By Jim Rossignol on May 12th, 2010 at 1:53 pm.
Chariot-racing in the era of Imperial Rome has never really been a hot topic for game design, but that’s all changes now with Race To Rome, a chariot racing game from Shockwave. You can literally select some horses, club other drivers, and potentially win the day… Okay, okay, it’s actually pretty primitive, but I’m can say that it’s okay for a browser game. And I can’t help thinking of chariot racing with affection after a youth spent reading Asterix comics. I never did watch that Asterix At The Olympic Games live-action film, however. And I probably won’t. I’m rambling. Sorry. Look over there!
asterix > tintin
there, I said it
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We need a crossover fighting game. Asterix vs. Tintin!
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Brother!
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Incorrect inequality is incorrect.
I loved both Asterix and Tintin, but I think I loved Tintin slightly more.
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Acording to vviquipedia:
Asterix vir fortis parvo corpore sed maxima intelligentia est qui habet vires ingentes e potione magica a Miraculide Druide parata. Titinus est iuvenis qui cum Milulo cane suo in omnes regiones terrae multa itinera facit.
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I never really read Asterix but I have read all Tintin comics. Therefore with my impeccable taste, Tintin must be better.
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Tsk, call yourself a games journo Rossignol? What about the (admittedly quite shit) game Carthage on the, er, Amiga I think.
Chariot racing and whippery for all!
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Also Circus Maximus: Chariot Wars on the Xbox (and maybe some other machines). A genre positively bursting at the seams, I think you’ll find!
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@wiper
When I read “Circus Maximus” I thought someone had made a video game version of the classic Avalon Hill board game of the same name. Amazing fun with 8 players on a custom map.
http://www.boardgamegeek.com/boardgame/244/circus-maximus
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Circus Maxiumus was a cool game.
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@disperse
A Circus Maximus PC game would be the greatest thing ever.
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>> Chariot-racing in the era of Imperial Rome has never really been a hot topic for game design, but that’s all changes now with Race To Rome,
So this game is already a huge success? Wow.
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No, this is just the critical turning point that will bring about an age of AAA chariot games.
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Hehe. Wishful thinking, if there is one.
Anyways, I always read your articles with interest. That’s why I think you could do better than that. Am slightly disappointed.
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I think he was being sarcastic when he said that, Mario.
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Next up: Rome Rash.
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It’s true, HexagonalBolts.
I’ve reread the article and totally missed the point. My apologies Jim.
My defense: I read so much hype, so much over the board crap, these days on mainstream games news media, that I become overly defensive and my survival instinct triggers on quotes like that, narrowing my vision.
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“Next up: Rome Rash.”
Best comment in the thread that isn’t in Latin.
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One shouldn’t forget Circus Maximus Chariot Racing for the original Xbox (and later the PS2 and Gamecube as well). The game was very memorable because every single button and stick of the Xbox Controler was used for some kind of command input.
You controled both the chariot’s driver as well as the guy with the weapon who defended the chariot from other racers. It even had a coop mode where on player just drove the chariot and the other controled the fighter guy. Awesome game, I played the hell out of it when it came out.
Actually it was pretty shit, but it was one of the few Xbox titles avaible when it came out, so I bought it anway..
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The Asterix live action movies are excellent… in French. Stay the fuck away from them if you don’t speak French.
Half of the movie is made of pun, especially the name of the characters (like it should, it IS Asterix)
But yeah, they are very funny if you happen to speak French (this being a site from the UK, I’m not sure how well so many reference to French will be received, but I’m not French, so there!)
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I saw the two older Asterix movies in German. They have been on TV multiple times, iirc. Not bad for a kid’s movie, actually. And the German voices are good! :)
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Saw Asterix. Was alright in French, crap in English. Give it a miss.
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Boar looked so damned good in that comic that when I finally tried it when I was like 14 I was terribly disappointed. Also, Asterix and the Magic Cauldron on the C-64 was an abomination.
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Aterix >> Tintin
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Podracing from Star Wars is basically chariot racing. I enjoyed Star Wars: Racer Revenge but that may not exactly have been a PC game… sorry.
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Oh god. When I saw this screenshot, the first thing I thought was that it was a sequel to this.
I feel dirty.
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I am so glad I’m not the only one to think that this game was related to Zoo Race.
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Shadow of Rome on the PS2 had a handful of somewhat road-rash-esque chariot races, but as this isn’t a PS2 site I won’t bother mentioning it.
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It’s all very well to reminisce about the blooming Chariot games of the past, but someone should point out that this race is absolutely Pony.
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“Chariot-racing in the era of Imperial Rome has never really been a hot topic for game design” – lies! Chariot Race on the Vic20 was the BEST GAME EVAR!
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