Rome: Total War: Alexander
Encyclopedia
Personal computer game
A PC game, also known as a computer game, is a video game played on a personal computer, rather than on a video game console or arcade machine...
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
. It is set in an earlier time period, putting the player in the role of Alexander the Great. It begins with Alexander's ascension to the Macedonian throne in 336 BC and lasts for 100 turns, each of which, unlike the original game and the first expansion, Barbarian Invasion
Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion
Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The Rome Total War Gold Edition includes both the original game as well as the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The...
, do not represent six months (assuming that it follows Alexander's actual reign of thirteen years, each turn would represent nearly seven weeks). The game is much the same as the original Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War
Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by Activision...
, but with fewer factions, different units, and a different map. The player's goal is to conquer 30 provinces, including key cities such as Tyre, Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus
Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city at the site of modern Bodrum in Turkey. It was located in southwest Caria on a picturesque, advantageous site on the Ceramic Gulf. The city was famous for the tomb of Mausolus, the origin of the word mausoleum, built between 353 BC and 350 BC, and...
and Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
, within the 100 turn limit.
The game allows Alexander to live longer than the 33 years of his actual life. He died in Babylon
Babylon
Babylon was an Akkadian city-state of ancient Mesopotamia, the remains of which are found in present-day Al Hillah, Babil Province, Iraq, about 85 kilometers south of Baghdad...
on the afternoon of June 10–11, 323 BC, just one month short of turning 33.
Factions
There are only eight factions in Alexander. Of these, only one, Macedon, is playable in campaign mode. The player can make playable the other factions only by changing the expansion's files. The factions are:Barbarian Factions
- ScythiaScythiaIn antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
: The Scythians control Scythia but in Alexander they also control Chersonesos. Their army consists of master horsemen and archers but almost no melee infantry. The Scythians are not a threat to the Macedonians but they can be conquered with difficulty. Also, thick forests block all the land next to the capital of the Scythians, making it troublesome for a player to conquer it.
- DahaeDahaeThe Dahae , or Dahaeans were a confederacy of three Ancient Iranian tribes who lived in the region to the immediate east of the Caspian Sea. They spoke an Eastern Iranian language.-Records:...
: Representing neighbouring, barbarian peoples like the IllyriansIllyriansThe Illyrians were a group of tribes who inhabited part of the western Balkans in antiquity and the south-eastern coasts of the Italian peninsula...
, Thracians, Sarmatians and Scythians, and consisting of independent cities like ByzantiumByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. They are similar to the barbarian factions in the original game; their armies consist of large groups of warriors, including warriors wielding war scytheWar scytheA war scythe is a kind of improvised pole weapon, similar to a fauchard, usually created from standard scythes. The blade of the scythe is transformed so as to extend upright from the pole, thus forming an infantry weapon practical both in offensive actions against infantry and as a defensive...
-like swords. They control various territories on the northern edges of the map.
- IllyriaIllyriaIn classical antiquity, Illyria was a region in the western part of the Balkan Peninsula inhabited by the Illyrians....
: The Illyrians control the western half of the BalkansBalkansThe Balkans is a geopolitical and cultural region of southeastern Europe...
with the capital at Epidamnus. Their army consists of axemen and specialist infantry with a limited collection of cavalry. Like their neighbours the Thracians they are a barbarian nation and they are also among the most dangerous nations at the beginning of Alexander.
- ThraceThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
: Thrace begins with only Thrace under control with the capital of ByzantiumByzantiumByzantium was an ancient Greek city, founded by Greek colonists from Megara in 667 BC and named after their king Byzas . The name Byzantium is a Latinization of the original name Byzantion...
. The army consists of barbarian close infantry including falxmen but very little cavalry. The Thracians are a barbarian race and not a Greek one as seen in Rome Total War. Along with the Illyrians they are among the most dangerous nations at the beginning of the campaign. They are allied with the other nations that are rival to the Macedonians.
Macedonian Factions
- MacedonMacedonMacedonia or Macedon was an ancient kingdom, centered in the northeastern part of the Greek peninsula, bordered by Epirus to the west, Paeonia to the north, the region of Thrace to the east and Thessaly to the south....
: Macedon begins with most of Greece under its control. The army is similar to that of Macedon in the original game, consisting of various hoplites and phalanxes, and powerful cavalry, including the Companions; the army lacks archer units, although it can field javelin-throwing units. Macedon also has a unique unit representing Alexander's personal unit of elite Companion cavalry led by the king himself. Unlike Rome and Barbarian Invasion, if the player's king is killed, the campaign ends in defeat.
