DeVuego

Estrategia de la mejor, concentrada en el combate, sin más adornos.

Certainly, this isn't a game for everyone. The difficulty level might scare some folks away that have yet to experience a good strategy title, but the distraction of building a base and managing resources might help a little bit. Those looking for a fictional story to accompany their game will need to look elsewhere, but it really wouldn't have fit in this game so I'm glad they left it out.

Vor allem im Multiplayer-Modus ist daher schnell die Luft raus, zumal es nur einen Spielmodus gibt - schade. Dafür sind die antiken Feldzüge gerade im Einzelspielermodus sehr motivierend, denn die Kampagne bietet spannende Herausforderungen: Noch nie waren Hinterhalte und Stellung so wichtig. Landschaft und Truppeneigenheiten wurden taktisch hervorragend eingebunden, so dass die einfache Tank Rush-Methode zum Scheitern verurteilt ist. Zwar ist nicht alles Gold, was glänzt, aber unterm Strich wurden die antiken Schlachten klasse inszeniert. Wer auf Ceasars Spuren wandeln will, liegt hier genau richtig!

Praetorians would have been an even better game were it not for flaws like its limited camera options and its poor handling of multiplayer matchmaking, but thanks to its intelligent use of terrain and the strategic depth provided by its units' special abilities, Praetorians is an excellent choice for real-time strategy fans looking for a stiff and satisfying challenge. Resource management in the game is as minimal as it gets, so you can stay focused on combat. The challenging and lengthy single-player campaign and the tough AI will keep you busy for a long time, while custom skirmish modes and multiplayer capability add to the game's value.

Schade, dass Praetorians viele Spieler durch seinen hohen Frustfaktor (trotz der drei Schwierigkeitsgrade) abschrecken wird. Denn ansonsten macht Pyros Echtzeit-Taktik eigentlich alles richtig: Faszinierendes Szenario, nette 3D-Grafik, komfortable Bedienung und clever designte Missionen ergeben ein Festmahl für Strategie-Feinschmecker. Rom- und Asterix-Fans kommen um Praetorians eh nicht herum. Alle anderen sollten erst mal die Demo probespielen bevor sie sich zum Dienst in der römischen Legion melden.

Praetorians es un juego repleto de buenas intenciones que, debido a algunas decisiones de diseño - bajo mi punto de vista, repito- equivocadas, se queda a un paso de brillar con auténtica luz propia. Me da la impresión de que hay mucho esfuerzo detrás de este título, muchos desarrollos tecnológicos enterrados en el motor gráfico y en la IA del juego, pero también de que Pyro Studios, al final, no ha sabido sacarlos a relucir de manera más provechosa para el título. 

Pyro demostró con Praetorians que eran capaces de crear juegos de calidad más allá de Commandos. Esto queda patente desde la primera partida, ofreciendo una experiencia diferente a cada batalla y con un muy buen multijugador, pero escaso en escenarios. Quizás el juego podría haber sido algo más pulido, sobretodo en el aspecto gráfico y en la cámara, la cual no tiene un zoom excesivamente bueno, ni demasiados ángulos en los que elegir. Pero aún así, las amplias posibilidades estratégicas, las cuales son perdidas en la mayoría de juegos de estrategia en tiempo real, con Praetorians toman nueva forma, y las amolda a su manera por el bien del juego y del usuario final. Ahora sólo queda esperar a que Pyro saque a la venta Imperial Glory y siga con su triunfal invasión de las listas de ventas en todo el mundo. 

Praetorians certainly does set itself apart from the competition - it offers quite a different approach to any other RTS games we've seen recently, and neatly occupies a middle ground between the incredibly hardcore Total War franchise and the more lightweight gameplay of something like Age of Mythology. Sadly, that might be the downfall of the game. More hardcore strategy gamers might simply find that this whets their appetite for the forthcoming Roman treatment of the Total War series, while those weaned on StarCraft and Command & Conquer may find the whole affair a bit too plodding and cerebral. 

Pyro Studios ne décevra pas les amateurs de stratégie temps réel avec Praetorians. Le soft offre un contexte historique aussi intéressant que réaliste, et la richesse du gameplay offre des possibilités stratégiques nouvelles qui ne manqueront pas de pimenter les parties en réseau. Et puis un péplum interactif de cette qualité, ça ne se refuse pas.

Praetorians a une bonne durée de vie, une bande son très bonne, une interface très bien pensée et un scénario qui force le respect du contexte historique. Ajoutons à cela des graphismes splendides, et vous obtiendrez... Praetorians ! Je ne vous le dit même pas. Enfin si je vais vous le dire :-) Le nouveau jeu de Spyro Studios est une réussite, ne cherchez donc pas plus loin que le bout de votre nez, je vous le conseille fortement. Vous ne serez pas déçu !

In summary, I would say this game is a must for those of you whole love fast action and strategy. This game is very friendly on weak computers and will offer you hours and hours of fun if you let it. With multiplayer maps stretching from desert oases to tree filled hilly lands for those dreaded surprise attacks. For those of you who love a real challenge, have fun trying to beat the campaign!

Praetorians is the kind of game that will not set the RTS afire with innovative gameplay, but what it does manage to do is bypass the micromanagement civilization side of these styles of game and ask players to use their brains to outthink, not simply outmuscle, the opposition. Yes, you will have to build siege machines, and you will have to recruit new blood for your army, but all that is within the spectrum of what armchair generals should expect to do.

The tactical wargame that remains, however, is simplistic and underdeveloped.

Ultimately, the developer of "Commandos" has created an amalgam of the two styles, the result of which I will dub a stroke of near-brilliance. But not near enough.

Praetorians is a good RTS game, far better and more innovative than most. A strategy game fan certainly wouldn't waste his or her money by purchasing this title. It's just disappointing that Praetorians is good enough to let players see where -- with a little more time, a little more tweaking and a few additions -- it could have been great.