Alea Jacta Est
- November 4, 2014
- Ageod
Get on Steam"Alea Jacta Est" is a turn-based strategy game set in the ancient Roman Republic and Empire. Players can experience the rise and fall of Rome, commanding armies, managing provinces, and engaging in political intrigue. The game features a detailed simulation of ancient warfare, with a focus on historical accuracy and tactical decision-making. With multiple scenarios and campaigns, "Alea Jacta Est" offers a rich and immersive experience for fans of historical strategy games.
PC
Reviews
- Alea Jacta Est offers a deep and immersive simulation of Roman warfare, focusing heavily on logistics and strategic planning.
- The game is historically accurate and features a beautifully designed 2D map of the Mediterranean and the Middle East, enhancing the overall experience.
- Despite its steep learning curve, players find the game rewarding once they grasp its complex mechanics, making it a great choice for fans of refined strategy games.
- The game suffers from performance issues, including slow turn processing and occasional crashes, which can hinder gameplay enjoyment.
- Many players find the learning curve to be excessively steep, with inadequate tutorials that leave them confused about game mechanics and strategies.
- The lack of ongoing support and updates from the developers has left some players feeling frustrated, especially regarding technical issues and the game's optimization.
- graphics11 mentions
- 27 % positive mentions
- 45 % neutral mentions
- 27 % negative mentions
The game's graphics are described as simple and functional, prioritizing clarity over visual flair, which some players appreciate for ease of navigation. While the aesthetic is not elaborate, it effectively supports the game's complex mechanics and historical accuracy. However, there are calls for improvements, particularly in battle graphics, to enhance the overall experience without overwhelming the gameplay.
“Good grief... such a simple concept, a simple aesthetic, a simple approach to a complex time period (which tempts us with potentiality), and a simple interface.”
“As for the technical aspects, the game features nice graphics (nothing too fancy, but makes the map very easy to read, and this is by far more important than seeing a lot of tiny legionaries and hoplites swinging swords and spears...) and decent score (nothing to be thrilled of, and a bit repetitive on long scenarios); turn processing is a bit slow on low-end computers, even if I play on a rudimentary Celeron N2840 powered, 2GB RAM netbook.”
“The only fault of the game is geography, the region/city names in Gallia Cisalpina are all shifted to the east, between wrong rivers... but the other issues are very beautiful and you forget these weird geographical errors...”
“It has no fancy graphics or UI, and it's very complex to understand and master the game mechanics, but it's profound and very challenging, besides its historical accuracy.”
“Good grief... such a simple concept, a simple aesthetic, a simple approach to a complex time period (which tempts us with potential), and a simple interface.”
“If you have the capability to even run this game smoothly, you might as well not even play the damn thing and just go play a Total War title on ultra settings and spiffy graphics mods to boot.”
- gameplay7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The gameplay is complex and challenging, requiring a deep understanding of intricate mechanics, which may be daunting for newcomers. While the historical accuracy and depth are commendable, the lack of clear tutorials and guidance on unit stats and battle mechanics can hinder the overall experience. Additionally, the ability to save every few turns can disrupt the immersive "just one more turn" feeling.
“It has not fancy graphics or UI and it's very complex to understand and master game mechanics, but it's profound and very challenging, besides its historical accuracy.”
“The historic setting is really well done (mechanics).”
“Good game to get you introduced to Ageod's game mechanics.”
“It has no fancy graphics or UI, and it's very complex to understand and master the game mechanics, but it's profound and very challenging, besides its historical accuracy.”
“Currently, I can save the game every 5 turns or so, and in the event of a crash, I just reload and carry on, but that ruins the gameplay for that 'just one more turn' moment.”
“It was my first Ageod game, so naturally, I had no previous basic knowledge of the game's mechanics.”
- optimization7 mentions
- 43 % positive mentions
- 14 % neutral mentions
- 43 % negative mentions
The optimization of the game has received mixed feedback, with some users reporting significant performance improvements after installing a specific patch, while others experience severe lag and poor optimization across multiple systems. Overall, many players express frustration with the game's optimization, indicating it detracts from the overall experience and calling for improvements.
“I didn't have any technical issues either (it's good to install the 4GB patch if you have a x64 OS; it improves performance a lot, and you can find it in a stickied comment here in the Steam community).”
“As for performance, this game has never crashed for me; it lags if you're really zoomed out on the map.”
“I will happily change my review to a recommend if they improve the optimization.”
“This game has no optimization, none.”
“I've done the very little that I can do to make this game run on two separate systems and nothing improves the performance.”
“However, what leads me to caution others about the game is the extremely poor optimization.”
- story3 mentions
- 33 % positive mentions
- 0 % neutral mentions
- 67 % negative mentions
The story aspect of the game revolves around strategic planning and decision-making, where players must carefully plot army movements and political actions based on the outcomes of previous turns. The narrative unfolds through a log that details events, requiring players to engage in a cycle of planning and waiting for resolutions, ultimately leading to victory or defeat.
“The most game time you spend plotting for the next game turn, then you await the next 30 days to resolve, read the game's log, plot again, go with the next turn, and rinse and repeat until you are victorious or defeated.”
“In order to better understand what was going on while you were waiting for the turn to resolve, you always need to check the game's log and see what transpired, then plot army movements, political decisions, and whatnot for the next turn.”
“So the most game time you spend plotting for the next game turn, then you await the next 30 days to resolve, read the game's log, plot again, go with the next turn, and rinse and repeat until you are victorious or defeated.”
- stability1 mentions
- 0 % positive mentions
- -200 % neutral mentions
- 300 % negative mentions
Users report that the game experiences significant stability issues, particularly freezing during transitions between turns and battle screens, which disrupts the overall gameplay experience.
“You resolve a turn, and the game basically freezes until you get to a battle screen.”
“The game crashes frequently, making it nearly unplayable.”
“I experienced constant lag and stuttering, which ruined the overall experience.”
