Strategy on a grand scale
Alexander the Great once said: 'There is nothing impossible to him who will try.'
That appears to be the same message offered by interactive entertainment software publisher Ubisoft to those who play its video game based on, arguably, the greatest military strategist of all time.
Designed for personal computer gamers, the real-time strategy game was tied in with last year's cinema release of the film Alexander, starring Colin Farrell and directed by Oliver Stone.
The game play in Ubisoft's Alexander is challenging enough to entice the hard-core gamer, but also delivers a grand and epic entertainment experience that is accessible to a larger audience of casual players.
Integrating several scenes from the film, players must fight real-time battles using formations, combat and authentic military tactics, while commanding vast armies in foreign lands set in 300 BC.
A whopping 64,000 armed units can be rendered on the battlefield simultaneously with up to 8,000 foot soldiers filling the screen at a time.
The battles are set in a variety of terrains: in the desert, in the jungle or on a mountain range.
The game also comes with a printed historical map and selected music from motion picture composer Vangelis to heighten the drama of realising the objectives in the game, which delivers single-player and multiplayer missions.
There are four single-player missions: Alexander's campaign, the Indian campaign, the Egyptian campaign and the Persian campaign. Each offers unique characteristics and resource management challenges.
The most effective strategy is to build fast, upgrade fast and destroy the enemy. The fastest button-clicker wins the battle.
The graphics and special effects are incredible. The high level of detail brings locations to life, including war elephants used to charge into enemy soldiers.
Players can zoom in on the action to see all the battle forces on land and sea.
There are even variations presented to the player. For example, the Persian King Darius emerges the victor over Alexander in one mission.
That means players can win or lose empires, as a combination of courage and strategy is used to determine the victor.
Playing Alexander requires a PC with a minimum of one-gigahertz Pentium processor and running Windows 98 to XP. Other minimum system requirements include 256 megabytes of random access memory, 64MB DirectX 8.1-compatible video card, DirectX 8.1-compatible sound card, 12x CD-Rom drive, and 2GB of free hard disk space.
A high-speed internet connection is a must when using the game's multiplayer mode, in which up to seven players can take part.
Ubisoft's Alexander
Specifications
Price: $280
Pros: Historical and 'what if' strategies are rendered well
Cons: No tutorial system for novices
