Cancelled Call of Duty game set in ancient Rome

[Infinitron]

http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2...o-the-roman-empire-and-it-looks-kind-of-crazy

And there's me thinking Battlefield 1 was spinning the clock back with its take on World War One. A never-released spin on Call of Duty that took Activision's first-person military shooter to the Roman Empire has been unveiled, with a detailed video showing us what could have been in developer Vicarious Vision's spin-off.

Dating back to around 2009, GameRadar's video shows a very different take on the series. Bolstered by the success of the first Modern Warfare and World at War, Activision was on the look out for alternative approaches to its lucrative series - and New York-based studio Vicarious Visions delivered with Roman Wars.

Set during the Gallic Wars, the game was to take Julius Caesar's first-hand accounts of the conflict, Commentarii de Bello Gallico, and would take in different perspectives from across the battlefield. A mood board - a selection of images and scenes developers crib from other sources to set a tone for their own games - featured the cinematic adaptation of 300 as well as Ridley Scott's Gladiator, while the gameplay itself took inspiration from Assassin's Creed, Zeno Clash and Condemned.

Those latter two sources speak to the combat of the game, which melded first and third-person viewpoints.

Activision was said to be interested in the pitch, but found it too radical - ultimately opting for Sledgehammer's Advanced Warfare, which would eventually release in 2014. The pitch was later sent Ubisoft's way - hence the Ubisoft logo appearing in the build showcased in the video - but it was ultimately declined. Vicarious Visions has hardly been short of work since, lending its hand to the Skylanders series and currently working on the Crash Bandicoot remaster that's slated for release on PlayStation 4 in 2017.

We're hardly short on games set during the Roman Empire, either, from Creative Assembly's strategic take on the era to Capcom's Shadow of Rome. And there's always Ryse, too - which Roman Wars bears certain similarities to in its own rough-edged way.

 

[Azalin]

lolwut?

 

[taxalot]

They would have lost the american crowd.

 

[orcinator]

Every joke that could be made was already made when Ryce came out.

Wonder if crytek had a mole at Acti and decided to make Ryze to compete with it.

 

[Severian Silk]

I didn't know Julius C. lifted.

 

[MicoSelva]

Judging from how Ryse: Son of Rome turned out, it is better this was never released.

 

[Delterius]

Shame on them for not calling it Call of Duty: Ancient Warfare. Or setting it in Mesopotamia against arab looking persians.

Judging from how Ryse: Son of Rome turned out, It is better this was never released.

 

[Wirdschowerdn]

Ryse - With gameplay edition?

Thanks Bobby for declining this.

 

[Hoodoo]

That's all the ancient CoD I need.

 

[Dux]

You know a setting for a shooter (or a ARPG) I would love? 1500-1700s shooter. Pike and Shot. Preferably set somewhere outside Europe so we can use bows, crossbows, and maybe even something exotic, while feeling awesome for having Plate Armor.

Well, there's always M&B: With Fire and Sword. Though hardly a shooter (maybe an ARPG?), it is set within that time period and in the eastern part of Europe. It has an abundance of muskets, pikes and sabres, but also bows. Hell, if you wanted to you could ride around in full plate armour shooting enemies with a recurved bow.

 

[Hobo Elf]

God those roided up romans look awful.

 

[A horse of course]

Ryse had a shockingly shallow and uninteresting combat system. I actually bought an Eggs Box precisely because I like fantasy roman stuff but it ended up being worth it for Dead Rising 3.

 

[Explorerbc]

Call of Duty in Rome you say ?

Spoiler

Too bad this game sucked