Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients

Hegemony III: Clash of the Ancients is a strategy game for PC and the third major installment of the series that started in 2010 with the launch of Hegemony: Philip of Macedon. The franchise was created and is being developed from the start by Longbow Digital Arts, an independent Canadian studio.

Mechanics

Unlike its predecessors, which action focused on conquests of Philip of Macedon, Ancient Greece’s wars, and reign of Julius Caesar, Hegemony III takes us to the early days of Ancient Rome. It was then when armies of the Greeks, Gauls, Romans, and Etruscans fought fierce battles for control of the Apennine Peninsula. In the game, we can recreate Ancient Rome’s path to becoming the biggest superpower of the ancient world or try to change history’s course by leading one of the remaining nations to hegemony.

The gameplay remains faithful to the series’ tried formula and still combines elements of the extensive grand strategy games with tactical real-time combat with the active pause option. The players’ tasks include incessant development of their own empire, raising and commanding armies, and establishing a functional manufacturing network that can feed the population and supply the fighting military. We oversee everything from the macro-scale strategy map that presents armed forces as figurines. At any moment, we can go straight into any battlefield and assume direction control over our units. In such scenario, we observe the events in a spectacular tactical 3D view.

Despite the unchanged mechanics, the developers introduced a myriad of novelties to the gameplay which makes Hegemony III the most extensive game in the entire series. The most notable ones include enhanced city development, new army abilities, and the possibility of trading with resources and slaves. The map itself is four times more detailed than that of Hegemony Rome. Beside the units available in the game’s predecessors, Hegemony III features over 30 completely new ones. Moreover, there are over 25 factions that belong to four main cultures at the players’ disposal.

The story campaign is completely non-linear. Its course and subsequently set objectives change dynamically depending on the player’s actions, which means that every playthrough can be completely unique.

Hegemony III for PC comes with and advanced and intuitive editor that lets us create historical and fantastical maps and then share team via Steam Workshop.

Last updated on November 29, 2016