LEGIONNAIRE®JuLius CAESAR 58-51 B.C.

The Power of Rome Against the Barbarian Hordes

Caesar wheeled his horse around to look west, down the slope at his troops. Beyond them, the Sequani were being dealt their harshest blows and he could hear the ringing of several thousand swords. He looked anxiously to the north where he had sent Crassus with his cavalry and saw only the top of the hill. His cavalry had drawn away Avedorix Bloodaxe and his Morini from the main battle, buying him time so that he could destroy the Sequani before Bloodaxe realized the ruse. His legions were well-trained, but they were still outnumbered two to one.

The charge of the Sequani had been relentless in their fury. When they broke through the Roman lines, squads of men were thrown into the battle to plug those holes. Despite the frenzied attack, the Roman lines had remained strong. Caesar was confident that the might of Rome would prevail today.

A sudden roar erupted from 20,000 throats. Caesar turned north again to see a thick line of barbarian warriors! Crassus had failed him, and Avedorix Bloodaxe was waiting to charge down on his flank.

Panic erupted in him, but Caesar ruthlessly suppressed it as he ordered his right flank back to face Bloodaxe's men. As he watched the barbarians charge down the hill, he hoped that his trained troops would be able to move in time to meet this threat.

LEGIONNAIRE is a real-time adventure where you command the Roman Legions against the Gaulish barbarian hordes. Designed by award-winning Atari programmer Chris Crawford, you have up to ten legions at your command, and over a dozen tribes from which to choose, from the weak Aedul to the frightening and powerful Huns. Out-numbered two to one, you must use the terrain and the fighting characteristics of the barbarians to out-wit and defeat them. And . . . it's a real-time game, which means that the action never stops! Can you do as well as Caesar did two thousand years ago?

LEGIONNAIRE is ready to run on your Commodore 64® computer with program recorder.

Joystick required. For 1 player.

Playing Time: 20-45 minutes

Complexity Level: 6 on a scale of 1 (introductory) to 10 (advanced)

This game package includes complete rules and historical background information.

Source:

Back of Box - C64 (US)

Avedorix Bloodaxe, chieftain of the Morini, wheeled his horse to look down the hill at his troops. Their horses were no longer fresh, and many of his men lay dead or wounded from the battle with the Roman cavalry, but he still had at least 20,000 Morini warriors remaining. They had chased the cavalry for hours, finally catching them near a small copse of woods, only to realize that it was a ruse—Caesar had sent Crassus out to lead off and delay the Morin! cavalry so that he could deal with the Sequani first, on more even terms. Avedorix was furious at having been tricked, but Crassus would never return to report his success to Caesar. Trapped against the woods, Crassus found no escape from the ferocious horde of Morini, though some brave warriors died before the Romans were finally broken.

Over the hill Avedorlx could hear the commotion of the main battle, where the Sequanl were still fighting the Roman infantry. Avedorix was getting apprehensive, as the Sequani had been lighting for more than an hour now, and were likely to be in bad shape. He knew the capabilities of his own troops, and in a drawn out battle his men would soon be just so much dog meat.

As Avedorix reached the crest of the hill with the front line of his warriors he saw that the Sequani were indeed badly shaken. Of some 40.000 Sequanl warriors in camp last night, less than half remained and most of those were tired. The Roman line, though thinned, was unbroken. Then Avedorix realized that the Roman line was facing the wrong direction! Expecting Crassus to hold them off for a while longer, Caesar had not expected the Morini to arrive so soon, when he had not yet finished the Sequani. Best of all, they were below him on the hill!

Quickly Avedorlx called to his chieftains to charge, and a wave of screaming Morini warriors poured over the crest of the hill, sweeping down towards the embattled legions that only now saw their doom charging down the slope at them. Trapped between the Sequani and the devastating force of a Morini charge, they had nowhere to run and no room to maneuver.

Night fell on a silent battlefield. Except for a few warriors still searching bodies for pillage, the crows were the only life remaining on the bloody hillside. Down below, in the camp, the warriors were singing the praises of Avedorix Bloodaxe. He did not enjoy the fruits of his victory, however, as he was lying near the crest of the hill. His teeth still bared in a ferocious snarl and his eyes open to the stars.

LEGIONNAIRE s a real-time game of combat between the Roman Legions of Julius Caesair (you) and the Gaulish barbarian hordes (the computer). High resolution graphics and sound brings you the live action. You have up to ten legions to command, each with different strengths and weaknesses, and a choice of any two of sixteen different barbarian tribes to fight. As Caesar did two thousand years ago, you must meet the Gauls and defeat them. They outnumber you at least two to one, so you must use the terrain and the disorganization of the barbarians to counter your disadvantage in numbers. Above all, you must be able to react quickly to the changing battlefield situation, or the battle described above could happen to you! Caesar managed to conquer all of Gaul—can you do as well, or will the barbarian hordes defeat your legions?

Legionnaire is ready to run on your Atari® 800 Computer with at least 32K memory and 810® disk drive.

Source:

Back of Box - Atari 8-bit (US)