4.8.2008

Nearly ten years ago I remember playing Age of Empires. I really enjoyed playing it, and I imagined how much greater the game could be if it was in 3D, with the option to view the battles from the ground.When Shogun was released in 2000, I was really hoping that the Creative Assembly were going to follow up with a Roman Period game, but I imagined that they wouldn't.I was therefore very surprised to discover that in 2004 they were going to release this game. In the four years that have followed, Rome: Total War still stands as one of my favourite games, and one that I still play sporadically to this day.The game puts you in command of the Romans just as they have finished the conquest of Italy in 280 BC.You have a choice of three Republican families to control: the Julii, who must deal with the Gauls and Germans; the Brutti, who are at loggerheads with the Greeks and Macedonians, and the Scipii, who are engaged in a war with the trading superpower of Carthage. This set up might not be a realistic depiction of Roman history, but does present you with some interesting choices.Your mission is to expand the Empire's borders at any cost. Every once in a while you are given mission by the Roman Senate, which gives you bonuses in the forms of soldiers, money or titles. Eventually when you become too powerful, the Senate and the other two Roman families will oppose you, throwing you into a turbulent civil war. You must triumph over the senate so that you can finally achieve your goal of becoming Emperor of Rome.Once you have achieved this goal then a number of other ancient factions are unlocked for you to play. These include the Greeks, Egyptians, Parthians, Britons, Germans, Seleucids, Carthaginians and Gauls. To spice up the play there other non-playable factions who oppose you including the Thracians, Scythians, Iberians, Numidians, and the superpower of Macedon. My only gripe with the campaign is that you're not allowed to play as the Macedonians, which is a shame really. But then again they are playable in the game's 'Alexander' expansion.The game is split into two parts. One is the turn-based campaign map where you manage citites, taxes and train soldiers, while the other is the real time battle map, which allows you to command thousands of detailed 3D soldiers in epic cinematic battles. The two game modes are combined, so that when you meet an enemy army on the turn based campaign map, it will then switch to the real time battle mode for you to duel it out with the enemy, if that is what you want to do (you can also auto-resolve battles).Because of its free-form mode of play, and its lack of linear gameplay, the game has plenty of variety. Each time you play a campaign, you will face different odds and challenges. Part of the longevity and the fun of the game is in this aspect.Beyond the campaign there is a custom battle mode (create your own armies and then command them on battlefields of your choice), a quick battle mode which allows you to play a random battle generated by the computer and a historical battle mode. The historical battle section allows you to play out a famous battle from the period 280 BC to 11 AD, from Caesar's Siege of Gergovia to the Battle of Cynoscephalae, the Siege of Sparta, Battle of the River Trebbia, The Battle of Telamon, the Battle of the Teutoberg Forest and so on.When this game was first released no one had ever attempted a game on this scale before, what with a marriage between epic 3D battles between detailed armies (with zooming in options)and a turn based game on a gigantic map. Since then we have had Medievall II and in the near future there will be Empire: Total War. But Rome will always be considered one of the greatest and most revolutionary games in the strategy genre. At this price the game is defiantely worth getting. Highly Recommended!

4.8.2007

I have played this game for 4 years now. When it was released, there were a awful lot of bugs. Now, they are all patched and nicely done but there is one big thing I have to tell you at the end.You do need a good system in order to play this game impressively. The minimum requirements is 1 Ghz and 256 Ram but I recommend roughly about 2.5Ghz with 1 to 2 Gb of Ram in order to play it decently. (if there is video card, 512mb is better)You are given 3 factions at the beginning. All Rome(Julia, Brutii and Scipii). But, later on, when you completed the game(took all lands), you can play other european factions as well such as Greeks, Pontus..etc.Basically, You have to conquer Europe with your roman troops.

23.9.2012

This game may be old, but it is still awesome. I bought Rome and Medieval 2 TW together and have been playing them back to back for a few weeks now. Boy am I glad I bought them!Having only played Age of Empires before, the Total War style of play was definitely new to me. I'd recommend starting out on easy if you're unfamiliar with it.TW encompasses both real-time-strategy for the battles and a turn based system for the campaign (essentially the economic and logistical running of your civilisation).At first I didn't really like the battles as they seemed slow and perhaps a little too methodical, and wasn't a huge fan of the campaign style either. But once I'd shelved my dispersions,

9.6.2007

There's one thing to say about Rome: Total War - it's an amazing game, simple as that.Now I just have to pad the review out a bit...When you start out the game, you're straight in with your Roman faction (the Julii, Brutii or Scipii - depending on where you want to start and who you want to war with first), managing your cities, keeping down the factions that war with you, and fulfilling the wishes that the Senate put upon you. Later on, a Civil War will see you aim to take control of Rome itself, as well as fight off the other Roman factions - which is a big step up from the likes of Gaul.The battles, of course, are the game's killer app - you can be your own battlefield general,

