man in the firing line of the enemy's guns.\r\n\r\nEven though the graphics of this game are simple. and it is simple to understand, a lot of skill is required. It will take quite a while before you can totally master the game, if ever. This program is also a little slow - you get the impression that when the computer is playing one of the sides and you are waiting for it to use some of its artillery fire against your men you could have overrun the whole of its army and returned home to your farmstead.\r\n\r\nLEGIONS ON THE MARCH\r\n\r\nASP Software is another firm which has begun to put a lot of strategy games on the market. Their latest release is The Fall of Rome, another game available for most popular micros.\r\n\r\nThe outside cover for this game states that you are supplied with a Free Colour Map, so you open up the box expecting to find some painstakingly drawn map of the Roman Empire only to find that the printed instructions are larger than the map. Don't go fixing the free map to your bedroom wall, you'll only lose it and it comes in very handy when playing the game.\r\n\r\nThe Fall of Rome bears a slight resemblance to the well worn Dictator type of game. Each game turn you have to enter the number of legions you wish to buy and maintain in each area of the Empire. Income varies from region to region and the presence of unfriendly tribes will reduce it. This games goes a step further than the normal buy or sell that you normally have to do in a Dictator game in that you are allowed to move your men around. During the movement phase you can move your forces into any neighbouring province. Once you have moved the computer will move the enemy tribes. By moving to an area controlled by the enemy you can fight against him.\r\n\r\nEven though the graphics are good and the responses to input faster than on some other games The Fall of Rome does not give you the feeling that you are actually in control. If you had a little more control of how each legion fought then you would have a better game. Instead you get the impression that you are having an exercise in entering numbers.\r\n\r\nHEAVY METAL\r\n\r\nKriegspiel from Beyond Software runs on the Dragon 32 and is one of the few games around that exploits graphic facilities to the full.\r\n\r\nThe scenario puts you in control of a heavy tank division. You have the option of your opponent either being another player or the computer. Whoever plays, the object of the game is to capture the other player's city HQ. All the action takes place on a high resolution map that scrolls around the screen, which means that the battlefield is actually much bigger than the small area you can see. Three different maps are supplied with the game, and it is very simple to choose the one you wish to use.\r\n\r\nEach player is put in control of 15 pieces. These consist of four heavy tanks, five light tanks and six infantry. It is possible to increase the number of playing pieces up to 25, after every round the player in control of the most friendly towns will gain extra men.\r\n\r\nIt is possible to enter all of your moves by either the keyboard or by using a joystick. Use of a joystick makes all entries to the computer very quick and speeds up play considerably.\r\n\r\nProbably one of the most original aspects of this game is the way in which the weather affects play. It's realistic - and very annoying. You just think that you are about to make a surprise attack on an enemy when it begins to rain and you find all your powers of movement halved. If it snows, for example, your movement is halved and you have no transport.\r\n\r\nThe instructions supplied with the game are very clear, therefore a beginner to war games should soon be playing. So that you can tell which area is which on the map a key is given on the instructions; remember it's a lot harder to move through a forest than through a desert.\r\n\r\nThis is a very well-presented game and its clear, colourful graphics should appeal to everyone. If you are a Dragon owner then you should buy this game just so that you can see what your machine is really capable of. For those of us who don't own a Dragon, would Beyond please bring out versions for other machines.\r\n\r\nProbably one of the most popular war games that you can buy is Apocalypse from Games Workshop. Red Shift are producing the computer game version of Apocalypse under licence.\r\n\r\nWORLD WAR III\r\n\r\nIf you are one of those unfortunate people who have never played Apocalypse then the subtitle given to the game should give you the whole story: The Game Of Nuclear Devastation. You are told, however, that use of nuclear weapons could cause a catastrophic chain reaction.\r\n\r\nApocalypse allows between one and four players to take part, however, if only one player is involved he will have to take two sides, the computer will not play against you.\r\n\r\nEach player is given a certain amount of power points, the number he gets depending on how many centres he occupies and the type of land that his centre is on.\r\n\r\nThere are three different maps provided with the game for your warfare to take place upon. These maps cover areas such as Britain, Europe and London. Red Shift have realised the potential of this game and are producing expansion cassettes containing more maps. Expansion maps cover areas such as US, Galactic, Napoleon's Campaigns and War in the Pacific. The BBC version does not yet have all the expansion packs available.\r\n\r\nThe maps used in Apocalypse cover most of the screen and are very clear. The map shows all the occupied areas and under which player's control they are. When making moves it is possible to move a cursor around the screen and an exploded view of the cursor position is given, showing which forces are situated there. This is very easy to use but tends to be a little slow and it is easy to forget which forces you have where, it's a law playing area to try to find out every time.\r\n\r\nThe only 'major' flaw in this game was found in the BBC version. The symbol of each of the players is positioned on any area he owns. Quite regularly the background colour was the same as the character's piece making it difficult to see exactly who was in control of the square.\r\n\r\nApocalypse is a very involved game and it will take quite a time for a beginner to master play. The instructions are good and clear and give examples wherever possible. The fact that you can purchase extra maps should add to the length of time before this game is put on the shelf and forgotten about.\r\n\r\n25TH CENTURY RAIDERS\r\n\r\nRebelstar Raiders comes from the same stable as Apocalypse. This game takes place in the 25th century. You are given three different scenarios: Moonbase, Starligdale and the Final Assault. Two players are needed to play, each having control of between 20 to 30 characters. Every character in this game has his/its own name and weapon and characteristics.\r\n\r\nAll inputs to the computer are very easy. To get information on a particular character all you need to do is place the cursor over the player in question and press the I key. If you wish to find out about the character's weapon you press the P key.\r\n\r\nBecause each of the maps is different, the victory conditions differ although a specific object has to be destroyed or protected in each of them.\r\n\r\nThis is a game that you need at least an hour to play, but it is worth it when you guide one of your men around a corner and blast three of your opponent's men into little pieces. Rebelstar Raiders is a challenging and very enjoyable game.","ReviewerComments":[],"OverallSummary":"","Page":"100,101,102","Denied":false,"Award":"Not Awarded","Reviewers":[{"Name":"Stuart N Cooke","Score":"","ScoreSuffix":""}],"ScreenshotText":[{"Text":"The Fall of Rome - good graphics and fast responses as you defend the Empire by marching your legions against hostile barbarians."}],"BlurbText":[],"TranscriptBy":"Chris Bourne","ReviewScores":null,"CompilationReviewScores":[]}]}]