Eastern Factions
- Persia: The Persian army of Darius IIIDarius III of PersiaDarius III , also known by his given name of Codomannus, was the last king of the Achaemenid Empire of Persia from 336 BC to 330 BC....
is made up of a variety of troops, from poorly equipped masses of infantry and archers, to quality cavalry and elite units like the ImmortalsPersian ImmortalsThe "Immortals" was the name given by Herodotus to an elite force of soldiers who fought for the Achaemenid Empire. This force performed the dual roles of both Imperial Guard and standing army during the Persian Empire's expansion and during the Greco-Persian Wars...
(also known as "Apple-bearers", from the apple-shaped ornaments on their spears), as well as mercenaries from Greece and PhrygiaPhrygiaIn antiquity, Phrygia was a kingdom in the west central part of Anatolia, in what is now modern-day Turkey. The Phrygians initially lived in the southern Balkans; according to Herodotus, under the name of Bryges , changing it to Phruges after their final migration to Anatolia, via the...
. The army also has access to chariots, which the Persian generals also ride. The Persian Empire of the Achaemenid dynasty is vast, controlling all of Anatolia, Egypt, modern day IraqIraqIraq ; officially the Republic of Iraq is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert....
and IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, and even as far east as western India- and everything in between.
- IndiaIndiaIndia , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
: Far from being a unified nation-state, the Indian kingdoms were nonetheless capable of sending awe-inspiring armies into the battlefield. Their armies consist of large units of lightly armoured troops, chariots and painted war elephants. The Indians do not appear in the single-player campaign.
Rebel Factions
- Rebels: The Rebels are not a conventional faction. Throughout the Total War series, the 'rebels' have been used to represent rebellious provinces and various minor factions (such as the Illyrians in the original Rome: Total War). Unlike in most Total War titles however, in Alexander there is not a single 'rebel' province at the beginning of the game, and the 'rebels' will only appear later in the game, either randomly as 'brigand' armies, or when a province revolts, either as a natural, historically authentic progression of the campaign after the player conquers Persia, or when a province's 'public order' rating drops below a certain level... As in other Total War titles, The 'Rebels' faction, being an essential gameplay mechanic, cannot be destroyed, even if every 'rebel' army on the map is destroyed and every 'rebel' settlement captured, the 'Rebels' faction can never be truly destroyed and will almost certainly reappear later in some form.
Historical battles
The historical battles allow the player to lead Alexander in some of his most famous and impressive victories. Like the previous games in the Total War series, the historical battles often put the player in a difficult situation against the opponents, such as starting with a disadvantaged position on the battlefield. However, the balance of the battles can be tipped if the enemy general's unit is killed or routed early in the battle. This is particularly necessary in the Battle of IssusBattle of Issus
The Battle of Issus occurred in southern Anatolia, in November 333 BC. The invading troops, led by the young Alexander of Macedonia, defeated the army personally led by Darius III of Achaemenid Persia in the second great battle for primacy in Asia...
(4th) and Battle of Gaugamela
Battle of Gaugamela
The Battle of Gaugamela took place in 331 BC between Alexander the Great and Darius III of Persia. The battle, which is also called the Battle of Arbela, resulted in a massive victory for the ancient Macedonians and led to the fall of the Achaemenid Empire.-Location:Darius chose a flat, open plain...
(5th). Unlike Rome: Total War, there is a special condition in these historical battles, which is to ensure that Alexander is not killed or does not run away during the battle. If so, then the battle is lost instantly.
There are six historical battles in the game, starting with the Battle of Chaeronea
Battle of Chaeronea (338 BC)
The Battle of Chaeronea was fought in 338 BC, near the city of Chaeronea in Boeotia, between the forces of Philip II of Macedon and an alliance of Greek city-states...
, where Alexander accompanies his father, Philip II
Philip II of Macedon
Philip II of Macedon "friend" + ἵππος "horse" — transliterated ; 382 – 336 BC), was a king of Macedon from 359 BC until his assassination in 336 BC. He was the father of Alexander the Great and Philip III.-Biography:...
, against the combined forces of the Athenian and Theban armies, ending with the Battle of the Hydaspes against the Indian King Porus. Apart from the first battle, each of the battles are unlocked serially as the player successfully completes them. However, a battle must be played and won at least on the difficulty level "medium" in order to unlock the following battle. Once unlocked, they can be played again at any time.