Chariots of War
Chariots of War is an isometric 3-D strategy game, developed by Slitherine Software and Paradox Interactive, and published by Strategy First. It was released in the United States in 2003.
Gameplay
The strategic layer of Chariots of War is turn-based, though unlike Civilization, the focus is almost entirely on real-time tactical combat. The game is similar to Slitherine's earlier strategy game Legion, and uses the same graphics engine.
There are 58 different civilizations to play, ranging from the Hittites to Troglodytes. There are nine different resources to collect, which are used to construct buildings and units. While trade and diplomacy do feature in the game, they are of lesser importance, as conquest is the only way to attain victory.
The battles themselves take place on a separate deployment screen. Your forces are positioned across one third of the battlefield, and you alter their formations and give certain orders. The actual fighting is automated, so the initial orders are the only input in the battle that you have until its over.
There are both campaign and non-campaign modes of play.