<s>
Legionnaire	B-Application
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Application
wargame	I-Application
for	O
the	O
Atari	B-Device
8-bit	I-Device
series	O
created	O
by	O
Chris	O
Crawford	O
in	O
1982	B-Application
,	O
and	O
released	O
through	O
Avalon	O
Hill	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Recreating	O
Julius	O
Caesar	O
's	O
campaigns	O
in	O
a	O
semi-historical	O
setting	O
,	O
the	O
player	O
takes	O
command	O
of	O
the	O
Roman	O
legions	O
in	O
real-time	O
battles	O
against	O
the	O
barbarians	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Similar	O
to	O
Crawford	O
's	O
earlier	O
groundbreaking	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
(	O
1941	O
)	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
display	O
and	O
general	O
gameplay	O
,	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
added	O
a	O
real-time	O
computer	O
opponent	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
one	O
of	O
the	O
earliest	O
examples	O
of	O
a	O
real-time	B-Application
tactics	I-Application
(	O
RTT	O
)	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
computer	O
plays	O
as	O
generic	O
barbarian	B-Application
tribes	O
,	O
in	O
blue	O
,	O
with	O
the	O
player	O
's	O
legions	O
in	O
pink	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Orders	O
are	O
given	O
to	O
the	O
units	O
by	O
moving	O
a	O
cursor	O
over	O
them	O
with	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
and	O
then	O
holding	O
down	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
button	O
;	O
existing	O
commands	O
are	O
displayed	O
as	O
a	O
moving	O
arrow	O
,	O
and	O
new	O
orders	O
can	O
entered	O
by	O
pressing	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
in	O
the	O
four	O
cardinal	O
directions	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Like	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
the	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
playfield	O
consists	O
of	O
a	O
large	O
grid	O
of	O
square	O
cells	O
with	O
various	O
terrain	O
features	O
displayed	O
on	O
it	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
the	O
new	O
map	O
includes	O
varying	O
altitudes	O
,	O
displayed	O
as	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
contour	O
lines	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
screen	O
shows	O
only	O
a	O
small	O
portion	O
of	O
the	O
entire	O
map	O
at	O
one	O
time	O
,	O
smooth-scrolling	O
around	O
it	O
when	O
the	O
joystick-controlled	O
cursor	O
reaches	O
the	O
edge	O
of	O
the	O
screen	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
the	O
map	O
contains	O
no	O
cities	O
or	O
strategic	O
locations	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
game	O
starts	O
with	O
both	O
forces	O
placed	O
at	O
random	O
locations	O
on	O
the	O
map	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
basic	O
form	O
of	O
multitasking	B-Operating_System
was	O
implemented	O
by	O
having	O
the	O
"	O
easy	O
"	O
jobs	O
of	O
reading	O
the	O
joystick	B-Device
and	O
recording	O
the	O
user	O
's	O
inputs	O
during	O
the	O
vertical	O
blank	O
interrupt	O
(	O
VBI	O
)	O
,	O
while	O
the	O
computer	O
AI	O
ran	O
during	O
non-interrupt	O
time	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
As	O
in	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
the	O
AI	O
is	O
not	O
particularly	O
strong	O
,	O
but	O
the	O
real-time	O
action	O
makes	O
the	O
game	O
more	O
difficult	O
,	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
eliminating	O
several	O
"	O
tricks	O
"	O
one	O
could	O
use	O
to	O
fool	O
the	O
AI	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Historically	O
,	O
Roman	O
forces	O
were	O
in	O
general	O
much	O
more	O
adept	O
in	O
close	O
combat	O
than	O
their	O
barbarian	B-Application
opponents	O
and	O
would	O
win	O
any	O
one-on-one	O
fight	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
pursuit	O
of	O
a	O
higher	O
score	O
the	O
player	O
is	O
forced	O
to	O
seek	O
out	O
and	O
attack	O
the	O
barbarian	B-Application
units	O
on	O
terms	O
that	O
might	O
not	O
be	O
as	O
favorable	O
and	O
which	O
,	O
without	O
quick	O
retreats	O
after	O
combat	O
,	O
might	O
result	O
in	O
encirclement	O
or	O
exhaustion	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Chris	O
Crawford	O
wrote	O
an	O
early	O
version	O
of	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
for	O
the	O
Commodore	B-Device
PET	I-Device
in	O
1979	B-Application
,	O
his	O
platform	O
before	O
moving	O
to	O
Atari	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
writing	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
(	O
1941	O
)	O
,	O
Crawford	O
was	O
looking	O
for	O
ways	O
to	O
use	O
the	O
new	O
scrolling-map	O
technology	O
introduced	O
in	O
that	O
game	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Avalon	O
Hill	O
had	O
approached	O
Crawford	O
with	O
positive	O
comments	O
about	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
,	O
and	O
he	O
promised	O
to	O
make	O
a	O
game	O
for	O
them	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
