| Sparta: War of Empires | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Developer(s) | Plarium |
| Publisher(s) | Plarium |
| Composer(s) | Jesper Kyd |
| Platform(s) | Browser |
| Release |
|
| Genre(s) | MMORTS |
Sparta: War of Empires is a MMO strategy video game developed and published by Plarium. The game was released for web browser in 2014. The game is available free, with paid upgrades available. [1]
The game is set in 5th Century BCE Greece, during a war between Xerxes and the Persian Empire. [2] Xerxes and his Persian Empire have set out to conquer Greece, leaving the lands of Hellas in a state of devastation.
In order to succeed in the game, players must take control of ancient warriors, master the weaponry of the era, and grow their resources gained through fighting other players.
Each player becomes Archon of his or her city, and must build their city from scratch. Players need to protect their city-state with the help of King Leonidas and the Spartan army using a combination of diplomacy, strategy and war. [2]
The game features a fully scored soundtrack and sound composed and produced by BAFTA-winning composer Jesper Kyd. [3] The track “Hellas” from the game is included on his 2015 album, Five Worlds of Plarium. [4]
Sparta: War of Empires has received generally positive reviews, with Gamespresso editor-in-chief Alana Fearnall writing that "if the developers can support a large community base over time, Sparta: War of Empires is worth playing". [7] Giovanni Damiano of Gamerbrain praises the game as "engaging, fun and exciting" [8] but the game has been criticized for being costly for in game purchases.
Themistocles was an Athenian politician and general. He was one of a new breed of non-aristocratic politicians who rose to prominence in the early years of the Athenian democracy. As a politician, Themistocles was a populist, having the support of lower-class Athenians, and generally being at odds with the Athenian nobility. Elected archon in 493 BC, he convinced the polis to increase the naval power of Athens, a recurring theme in his political career. During the first Persian invasion of Greece, he fought at the Battle of Marathon, and was possibly one of the ten Athenian strategoi (generals) in that battle.
Xerxes I was a Persian ruler who served as the fourth King of Kings of the Achaemenid Empire, reigning from 486 BC until his assassination in 465 BC. He was the son of Darius the Great and Atossa, a daughter of Cyrus the Great. In Western history, Xerxes is best known for his invasion of Greece in 480 BC, which ended in Persian defeat.
The Battle of Salamis was a naval battle fought in 480 BC, between an alliance of Greek city-states under Themistocles, and the Persian Empire under King Xerxes. It resulted in a decisive victory for the outnumbered Greeks. The battle was fought in the straits between the mainland and Salamis, an island in the Saronic Gulf near Athens, and marked the high point of the second Persian invasion of Greece.
Leonidas I was a king of the Greek city-state of Sparta, and the 17th of the Agiad line, a dynasty which claimed descent from the mythical demigod Heracles. Leonidas I was a son of King Anaxandridas II. He succeeded his half-brother King Cleomenes I to the throne in c. 489 BC. His co-ruler was King Leotychidas. He was succeeded by his son, King Pleistarchus.
The Battle of Thermopylae was fought in 480 BC between the Achaemenid Persian Empire under Xerxes I and an alliance of Greek city-states led by Sparta under Leonidas I. Lasting over the course of three days, it was one of the most prominent battles of both the second Persian invasion of Greece and the wider Greco-Persian Wars.
The Battle of Mycale was one of the two major battles that ended the second Persian invasion of Greece during the Greco-Persian Wars. It took place on or about August 27, 479 BC on the slopes of Mount Mycale, on the coast of Ionia, opposite the island of Samos. The battle was fought between an alliance of the Greek city-states, including Sparta, Athens and Corinth, and the Persian Empire of Xerxes I.
The Greco-Persian Wars were a series of conflicts between the Achaemenid Empire and Greek city-states that started in 499 BC and lasted until 449 BC. The collision between the fractious political world of the Greeks and the enormous empire of the Persians began when Cyrus the Great conquered the Greek-inhabited region of Ionia in 547 BC. Struggling to control the independent-minded cities of Ionia, the Persians appointed tyrants to rule each of them. This would prove to be the source of much trouble for the Greeks and Persians alike.
300 is a historically inspired 1998 comic book limited series written and illustrated by Frank Miller with painted colors by Lynn Varley.
