Asoka, as a young prince, attends his grandfather's abdication when he renounced the throne of the Iron Age Indian Kindom of Magadha in favour of the life of a Jain monk. Asoka obtains the old king's sword which, he assured the young prince before throwing it away, is possessed by a demon. And this is what taints Asoka's life.

     As he grows older, Asoka leads his country's armies to seemingly impossible victories, earning him enemies amongst his older step-brothers who want the thrown for themselves. Asoka then leaves the court for the neighbouring, more democratic, country of Kalinga.

     Set in the third century BC, this film reminded me of the Chinese movie The Emperor and The Assasin with its combination of court intrigue and battle sequences. However, as Asoka is an Indian film, it also has song and dance numbers and corny comedy sequences. Also, like The Emperor and The Assassin, Asoka's rule results in tyranny and bloody massacres.

     As well as the demon-sword, Asoka also wields a bizarre whip-sword, which must have taken a few eyes out during rehearsals. As a special treat for gamers, the battle sequences include elephants. Go on, admit it, you want them for your heavy artillery!

     An interesting film then, and one which gamers should be able to mine for a culture not normally featured in either RPG or wargames.

Cardinal Cox.