After	O
three	O
months	O
of	O
preliminary	O
work	O
,	O
he	O
started	O
development	O
in	O
January	O
1982	B-Application
,	O
delivering	O
the	O
first	O
version	O
in	O
February	O
and	O
a	O
final	O
version	O
in	O
June	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Crawford	O
published	O
an	O
article	O
on	O
game	O
design	O
in	O
the	O
December	O
1982	B-Application
issue	O
of	O
BYTE	B-Application
,	O
using	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
as	O
an	O
example	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legionnaire	B-Application
was	O
the	O
last	O
game	O
Crawford	O
would	O
release	O
using	O
the	O
original	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
engine	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
His	O
next	O
game	O
for	O
the	O
Atari	O
was	O
Excalibur	B-Application
,	O
which	O
used	O
a	O
different	O
model	O
of	O
interaction	O
based	O
on	O
moving	O
from	O
room	O
to	O
room	O
within	O
a	O
virtual	O
castle	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
When	O
Atari	O
collapsed	O
in	O
1984	O
,	O
he	O
turned	O
his	O
attention	O
to	O
the	O
Macintosh	B-Device
computer	O
,	O
releasing	O
the	O
famous	O
Balance	B-Application
of	I-Application
Power	I-Application
in	O
1985	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Computer	O
Gaming	O
World	O
in	O
1982	B-Application
described	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
as	O
"	O
a	O
game	O
that	O
anyone	O
can	O
sit	O
down	O
and	O
play	O
without	O
reading	O
endless	O
instructions	O
or	O
learning	O
complex	O
strategies	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
I	O
know	O
I	O
'll	O
be	O
at	O
the	O
computer	O
for	O
an	O
hour	O
at	O
the	O
most	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
concluded	O
it	O
was	O
"	O
as	O
challenging	O
as	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
and	O
immensely	O
more	O
playable	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
compared	O
the	O
game	O
to	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
and	O
felt	O
it	O
would	O
"	O
appeal	O
to	O
a	O
much	O
broader	O
audience	O
because	O
the	O
game	O
is	O
faster-paced	O
,	O
has	O
fewer	O
units	O
to	O
control	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
,	O
therefore	O
,	O
a	O
faster	O
game.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
Softline	O
called	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
"	O
a	O
well-documented	O
and	O
thought-out	O
program	O
...	O
easy	O
to	O
learn	O
and	O
difficult	O
to	O
play	O
well	O
"	O
,	O
with	O
graphics	O
that	O
were	O
"	O
a	O
fine	O
piece	O
of	O
work	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
concluded	O
that	O
"	O
On	O
a	O
scale	O
of	O
1	O
to	O
100	O
,	O
this	O
is	O
a	O
95	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
InfoWorlds	O
lengthy	O
review	O
was	O
much	O
more	O
positive	O
,	O
rating	O
it	O
highly	O
in	O
its	O
checkbox	O
review	O
,	O
but	O
giving	O
a	O
somewhat	O
more	O
muted	O
conclusion	O
that	O
"	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
is	O
a	O
special	O
game	O
for	O
a	O
certain	O
kind	O
of	O
player.	O
"	O
</s>
<s>
BYTE	B-Application
mocked	O
Legionnaires	B-Application
cover	O
art	O
as	O
being	O
of	O
poor	O
quality	O
,	O
but	O
called	O
the	O
game	O
"	O
great	O
entertainment	O
,	O
even	O
for	O
those	O
who	O
have	O
n't	O
been	O
war-game	O
fans	O
before	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
later	O
review	O
called	O
it	O
"	O
the	O
perfect	O
solitaire	O
game	O
"	O
,	O
citing	O
as	O
improvements	O
on	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
multiple	O
scenarios	O
and	O
durations	O
and	O
real-time	O
play	O
,	O
and	O
concluded	O
that	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
"	O
is	O
a	O
wonderful	O
game	O
that	O
...	O
combines	O
the	O
graphics	O
and	O
movement	O
of	O
arcade	O
games	O
with	O
the	O
depth	O
of	O
strategy	O
games	O
"	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
By	O
contrast	O
,	O
BYTE	B-Application
columnist	O
Jerry	O
Pournelle	O
,	O
a	O
fan	O
of	O
Avalon	O
Hill	O
board	O
games	O
,	O
disliked	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
stated	O
that	O
its	O
real-time	O
made	O
it	O
"	O
an	O
arcade	O
game	O
masquerading	O
as	O
a	O
game	O
of	O
strategy	O
"	O
,	O
and	O
described	O
the	O
Apple	B-Device
II	I-Device
version	O
's	O
interface	O
and	O
graphics	O
as	O
poor	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Legionnaire	B-Application
was	O
nominated	O
for	O
"	O
Best	O
Adventure	O
Game	O
for	O
Home	O
Computer	O
"	O
at	O
the	O
1983	O
Origins	O
Game	O
Fair	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
as	O
the	O
game	O
was	O
being	O
released	O
,	O
however	O
,	O
Crawford	O
expressed	O
his	O
doubt	O
that	O
it	O
would	O
have	O
the	O
lasting	O
power	O
of	O
Eastern	B-Application
Front	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
2013	O
,	O
Crawford	O
publicly	O
released	O
the	O
source	O
code	O
of	O
several	O
of	O
his	O
games	O
,	O
including	O
Legionnaire	B-Application
.	O
</s>
