Hegemony Gold: Wars of Ancient Greece

 PC
User Score
7.9

Generally favorable reviews- based on 33 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 26 out of 33
  2. Mixed: 2 out of 33
  3. Negative: 5 out of 33

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  1. Mozleron
    Mar 15, 2011
    7
    this small studio title brings some interesting twists to the strategic gaming table. It is certainly no Total War, but that is not what they set out to be. There are not many games on the market that delve into ancient Greek history, so it is refreshing to see something new in that respect. There are some rough edges in the interface, but overall this is a solid title.

    The combat    this small studio title brings some interesting twists to the strategic gaming table. It is certainly no Total War, but that is not what they set out to be. There are not many games on the market that delve into ancient Greek history, so it is refreshing to see something new in that respect. There are some rough edges in the interface, but overall this is a solid title.

    The combat system is rather simple with a pretty obvious rock/paper/scissor + siege type unit selection. The Economic system is pretty easy to manage, and requires you to make proper strategic decisions on where to attack and when to defend.

    The most interesting part is probably the AI. In some cases, it can be brutal in the way it can sneak up on you, and in other cases, it can be maddening. Sometimes you'll get little raiding parties hitting you in a low value area, and sometimes you get huge invasion forces coming right for your throat. Being able to pause makes this manageable, but you certainly have to stay on your toes.

    Overall, this was a fun little title to play with. It won't win many awards, but it won't make you feel like you wasted your money either.    … Expand
  2. Grimkrieg
    Jun 15, 2011
    9
    While combat may not be as developed as some titles and it lacks the production values of more expensive games Hegemony Gold is definitely a fun game. What makes it stand out in my mind are the little touches, things that I learned as played deeper and deeper into the game. The Hegemony system sets goals for you to accomplish in each campaign, and rewards you for attaining them. These helpWhile combat may not be as developed as some titles and it lacks the production values of more expensive games Hegemony Gold is definitely a fun game. What makes it stand out in my mind are the little touches, things that I learned as played deeper and deeper into the game. The Hegemony system sets goals for you to accomplish in each campaign, and rewards you for attaining them. These help keep up the pace in the mid-game by giving you ideas on what to conquer next. The goals also give you an idea of how Phillip's campaigns progressed and add a little flavor.

    The logistics system is excellent. In most strategy titles I find logistics annoying at the start, but completely irrelevant in the end-game. In Hegemony supply matters, and the larger your empire the more important it becomes. It makes for a very interesting mid and end-game. This not only goes for food, but manpower to replace losses in your units as well. Using these against your opponents also makes for interesting strategies off the battle-field.

    The unit types are very subtle. Early on it seemed to me that the game had very few unit types, but as I progressed into the game I learned to recognize the difference between the hoplites, peltasts, and cavalry from different factions. This was a rewarding discovery, both for game-play, and because it reminded me of some old stories about the times.

    Your "native faction" units gain experience which you can use to increase morale, logistics, speed, and siege. The handful of unique units can also get size upgrades as Hegemony rewards. Generals can be assigned to units to increased these stats. Again the effects are subtle, a fully leveled elite unit led by a general can be very powerful, but it won't win the game for you by itself.

    Mercenaries give you access to unit types your native faction does not have. They are expensive but draw on pool of manpower you don't otherwise use, making them very desirable but situational.

    The UI is decent. I really love the scrolling aspect on the maps; close up it is a nice RTS view, scroll out it becomes a military campaign map with chess-like pieces, scroll out further it becomes a political map. A powerful tool that become very useful later on.

