Let’s face it: history classes were boring. It wasn’t necessarily the content, rather the way in which it taught that made the lessons so dull. World War II, the French Revolution, the Fall of the Roman Empire, it all left me hollow. It wasn’t until I became an adult that I started to see history as the fascinating subject it is. And yet, in retrospect, it’s odd to see how much attention my generation paid to games that had historical elements in them, from the Call of Duty franchise to Age of Empires. Here we take a look at the best of examples of video games inspired by some of the greatest historical events.
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Age of Empires
Age of Empires is a gaming franchise that started way back in 1997 and has garnered much critical success – twelve of its games have sold over one million copies. Though the subject of each game varies, the series focuses on historical events throughout time. The first title, Age of Empires traversed the time from the Stone Age to the Classical Period, with all that came in between, including the Egypt of Cleopatra and the Shang Dynasty of China. By the developers’ own admission, Age of Empires was not the product of in-depth research. According to Bruce Shelley, the game’s designer, most of the reference material was taken from the children’s section of the library.
Call of Duty: World at War
Call of Duty: World at War was released in 2008 and forms part of the franchise which spawned the incredibly popular Modern Warfare. Players of the original COD saw the developers return to the setting of World War II. From the streets of Berlin to the islands of Japan, you play one of the Allied Troops fighting the fascist forces. The game itself had an altogether darker edge than previous titles: waking in bloody fountain after a massacre in Stalingrad was a particularly realistic touch. An interesting fact: Kiefer Sutherland and Gary Oldman were both cast as voice actors for the game.
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Assassin’s Creed III
Assassins Creed III is, according to Wikipedia, “a fictional history of real world events and follows the centuries old struggle between the Assassins, who fight for peace with free will, and the Templars, who desire peace through control.” The fifth outing for the series is set against the backdrop of the American Revolution, which took place from 1753 to 1783, and saw the thirteen North American colonies battle for independence from the British Empire. The game follows assassin Desmond Miles as he explores 18th century Boston, New York and the Frontier.
Sengoku: Way of the Warrior
Japanese history is not often taught in Western Schools but we’re pretty sure it’s on plenty of syllabuses in the “Land of the Rising Sun”. The chances are high we’ve all heard of the Samurai warriors, less so that we all know the Sengoku era of the era of Warring States, a conflict that spanned the 15th, 16th and 17th centuries. Sengoku is a grand strategy game set in 1467 and has players assume the role of a Japanese noble attempting to gain control of Shogun territories and defend them against warring clans.
So, next time you fancy a more exciting an interactive history lesson, just pick up one of these games.
