Buy CHARIOT WARS

...what have I done...
Start race,
the AI pull ahead
the AI swap positions with each other off screen
catch up with said AI
AI are in perfect line, no swapping positions,
but shows AI are swapping positions?
insert confusion.
Pass some chariots,
shows me in last position.
pass all chariots,
cross start/finish line first,
tells me I lost.
Insert more confusion.
Restart race
The AI start climbing up the scenery and doing doughnuts
end up getting 2 to 3 fps.
Win race.
Read comic.
try out multiplayer
can't sign up
can't log in
can't play multiplayer
Uninstall.

10/10.

Okay, let me get a few things out of the way here, yes, this was made using the Unity Engine. No, not everything made using Unity is utter crap - there's been some really, really, really, bad things made with Unreal and Crytek, as Jim Sterling points out. Lastly, I have several games that fall into the same criticisms that I have for Chariot Wars, games that are badly designed, unbalanced, and at times glitchy, but are still fun to play such as Plane Crazy, Primal Rage, Hyper Blade, or The 7th Guest - the list goes on and on, but like I said, they're fun to play.



Gameplay: 65/100 D

Chariot Wars is simple, four directions for your acceleration, breaking, and turning, plus a speed boost that can be used after collecting "coins" on the track. The more you collect, the longer the boost. It's simple, the bare basics of gaming and yet there feels like everything is missing. Nothing feels right for a game, instead it feels more like a school project one makes to show off your understanding of basic coding and isn't really meant to be played for entertainment.


Audio: 69/100 D+

The sound effects are nice, the horses sound like horses, but nothing blends or fades together, everything seems to be a full blast, recorded separately, then thrown together. The music is okay for what it is, but what really grinds me gears is the sound the game makes every time I press a button. They couldn't have picked a less annoying sound. And I know these things can be turned off, but that's not the point.


Visuals: 71/100 C-

Unity isn't known for it's graphics, instead it is more known for cheap, poorly made knock offs, and while there are exceptions such as with Max - The Curse of the Brotherhood, games like Chariot Wars is what fills the market. Granted, Chariot Wars isn't the worst looking game out there using this particular game engine, it does look like it's from another time, specifically 2002. The intro cinematic for example looks like something that was made for Age of Empires and goes on for several minutes longer than it should have. The game itself is bland and very static in its animation and is also a prime example of how NOT to use bloom and motion blur effects.


Content: 63/100 D-

There isn't much in terms of actual meat to the game, you race, you play through the story, you race others, you pick your chariot, your horse, and your driver.


Story: 71/100 C-

Yes, there is a story here, starting off with a double murder and a mysterious symbol on a piece of cloth, and well, yeah, it really doesn't have much to do with the actual game as far as I can tell. Presented in comic book style slides that are decently colored and drawn, it seems as though this part of the game was given the most attention and care, which is a bit sad since it also seems to be the most disconnected part of the game.


Multiplayer: 61/100 D-

It's like the single player...just with others. At least from what I was able to play.


Design: 59/100 F

As I mentioned at the beginning, I have a fair amount of games that suffer from, let's say - flaws, that ruin what could be otherwise unique and amazing games. Before doing any research and actually playing the game, I was quite intrigued by Chariots Wars on name alone, thinking "Chariot racing? Tell me more." The emotion instantly brought me back to when I played Plane Crazy heavily, but that was quickly dissipated the moment the game started the "tutorial." The basics of it boil down to the fact that Chariot wars feels like a simple track game with a Roman skin laid over it. Even the names are unimaginative and are rather what someone would think ancient Roman names would be after watching The Gladiator, and that's the unfortunate side. This could easily be a great game in the right hands, and before you blame the Unity Engine, it is just a tool. It is up to the developer to make it great.


Performance: 77/100 C+

Crashed a few times when I first installed the game, but then the first patch came and seemed to fix that along with some other things. Besides that, the game ran fine, but I didn't expect it that it wouldn't.


Verdict: 67/100 D+

Chariot Wars just feels lazy. I'm not saying the developers were lazy, not at all. The game feels more like the equivalent of an animated story board for a film. It's the basic idea, show casing the ideas that you want to have in a much bigger game, but instead becomes the thing that is released, and I feel like it's a shame that things like this is what gives people and gaming a bad name down at the indie level of things.