    In all this is one of the few strategy games that subtly gets harder and more interesting as the game progresses. It does not have the same sort of steamroller effect where you reach a certain concentration of force and find yourself invincible. You have to work to take and hold every city until very late in the game, waging war on many fronts surrounded by enemies on all sides. I'd recommend this for fans of longer games, people who can appreciate a title that has a lot to offer in the middle and endgame. Not really the best title for people looking for a quick fix.    … Expand
  3. Rodymetal
    Dec 13, 2011
    9
    This game is very original, fun and smart, what do you need more in RTS game, it introduces new concept and the feels of it fit the ancient greece period well, graphics are not so good though but since it is an indie game I give them full respect, the next title will be better in everything including the AI, I am sure the developers will become big soon since the base and the concept ofThis game is very original, fun and smart, what do you need more in RTS game, it introduces new concept and the feels of it fit the ancient greece period well, graphics are not so good though but since it is an indie game I give them full respect, the next title will be better in everything including the AI, I am sure the developers will become big soon since the base and the concept of the game are original and tight. a big 9 from me.… Expand
  4. Yakuzu
    Dec 8, 2011
    9
    This game definitely deserves a close look. It emphasizes true strategy, using means like supply lines, raids and sieges with the possibility to starve out whole cities. Multiple fronts and raids appear quite frequent, which makes the player struggle quite a bit, the pause function and the seamless zoom make up for that, though.

    The use of formations is also a great thing to experiment    This game definitely deserves a close look. It emphasizes true strategy, using means like supply lines, raids and sieges with the possibility to starve out whole cities. Multiple fronts and raids appear quite frequent, which makes the player struggle quite a bit, the pause function and the seamless zoom make up for that, though.

    The use of formations is also a great thing to experiment with. For example: Using an arcadian hoplite unit against a spartan one, normally results in the loss of the arcadian soldiers. This is because they have fewer manpower and moral.
    But, if you choose to let them take on the spartans using the half circle formation, they get to surround the spartans and thus gain a significant bonus which makes the mable to defeat the spartan unit.
    So the use of formation is rewarded, which is awesome!

    In conclusion I have to say, that this game really is "dumped" down to the point, which I love. It is also quite accurate concerning historical events, which is great!    … Expand
  5. VitaminK
    May 3, 2012
    9
    I was really surprised by this title, had never heard of the series before but am I real fan of RTS games. Pretty long campaigns and map is freaking huge. Lots of objectives and strategies to use. Worth a look if youre a fan of the genre or ancient greek/rome era games.
  6. vence
    Oct 21, 2012
    8
    This is an awesome little gem of game, no other game pushed the details about Hellenistic history so far, the result is a very addictive polished little game that should please every strategy gamer, and you actually learn something about the rise of the Macedonian kingdom while having fun.
  7. Minty13
    Apr 28, 2012
    7
    Pretty good game. The number of factions all wanting to kill you keeps you on your toes. The gold and food system keeps you from just being able to build loads of huge armies to take everyone out so you need to think pretty carefully which enemy to focus on. Main down side is the awful diplomacy and that it gets a bit repetitive (313 cities is a lot to handle). Definitely good value forPretty good game. The number of factions all wanting to kill you keeps you on your toes. The gold and food system keeps you from just being able to build loads of huge armies to take everyone out so you need to think pretty carefully which enemy to focus on. Main down side is the awful diplomacy and that it gets a bit repetitive (313 cities is a lot to handle). Definitely good value for money though and a promising start to a franchise. Looking forward to the next one focussing on Rome.… Expand
  8. KR777
    Apr 11, 2021
    9
    A fun strategy game, very atmospheric. While its sequel Hegemony 3 has some better developed mechanics and graphics, this is still a classic. It has its very own unique charm about it and has been very much worth my time and money.

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
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No score yet - based on 3 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 1 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
  1. PC Master (Greece)
    Feb 4, 2013
    84
    It combines generic strategy values with combat tactics as well as the empire management element, presenting an overall result that keeps the gamer glued (as long as you don’t expect a Starcraft clone). [February 2013]
  2. Destructoid
    Apr 11, 2012
    75
    At $20 and releasing in a marketplace filled with viable competitors, it is difficult to recommend Wars of Ancient Greece to any but the hardcore historical strategy fans. Those who can get past its many barriers to entry will almost certainly fall in love immediately, but this title is not for the faint of heart.
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  3. GamingXP
    Mar 31, 2011
    70
    All in all Hegemony Gold is a solid hardcore strategy game with a lot of variety and a huge amount of content. On the other side, the graphics aren't state of the art and some important game elements like a good interface, a good tutorial are simply missing.
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