7th Legion (video game)

7th Legion is a real-time strategy video game for Microsoft Windows, developed by Vision Software and Epic MegaGames and published by MicroProse in 1997. The game consists of two single-player campaigns and supports multiplayer online games. Tommo re-released the game on GOG.com in February 2014, but without multiplayer.[2] In a joint effort, Nintendo was going to help Epic MegaGames port the game to Nintendo 64, but this port did not come to release.[3]

7th Legion
North American cover art
Developer(s)
Publisher(s)MicroProse
Producer(s)Robert A. Allen
Michael Mancuso
Programmer(s)Paul Andrews
Artist(s)Rodney Smith
Grant Wallis
Composer(s)Blair Zuppicich
Platform(s)Microsoft Windows
ReleaseSeptember 24, 1997[1]
Genre(s)Real-time strategy
Mode(s)Single-player, multiplayer

Gameplay

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7th Legion is a real-time strategy game. Players assume the role of a commander of either the Chosen or those that were left behind, with the overall objective being to annihilate the other faction. To do so, the players have to amass funds to construct various buildings and war-machines, while recruiting foot soldiers to combat the enemy. Each player can collect special power-ups that would be found in boxes distributed across the map. These would provide bonuses to the force who collected the box. These bonuses include making the player's forces invisible to the enemy or increasing overall unit strength. Players could also take advantage of special "power cards". These cards have certain effects on events in-game; for example, some cards damage enemy troops, while others cause mechanical troops to malfunction.[4][5]

Plot

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The conflict in 7th Legion takes place in the future. Rampant overpopulation and overuse of Earth's natural resources have regressed the planet's ecosystem to a critical point. The governments of Earth enact the Planetary Evacuation Program (PEP) to vacate the world in vast colony ships, leaving the planet to heal. Sufficient room and resources to house the entire population was not guaranteed on these exodus ships, and only a select few were able to earn a place on the ships and jump into Hyperspace. In the centuries following the evacuation, much of Earth's population perished, the scattered tribes of those left behind forming themselves into 7 "Legions", all vying for control of what is left. As the game begins, the seventh generation of the Chosen - those descended from the evacuees - return and aim to conquer the planet for themselves.

Reception

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References

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  1. ^ Staff (September 24, 1997). "Now Shipping". PC Gamer. Archived from the original on February 18, 1998. Retrieved December 5, 2019.
    "Now Shipping: 7th Legion (MicroProse)..."
  2. ^ GOG.com (2014-02-18). "Release: 7th Legion". CD Projekt. Archived from the original on 2014-02-21. Retrieved 2014-02-20.
  3. ^ "Wiretap - Epic Working on Nintendo 64?". Ultra Game Players. No. 74. Imagine Publishing. January 1997. p. 24.
  4. ^ a b "7th Legion: Mon mech à moi". Gen4. 103: 192–193. October 1997.
  5. ^ a b "7th Legion". PC Jeux. 4: 138–139. November 1997.
  6. ^ "7th Legion for PC - GameRankings". GameRankings. CBS Interactive Inc. Retrieved January 16, 2018.
  7. ^ "Dying for Dollars" (PDF). Computer Gaming World. Vol. 162. January 1998. pp. 285–286.
  8. ^ 7th Legion Review – GameSpot
  9. ^ 7th Legion Review – Game Revolution
  10. ^ "7th Legion". Joystick Magazine. 86: 130. October 1997.
  11. ^ Peck, Mat (January 25, 1998). "7th Legion Review". PC Gaming World. Archived from the original on October 4, 2000.
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