Hannibal

On the Apennine peninsula there was a small village destined for greatness. The village is now called Rome “the Eternal City”. But there was a point in time, where another city could overshadow it, could destroy it. Cartage and Rome were developing at the same time and the competition between the two became so fierce they went to war. And not just one, there were three Punic wars for the supremacy in the Mediterranean.

The most famous was the Second Punic War, when the great warlord of the Carthage army Hannibal crossed the Alps on elephant backs and attacked Romans where they least expected it. Hannibal moved his army downward throughout the entire Apennine peninsula passing the defenseless city of Rome. “Hannibal ante portas!” Romans yelled in panic, yet to their relief he did not attack it.

History never was able to fully answer why he didn’t attack. Did he fear that the Romans had a strong army protecting their capital? Was he trying to return to his homeland to help defend against a Roman counterattack? Perhaps he believed the Romans would take his campaign as a warning and a display of their own inferiority and would yield to the might of Carthage without further need for bloodshed? Whatever the reasons were, he did not attack and although a lot of the landscape was devastated, Rome itself stood unaffected. Shortly after these events, Carthage entered a treaty in which one of the conditions was that they would not have an army for any purpose. Meanwhile a Roman ally which bordered the Carthaginians began invading the Carthaginian territory. In retaliation, Carthage began mustering armies. In response to this breach of the peace treaty, Romans rallied their armies and prepared for the Third Punic War in which they demolished Carthage stone by stone with the proclamation “Carthage never more!”

It is your turn now to rewrite the history. You are put in charge of Carthage and at your disposals are some armed forces as well as the authority to gather new armies, collect taxes, and wager war… In short you are the head of the Carthaginian empire and you need to make the most of it. To learn how, refer to the manual (see the extras).

The game itself features nice graphics and includes solid sounds. The gameplay can be overwhelming at first, but once you get used to it, you’ll be quite drawn into the game. It’s a good strategic game that will require careful thinking and certain leadership skills. You’re playing the side that has lost and was pushed out of the history, so you’re the underdog in this game. That’s always a challenge. Are you ready to except it? Are you ready and able to rewrite history in this real-time strategy game? Here’s your chance to prove it!