The 300 Spartans is a 1962 CinemaScope epic film depicting the Battle of Thermopylae. Made with the cooperation of the Greek government, it was shot in the village of Perachora in the Peloponnese. The working title was Lion of Sparta. It stars Richard Egan as the Spartan king Leonidas, Ralph Richardson as Themistocles of Athens and David Farrar as Persian king Xerxes, with Diane Baker as Ellas and Barry Coe as Phylon providing the love interest in the film. Greek warriors, led by 300 Spartans, fight against a Persian army of almost limitless size. Despite the odds, the Spartans will not flee or surrender, even if it means their deaths.
In the writings of the Ancient Greek chronicler Herodotus, the phrase earth and water is used to represent the demand by the Persian Empire of formal tribute from the cities or people who surrendered to them.
Jesper Kyd Jakobson is a Danish composer and sound designer who has worked on various video game, television, and film projects. He has composed soundtracks for the Hitman series, Assassin's Creed series, Borderlands series, Darksiders II and State of Decay, among many others. His scores use orchestra, choir, acoustic manipulations and electronic soundscapes.
Classical Greece was a period of around 200 years in Ancient Greece, marked by much of the eastern Aegean and northern regions of Greek culture gaining increased autonomy from the Persian Empire; the peak flourishing of democratic Athens; the First and Second Peloponnesian Wars; the Spartan and then Theban hegemonies; and the expansion of Macedonia under Philip II. Much of the early defining politics, artistic thought, scientific thought, theatre, literature and philosophy of Western civilization derives from this period of Greek history, which had a powerful influence on the later Roman Empire. Part of the broader era of classical antiquity, the classical Greek era ended after Philip II's unification of most of the Greek world against the common enemy of the Persian Empire, which was conquered within 13 years during the wars of Alexander the Great, Philip's son.
Ancient Wars: Sparta is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows. Developed by World Forge and published by Playlogic, it was released in Russia in December 2006, in Europe and North America in April 2007, and in Australia in October 2007.
The city of Athens during the classical period of ancient Greece was the major urban centre of the notable polis (city-state) of the same name, located in Attica, Greece, leading the Delian League in the Peloponnesian War against Sparta and the Peloponnesian League. Athenian democracy was established in 508 BC under Cleisthenes following the tyranny of Isagoras. This system remained remarkably stable, and with a few brief interruptions remained in place for 180 years, until 322 BC. The peak of Athenian hegemony was achieved in the 440s to 430s BC, known as the Age of Pericles.
Fate of Hellas is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows. Developed by World Forge, it was published in Russia by Russobit-M in December 2007, in Europe by JoWooD Productions in March 2008, and in North America by DreamCatcher Interactive in May 2008. A spiritual successor to Ancient Wars: Sparta, Fate of Hellas uses the same game engine as the previous title - the Ancient Wars Engine (AWE) - and features identical gameplay. Two more World Forge games using this engine and gameplay style would follow - The Golden Horde and Age of Alexander.
300: Rise of an Empire is a 2014 American epic historical action film directed by Noam Murro from a screenplay by Zack Snyder and Kurt Johnstad, based on Frank Miller's graphic novel Xerxes. It is a follow-up to the 2006 film 300, taking place before, during, and after the main events of that film, and is loosely based on the Battle of Artemisium and the Battle of Salamis. The cast includes Lena Headey, Peter Mensah, David Wenham, Andrew Tiernan, Andrew Pleavin, and Rodrigo Santoro reprising their roles from the first film, alongside Sullivan Stapleton, Eva Green, Hans Matheson, and Callan Mulvey.
Plarium Global Ltd. is a video game developer, publisher and subsidiary of the Australian gambling machine manufacturer Aristocrat Leisure Limited. It is known for creating mobile, desktop and browser games in various genres including MMO, RPG, action, strategy, and casual.
Stormfall: Age of War is a social browser game created in 2012 by Plarium and then moved to Facebook in November. This game franchise builds on the success of Plarium's earlier Facebook titles in the crowded web-based PvP strategy game market, though a pay-to-win aspect of the game raises concerns. Plarium, which has a global registered player base of 250 million players, introduced Stormfall: Rise of Balur as the sequel to the hugely popular Stormfall: Age of War.
Soldiers Inc. is a Massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game (MMORTS) developed and published by Plarium. The game was released in 2013 and is designed for use on web browsers. The game is military themed and set in the fictional country of Zandia, where players compete for control of the land's rich mineral fields. The game was named by Facebook as one of the top social games on its platform in 2013.
Pirates: Tides of Fortune is a massively multiplayer online real-time strategy game developed and published by Plarium. The game was released for web browser in 2012. The game is set in on fictional desert island where players build their own pirate bay, ships and fight against each other in sea-based battles.
