This is a two player strategy game set around 200BC, the time of the Punic Wars between Rome and Carthage. One player commands the Roman navy, and the other commands the Carthaginian fleet and each side has to try and sweep the Mediterranean clean of the enemy's ships.
    First of all each side has to build up its navy. You'll need fast galleys, called biremes, to grab money from outlying ports and zip it back to you. But you'll also need some bigger, tougher ships 'cos you can be sure that the enemy is going to come steaming (well, rowing, anyway) after you.
    Movement is as simple as building ships. The main map shows you the whole playing area - the Mediterranean between Italy and North Africa. To the right of the big map is a smaller tactical map - a blown up view of the area surrounding the cursor on the main map. To move around you choose the move icon, put the cursor over one of your ships on the tactical map and move the cursor to where you want it to go. Remember, though, that ships start off slowly and build up speed, so don't expect to sail from Carthage to Rome in one go. Also, ships are gurt big clumsy things and they tend to run into each other. Not that this is a bad thing - the better you get at ramming the enemy, the more likely you are to win, 'cos if you ram them often enough, they'll sink!
    The only things missing from Legions Of Death are the legions themselves - nary a foot soldier in sight, they're all sailors! However, it's great fun, so let's hear that old Roman war cry, Delenda est Carthago, and into the galleys, lads!

Ratings given by other magazines

8/10      9/10

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