Video games set in history.

[Shaunofthebread]

I was playing AC Brotherhood yesterday and I realised how interrested in renissance Italy,its people and even language. Then I wondered what other periods in history could be used for a video game. So what ones can you lot come up with? And also what genre? Im also gonna exclude the obvious WW1/WW2 FPS.
How about a detective story based around jack the ripper?

 

[Shaunofthebread]

Yeah Im suggesting games which COULD be made, not ones which have been. Ah well,Its an easy mistake to make

 

[the spud]

I would like to play Christ master 3000. It would be set 2000 years ago. It would even come with its own morality system, so you could max out your god or devil meter.

 

[Knight Captain Kerr]

Warfare 1917 is a pretty fun browser game set in World War 1.
As for games that could be made well Irish War of Independence and Civil War could be good.

 

[Alssadar]

See all the Total War series. You got your Romans, you got your Alexander the Greats, you got your Attila the Huns, you got your European kingdoms, you got your Crusades, you got your founding of the New World, you got your Teutons, you got the foundation of Britain, you got Gunpowder, you got Napoleon, you got the Shogun.

For modern times, you got all those old shooters.

 

[LostCrusader]

I saw a game for the US Civil War and it was one of the worst games I've ever seen.

 

[Tonz of Fun]

My belief is that games set in history are difficult to make. Many have an interesting premise but they get mixed up with aspect that links them to the future(Assassin's Creed series) or it's just an FPS of previous wars. Now, I don't mind Creed, it's pretty fun and it's a new view or FPS' because I like shooting enemies in the face but I wish I could get a game where you start off in the beginning of civilized time and have to survive a certain catastrophic event or period in time. I wouldn't care if it involved time travel just so long as it's not like Darkest of Days where you get automatic rifles in 450 B.C or whenever. Having to use weapons and items from that time would keep you on your toes and learn new abilities and strategies so you can stay alive and bring them with you to survive to the next time period and another looming disaster would add a little more depth to the game. Like say trying to escape the ever encompassing doom that was Pompeii by dipping, diving and possibly parkouring over and around obstacles so you don't because an ash statue.

 

[Rufei]

Well, other than WW2, I can't name any good games that have been set during history.

Before I continue, quick thing: A WW1 shooter would be boring and bad. They spent most of the time in trenches, taking potshots at one another, and trying not to get their feet infected. Yuck.

Oh, wait, there's LA Noire. That's about all I can think of.

Is there a game based on Rurouni Kenshin? There's some history for you, with gratuitous anime thrown in.

Yeah, I'm lost at the moment. I should be able to recall more but I can't.

If you're looking for a Sengoku-era game, then Nobunaga's Ambition might help. If you're looking for the Meiji restoration, I wouldn't know.

Romance of the Three Kingdoms and Dynasty Warrior take place in the Three Kingdoms period in China (AD 160-220-ish). Other time periods aren't exactly that fascinating to Japanese developers, and American developers are pretty much obsessed with WW2 and more modern history.

Well. There's also Civilization, but that doesn't count. I guess there's also Mount and Blade, though that's not as specific, and you've got games like Europa Universalis and the Total War series out there.

 

[GonzoGamer]

Has there ever been a really good Robin Hood game?
That would be cool. Set & spring traps, upgrade the forest dwellings, help the poor, hire more swords; there's a lot of cool little things they could do with that.
Or what about a Caligula game? That would be fun... especially the braking in the bride minigame. How can something so wrong sound so right?

Does anyone remember BC On Wheels for Colecovision? That's going way back, in earth history and game history.

 

[kwydjebo]

Lots of games have used the past for settings.
Turning Point, FPS during (alternate) WW2 with the hitch that the Nazi's invaded America so you're in occupied New York.
Age of Empires, and 2, and 3....RTS games with historical armies. Ancient rome, middle ages, etc.
Empire earth, a Age of Empires like game (RTS) but instead of 4 or 4 era's, you had like 15 (Starting from stone age, going to present and even future)

Yeah WWII gets lots of play, of course the major advantage being you can easily paint one side as evil...not a lot of folks are gonna sympathize with them poor misunderstood genocidal nazi's.

Crimson skies, its a FPS/flight game (Arcade flight I guess) where that sorta seems like alternate 1930s/1940s

Vietnam has had a few games based in that era.
As mentioned, Civil war (a lot of strtegy Games I recall)

Sid Meires had some great ones, Railways (Where you're developing rail companies around 1900s and on), and Pirates, where you're a Pirate of the Carribean in the 1700s (Lots of fun I highly recommend)

The best though was "THE OREGON TRAIL". That was a Mac based Learning games (Lots of schools offered it on their lone computer) where you have to endure the hardships to travel west in teh 1800s. You had hunting, navigating the river, resource mgmt....