Sad news for the folks looking forward to Ancient Wars: Sparta. It seems that WorldForge, the developer of the game, has stopped working with PlayLogic, the game's publisher.

Checking WorldForge's site, we found the following news tidbit:

Software developer WorldForge today announces that because of the multiple material breaches committed by PlayLogic publishing company the agreement for the development of Ancient Wars: Sparta game was terminated since 1st June 2007. All rights for Ancient Wars: Sparta since 1 June 2007 unconditionally were reverted back to WorldForge, and Play Ten Interactive was appointed as a worldwide agent for the game on the same date.

As you can probably guess, no word has been given as to a new publisher for the game other than the info about Play Ten Interactive, but we're mostly hoping the game continues development. The demo made it look like such a promising game, and we definitely want to see more of it in the future.

Strategy game buffs with an inkling for ancient history will be happy to know that Playlogic has just released a demo version of their Ancient Wars: Sparta PC game. This game is an RTS derived from ancient Greece's Spartan civilization, and features famous personalities like King Leonidas (Sparta) and Xerxes (Persia) - you'll remember them from the "300" movie/video game.

This demo release will feature one mission from each of the game's three main factions, and also carries English, French, or German translations. Before anything else, however, Ancient War: Sparta's has a few requirements.

Minimum:

• Operating System (OS): Microsoft Windows XP (admin rights required), or Windows 2000; Windows 95/98/ME/NT4 are not supported.
• CPU: Intel Pentium®4 2.4 GHz or Athlon XP equivalent
• RAM: 1024 MB system Memory
• Graphics: GeForce 6800GT 256 MB; ATI Radeon X800Pro 256 MB or higher
• Sound: Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
• DVD-ROM: 4x DVD-ROM drive
• Hard Drive: 4 GB Free Space
  

Recommended:

• OS: Microsoft Windows XP (admin rights required) or Windows Vista
• CPU: Pentium Intel Pentium®4 3.0 GHz or Athlon XP/64bit Equivalent
• RAM: 2048 MB system Memory
• Graphics: GeForce 7900GTX 256 MB; ATI Radeon X1900XT 256 MB or higher
• Sound: Direct X 9.0c compatible sound card
• DVD-ROM: 4x DVD-ROM drive
• Hard Drive: 4 GB
• Input Devices: Keyboard and 3 button mouse
  

Until Ancient Wars: Sparta's release, you can just head on over to the source link for the download proper (910 mb) to try out the game.

  

The video game Ancient Wars: Sparta developed by WorldForge and published by Playlogic is an accurate historical depiction of the Spartan Civilization. The game has 30 missions which cover the major battles that occurred from 700 to 300 BC. The game itself has multiple features, all of which help in the retelling of the history of one of the most powerful military nations during the time.

Features:

• Nature's Elements will be a factor (Wind and Fire)
• Heroes with different role effects
• More than 15 different buildings for each tribe
• Huge armies with hundreds of troops
• Huge selection of weapons, kit, and armory

While the promises from the game developer WorldForge are all good, you might want to know that the developing team's head is none other than "The Settlers" veteran Torsten Hess. We can only hope that with his experienced leadership, the video game will turn out well. Ancient Wars: Sparta is expected to be out in the US on March 13, 2007 at an MSRP of US$ 39.99. Before you go, check out the screenshots of the game and see if it's for you.

  

Check the full article to see more screenshots.

Infernal and Ancient Wars: Sparta, two PC games from Playlogic Entertainment, were picked up by Eidos Interactive for global distribution. Playlogic is counting on Eidos' wide distribution network and expertise in pushing games to bring the two upcoming titles in the spotlight. Eidos' track record includes the kick-ass Tomb Raider franchise, so Infernal and Ancient Wars: Sparta are in great hands.

Infernal is a 3rd person shooter from Polish developer Metropolis. Its main character is a fallen angel named Ryan Lennox whose has been recruited by the man in the red suit (not Santa but Satan) to help restore the balance between Good and Evil. The game uses the Ageia PhysX software which delivers stunning and realistic effects as well as support the Ageia PhysX card.

Ancient Wars: Sparta from Russian developer World Forge is a true RTS game. It is set in the Mediterranean between 500 and 450 B.C. and is based on historical accurate settings. Players get to lead the Spartans, Egyptians or Persians all duking it out for supremacy in the region.

Sparta has always held a kind of magic over those who are interested in the ancient art of warfare. The Spartans, long regarded as some of the fiercest warriors of all time, have been glorified in books, on the big screen, and of course on that smaller screen that sits on top of your computer table. Yep, there has been quite a number of games featuring these legendary warriors, and today we have some screenshots from one of them.

World Forge and Playlogic's Ancient Wars: Sparta is based on the history of the ancient ages and their main nations. Taking a cue from actual historical events, the game plunges players into the time when the Spartans, Persians and Egyptians are fighting for influence around Asia Minor, Europe and North Africa. Using the newly-developed Ancient Wars Engine, this RTS title lets player build up their nation’s powers to gain superiority over their rivals and build up a dominant culture and civilisation.

Of course, being an RTS game, the focus in Sparta is on the large-scale battles. You can check a few of those out by looking at the screen hots you can find after the jump. In Sparta, players can equip their soldiers with various weapons that can be looted off of the battlefield or imported from other cultures. They can also fortify their cities against their enemies and gather resources to ensure a safe economy.

All in all, Sparta offers RTS fans all of their favourite RTS gameplay features and at the same time throwing in a vast variety of new features and innovative options into the mix. Definitely a game that RTS fans will enjoy.

For more screenshots, click the "Full Article" link below.