Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans: Review
At all times, grandparents, as well as mothers and fathers, complained that their children were lazy, careless and disrespectful. They don’t want to learn lessons, they don’t join in the wisdom of the ancients. Moreover, if before the child ran into the yard after school, now he can’t tear himself away from the monitor.
As it turns out, you can find your advantages in everything. If your child loves to play computer games, then you need to combine learning with fun. Let the kids have fun, and in the process learn history, arithmetic and geography. The idea, of course, is not new, but fruitful – in theory.
Not everything is so simple in practice. When game makers manage to create something like Crazy Machines, the “educational” project really captivates not only schoolchildren studying physics, but the whole family. In the case of Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans one cannot count on such an effect.
The casual path to freedom
Of course, this is a casual game with all that it implies. Officially, the genre is designated as “arcade”, but in fact it is more of a collection of puzzles. Perhaps we should be lenient with this studio creation Slitherine Software.
Moreover, the developers are https://casino-love.uk/mobile-app/ not to blame for everything. Initially, the writer started the mess Terry Dery, whose "Horrible Histories" should arouse interest in historical events in children’s hearts. The first playfulness of opuses Deri dedicated to ancient Rome. What Young Minds Should Learn First? Of course, about gladiator fights!
Moreover, gamers will have to feel like a gladiator. After all, our protagonist – a boy named Rassimus – is a slave. The Roman commander Lucius “took it with him” from the battlefield as a kind of talisman. A young man can regain his freedom in only one way: by becoming the best in the arena. To do this you need to train hard, fight in the Colosseum and win. That’s all the plot twists for you. Not counting the Indian-Brazilian inserts on the theme “Rassimus, I am your sister!"that arise along the way.
However, a poor script is not a problem. The situation is even worse with humor. It’s not that it didn’t exist at all. But it would be better if the dialogues were kept in a serious spirit, because the pathetic attempts at humor that we see here cause nothing but irritation.
Thirst for knowledge, lite version
Okay, Tiberius is with him, with humor. Gameplay and atmosphere are what determine the fate of ancient Rome in the minds of tomboys.
Unfortunately, there’s not much to grab hold of here either. The hero must learn eight gladiatorial fighting styles in turn. Three training mini-games plus “real” arena combat. Only one puzzle out of four changes from "round" to "round". There are, for example, tasks involving connecting icons in pairs, collecting “volatile substances,” or synchronously pressing specified buttons on the keyboard. In addition, we will constantly have to color pictures and answer questions about Roman history – rather stupid ones.
It is clear that a child will not climb into an encyclopedia for the sake of a toy. Therefore, deposits of granite science are lying right there on the road. More precisely, they stand on special pedestals in the form of multi-colored books. Formally, to pass the test, you need to run around a certain area and collect all the information around the perimeter there. In fact, it is not necessary to read the volumes: over and over again the questions are repeated in random order. It doesn’t cost anything to just remember the correct options, thereby protecting your brain from a very boring and simplified presentation of ancient Roman events.
Sometimes a character is sent to the city. They send it in a very peculiar way. Let’s imagine that a military leader, who is also a lanista, gives his newly acquired slave a bag of money and freely sends him outside the gladiator school so that the young man can buy himself a golden helmet. Realistic isn’t it? We don’t have time to check Rassimus’s honesty – they immediately hit him on the head and take away all his wealth. Then a long walk begins through various authorities – from the blacksmith to the guard, from the guard to the fisherman and beyond. All these worthy citizens will ask us to find 15 differences in two pictures. It is not surprising that by the third approach the puzzle begins to tire.
Rome? What do we smoke??
Books on pedestals are wonderful, but have the authors thought about the atmosphere of the “eternal city”, which, perhaps, would be worth recreating for greater historical authenticity?? Apparently not. Slaves walk where they want and how they want. Neither in clothing nor in behavior do they differ in any way from free citizens. Gladiators do not train, but wander aimlessly around the school grounds – at best, at worst – they stand motionless and prevent passage. Judging by the number of guards, in Rome there is either nothing to guard, or no one to protect from. Only a few figures are able to move, the rest look like painted statues.
No matter how boring and bad school textbooks are, they are still preferable for studying history Horrible Histories: Ruthless Romans. Not to mention how bad this game is as entertainment.
