Walls of Rome (video game)

Walls of Rome is a computer game developed by Mindcraft in 1993 for IBM and compatibles.
Design.
"Walls of Rome" uses an improved version of "Siege"s game engine. The game was designed by Ali Atabek, Scott Baker, Paul Kellner, and James Thomas, with Kellner also serving as the project coordinator, and Thomas as the lead programmer. The game featured art by Scott Baker, Steve Beam, Steve Burke, and Juan L. Galceran.
Plot.
"Walls of Rome" is a tactical war game about sieges in the time of the Roman Empire. In this game, the player takes the role of either attacker or defender in a siege assault on a fortification. Each side has an assortment of weapons, troops, and techniques, ranging from Phoenicians to Roman auxiliaries, to cavalry, and from siege towers to Greek fire. The player can also build scenarios and play them or trade them with a friend who also owns the game.
Reception.
"Computer Gaming World" in 1994 stated that "Walls of Rome" "vastly improved" on "Siege"s game engine and AI. The magazine concluded that it "is not only a solid extension of the original "Siege" engine, it offers loads of replay value as well". The game was reviewed in 1994 in "Dragon" #207 by Sandy Petersen in the "Eye of the Monitor" column. Petersen gave the game 3 out of 5 stars.
"Walls of Rome" was a runner-up for "Computer Gaming World"s Wargame of the Year award in June 1994, losing to "Clash of Steel". The editors wrote of the game, "In this sequel to "Siege", the AI is less predictable than in the previous releases, the historical research is extremely solid (including many obscure battles that you can't find anywhere else and historical uniforms/banners which are something of a miniaturist's dream), and a multi-player modem capacity that takes the game up another notch in our opinion".