This is possibly one of the best games I've played on Steam in my 9 years of usage from the service. At least, without a doubt, one of the best titles this year, by far. Let me tell you why that is.

These guys put many AAA Studios that release blockbusters to shame. Simply because these other studios spend hundreds of millions on useless stuff like advertising and marketing, and other unnecessary overhead costs, they probably spend all the money on pizza parties every day for example. But what I’m trying to get at here is that these guys, on a not so high budget, have managed to produce a high quality racer, that is either on par, or above par with a lot of triple A releases. Let’s talk about this in more detail.

The graphics, now I’m going to admit here, this isn’t their best asset for the game, it’s not ultra-realistic, even though it is pretty close. However, if these guys have made Chariot Wars as good looking to most other megaton releases, then not only is OM Entertainment talented, I ask the other developers out there, how in the hell do you get away with spending so much money on new graphical technology, when there is barely any difference from your last game release?

Ok, onto the gameplay. There is a rush of adrenaline when each race starts, you’ll want to ram and make your opponents crash, while you race onwards. The sense of speed and danger of your opponents possibly catching up behind you will have you on the edge of your seat, trying to keep ahead and control of your chariot. Honestly, it’s really hard to put this into words, so I’ll simply say, it’s just amazing.

We also can’t forget about the variety in locations and everything else. You can select multiple characters, and multiple different chariots with nice highly detailed designs to make yourself look more intimidating to your competition. You can get an extra advantage over others if you choose the right type of horse depending on the map, which leads it into more of a thinking game of what to choose to out-do your opponents. Hats off to the developers for bringing some depth and variety to the selection process before each race including the nice selection of maps to choose from.

Speaking of the maps it’s nice to see highly detailed locations in Ancient Greece Egypt, and Gaul. You’ll actually spot some nice landmarks on some of the maps so you’ll know fairly quickly, where you are if you’re a history and geography fanatic like I am.

Really looking forward to the Multiplayer update, I’ll update this when it’s in the game to talk about it!

I can’t recommend this game enough, people need to play it and experience it for themselves. YouTube videos, or broadcasts from Steam, Twitch or YouTube don’t do this game justice, you REALLY need to play it to get the real sense of dynamic rich content there is in this little gem of a game. We need to support more developers like this that are brave and bold enough to still release quality releases like this that are truly unique and not afraid to try something new.

I feel bad for anyone who paid real hard earned money to play this. The FMV is a total lie. This game should not be on PC, rather the $1.99 app on my phone would be appropriate. It has WASD controls, R to reset yourself, and Space Bar to Blur the screen but not go faster. This has Demolition Derby type rules, you wreck once and you'll never come back. The graphics can be forgiven, but the controls are awful. The only reward you get is getting a different handling chariot or "quicker" horse. I played 2 levels and couldn't take anymore. The story line is so unrelated to the actual racing, the game may as well feature racing cars or motorcycles in Roman times, at least then you might be able to justify the "on rails" feeling. I tried to continue. Honestly. This game is bad and should not be funded at $25 a clip.

Chariot Wars does make an effort but ultimately fails to achieve an accomplished representation of the glory days of the chariot races during the times of the Roman Empire or to become an entertaining game at all. Whatever redeeming features it may have, they drown in an ocean of bugs, glitches and performance issues. The playability is just too bogus to allure players. At 25 dollars apiece, it's far too expensive to justify acquiring it. Do yourselves a favor and skip it unless the developers somehow magically solve all the issues mentioned in this review.

I really was excited to play this when I first saw it released on Steam. I was thinking a game that had taken tips from Circus Maximus and wanted to reboot Action/Arcade Chariot Racing. Unfortunately, that's not what we got... The game is an unfinished port that really needs some tender love and care. At it's core, the gameplay wouldn't be THAT bad if only all the technical, graphical and visual glitches weren't so prevalent. Invisible walls, floating coins, blurring when boosting that is almost nauseating, completely unrealistic/flat physics, strange animations and sometimes none at all. Especially when considering the price tag is 25 dollars, this is not worth your time or your money unless they do some serious fixing. Really disappointed with this one, considering the subject matter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nkC8b1tvqV0