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Review

Celtic Kings: Rage of War

7.0

Format PC

Developer Unknown

Publisher Wanadoo

Genre Sim / Strategy

30-Oct-2002 Steve O'Hagan is 'peasantly' surprised by this historical RTS

Steve O'Hagan is 'peasantly' surprised by this historical RTS

Set during the Roman invasion of Gaul, Celtic Kings boasts two game modes: the first, campaign, is your standard RTS fight-some-battles scenario. The second is adventure mode, where you and a handful of other faithful comrades wander the lands completing quests.

You can play as either the Romans or the Gauls, with the mysterious Druids and the rampaging Teutons occasionally showing their faces. When played as an RTS, Celtic Kings gets lost among the crowd of fantasy/historical titles already out there, with its simplified economics and derivative gameplay. But when played in adventure mode, it proves to be surprisingly addictive.

In this mode missions can vary from solo explorations with you fighting off wolves and brigands, to leading sieges on enemy forts and meeting in the field for full-scale battles. Troops can be arranged into formations by your heroes for greater tactical control. Druids and priests can summon magic through self sacrifice in another of the game's nice touches. And your hero and his followers earn experience and improved fighting abilities along the way.

Celtic Kings' main downfall is the recent appearance of the likes of Battle Realms and Warcraft III, which have upped the stakes. It can't quite match Warcraft's visual delights and epic scale or the innovative hero system of Battle Realms. Nevertheless, CK is worth investigating for its adventure mode if you were a big Diablo fan, or never grew out of Asterix.

Steve O'Hagan