The Great Battles of Caesar
Final entry in the Great Battles computer wargame series.
Erudite Software developed and Interactive Magic published The Great Battles of Caesar, a 1998 computer wargame. It adapts the board wargame The Great Battles of Julius Caesar and concludes the Great Battles computer wargame series as its third release.
Quick Facts
- Developer
- Erudite Software
- Publisher
- Interactive Magic
- Series
- The Great Battles
- Released
- March 26, 1998
- Genre
- Computer wargame
- Modes
- Single-player, multiplayer
Facts from the source article.
Development
The Great Battles of Caesar was announced by Interactive Magic and Erudite Software in early 1997, alongside its predecessor Hannibal. Erudite had signed with the publisher in mid-1996 to release The Great Battles of Alexander after that title's lengthy development. In January 1997, Interactive Magic declared its intent to release all three games as the Great Battles series, with S. Craig Taylor as producer. GMT Games assisted in creating the series, each entry based on one of its board titles. Alexander launched in June, Hannibal on November 7, and by mid-1997 Caesar was scheduled for spring 1998. Erudite built Caesar on GMT's board wargame The Great Battles of Julius Caesar, using a modified version of the mechanical system from Alexander and Hannibal. To reflect Roman tactics after Hannibal's defeat—attributed by many 20th-century scholars to Marian reforms—the team changed the basic unit from the manipular legion with its three infantry lines to the more homogeneous Marian legion. Erudite sought only slightly to represent tactical changes of the era, such as by adding section commanders to mimic Rome's expanded chain of command. Caesar shares its predecessors' game engine, updated for the project, and includes visual upgrades. In early January 1998, Interactive Magic confirmed the spring release and announced it would cease publishing Great Battles titles. Computer Gaming World columnist Terry Coleman lamented this decision. Later in January, the publisher set a March release date. Erudite completed the game on March 11, and it launched on the 26th.
Reception
The Great Battles of Caesar was the runner-up for Computer Gaming World's 1998 Best Wargame award, losing to The Operational Art of War. The editors described it as having improved graphics, aggressive AI, a solid campaign, and an excellent scenario editor, calling it the best ancients game in more than a decade for the PC. Jim Cobb of Computer Gaming World considered it the best of the Great Battles series and the most realistic ancients-era game on the PC, though he noted middling graphics and slow performance. Mark H. Walker of Computer Games Strategy Plus found it fun, challenging, and mildly addictive, but also annoyingly flawed and dated, criticizing the slow performance and calling the campaign mode as strategically challenging as Chutes and Ladders. He summarized it as worth a look.
Aftermath
By June, the rumored project using the Great Battles engine had a tentative name: Rally Round the Flag. Erudite returned for development, with Craig Taylor designing the game while the studio handled art and code. It was later retitled North vs. South and shipped in February 1999. That July, Interactive Magic announced The Great Battles: Collector's Edition, a bundle of Caesar and its two predecessors. This version updated Hannibal and Alexander to match Caesar's look and code, and added a mission editor for creating custom battles. Though planned for September 1998, the collection arrived in December.
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