In fact, if the last Total War game you played was Rome (or perhaps even Shogun 2), the various changes Creative Assembly has wrought for Rome II expose a potentially uncomfortable truth about the series’ strategic component: That much of it essentially amounts to busywork. And it helps that Rome II has made getting to those moments of glory comparatively easier, thanks to a host of updates to the UI and an improved approach to strategic management. ![]() Mid-Republican manipular legions, woad-painted berserkers, Spartan Hoplite phalanxes, Carthaginian war elephants, Egyptian camel cavalry, and more will all crash against each other in large blobs of slaughter on the real-time battlefields. The unit roster is practically a who’s who of iconic warriors from the ancient world. The game’s playable (and non-playable) powers range from all over Europe to North Africa and the Near East, covering four broad cultural groupings (Latin, Hellenic, Barbarian, and Eastern). Instead, Creative Assembly have put together something of a military-minded classical period simulator. Because the truth of the matter is, despite its name, Rome II is about more than Rome itself. Rather than true sea changes, Rome II instead implements many smaller, iterative improvements that streamline some of the longstanding pet peeves that have plagued the series, while layering on new systems to greatly increase the game’s depth and scope. The series is called Total War for a reason, so strictly dovish would-be imperatores need not apply. Yes, despite the existence of “Cultural” and “Economic” victory conditions, this is no Civilization game. ![]() Specs here)įirst off, any Total War fan wondering if The Creative Assembly has made any fundamental changes to the series’ core formula shouldn’t worry: Rome II is as much a Total War game as any that have come before, once again delivering that hybrid of turn-based strategic empire management and real-time tactical army battles that form the basis of the franchise’s identity.Īlso being a sequel to the original Rome: Total War, my favorite entry in the series (barring Shogun 2), the game once again allows you to take charge of one of nine major powers (twelve if you pre-ordered) and, by hook or by crook, conquer the known world. Reviewer’s Rig: Intel Core i7 920 (2.66GHz), 6GB RAM, Nvidia GeForce 560 ti (Min. ![]() At the same time, the testudo - and Rome II like it - is slow to move, unwieldy, and when scrutinized closely, reveals a number of vulnerabilities and gaps in the defense. Indeed, the testudo is large, densely-packed, deadly effective, glorious to behold, and in the heat of battle, seemingly unassailable. Even without the immortalizing effect of Asterix comics, the testudo remains an enduring icon of Roman military power, but it also serves as an apt analogy for the state of Total War: Rome II. If you’re up on your Roman history, you’ll know that I’m referring to that ancient Roman formation in which soldiers tightly align their shields to protect themselves from every angle as they advance.
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