6.1.2014

About the game:Simply put, Rome Total War is both satisfying and fun to play. The in-game music and speech (British accent) are both clear and a pleasure to listen to. Battles require patience and thought, and you'll need to send the right units in at the right time, in order to defeat your enemy. (just don't send your archers to fight face-to-face with troops that have swords... you'll want to keep them at a distence to skirmish your foes (and then move them away from the enemy should they come too close to you). Play through the tutorial and then a few regular games, and you'll start to gain experience and get the hang of it :-)Compatibility:For those of you wondering whether the game will work on Windows 7 64 bit OS,

7.12.2010

Classic strategy game a la Age of Empires/Warcraft where you have to build an army and fight the enemy in real timeThe actual fight for resources, building and extending cities happens in a round-based system a la civilization.The more I play the game the more I enjoy it - I had to re-write this review to reflect my experiences.The battles are really clever: first game where the troop numbers and hit-point do not matter as much as strategy:attacking from the front, from the flanks and from behind has different effects, having good generals and not tired troopswill have an effect on the outcome of your battle, fighting downhill is easier than struggling uphill etc.In short: on the battle field there is a great number of factors which lead to defeat or victory,

23.8.2014

For those who have played any of the Total War games will know roughly what you're getting into. A turn based strategy game with diplomacy options coupled with Battles in RTS mode. It is unfortunate that it is ageing so much, as even other titles from the series over a decade old look nicer. There is quite a high level of complexity in the TBS part of the game, which can prove frustrating to those used to pure RTS. Once the battle starts and troops engage there is also limited actions you can take with them.The morale side of things can either be incredibly fun (especially in multiplayer) or really annoying (especially in multiplayer) as your army can often decide to leave the battlefield if you're losing troops too heavily.

14.7.2007

First time I played it I didn't really rate it but I still decided to buy it - when I played it again and discovered the magnitude of things you could do I realised what an idiot I was not liking it to start off with!The graphics while not being the greatest are sill awesome for the type of game it is where you can zoom in right to a soldiers face and still see intricate detail.The gameplay is very good with a good custom map idea where you can pit truly huuge armies against each other and decide the winner and where all the teams are avaliable for play. The campaign is also brilliant with three Roman teams to start off with: Julii,

1.10.2009

I picked up this game for the bargain price offered here on amazon and because I had heard great things about it, and it didn't disappoint!Although the game is very detailed and complex, it is higly addictive and will provide hours of entertainment4 stars instead of 5 because of the difficulty of the game and the fact that online it is nonexistant nowadays! However I would recommend Rome Total War highly - an utter bargain!NOTE: This game works on vista, unlike many older games, and I have encountered no problems with the white label version of the game (I cannot comment on other versions!)ALSO: DON'T buy the gold edition - the basic game alone has hours and hours of fun,

26.6.2014

I bought this to replace my worn-out original. Total War is he best strategy game series I have come across. As the series progressed, the graphics got better and better, but the game-play started to fade. Medieval II and onwards start to be dominated by sieges and diplomacy. The maps also get too large to manage. I prefer building and battles! Balancing building between income generation and troop improvements lets you try endless combinations and strategies. This game has good enough graphics but still plays on my I5 PC just using integrated graphics. Probably the Barbarian Invasion expansion is the pinnacle of the series for me. For £5,

22.8.2007

It's just a classic game all round. A magnificaent blend of Strategy, war, management and Roman style politics. A true great of the Total War series. The campaigns are so fantastic and enthralling: nothing is as satisfying as building your own Roman empire (unless it's seeing your classy assasin strike down the enemy general just before battle). The battles are awe inspiring: especially the sieges and river crossings.The only down side is there isn't a 2 player mode which is surprising as it is a turn based game. This however is not worth taking off a star because this game should be remembered as the defining TBS.96/100: because of no multiplayer mainly

1.9.2007

The greatest game in historical strategy, roll playing great Roman leaders and fighting historical battles. The senates orders are not made to follow but can be helpful, their commands can be from taking a city to recruiting a unit of mercenaries. Destroying factions is a sure way to get the senate on your side and to become more reliable as well as helping the defence of your people.I would recommend this game to anybody who is interested in Roman history or enjoys strategy gaming experiences. It is suitable for older children as well as adults and provides real escapism, you become totally pulled into the game.

1.5.2014

I used to play centurion on the old sega mega drive. This is the same sort of thing but so much more. The world map is very detailed. The battle maps are incredible. You can zoom out and watch the armies clash as blocks of men or zoom right in and watch the expressions on their faces. Battles can be resolved automaticaly if you want to play just strategy or if you're sure you'll win or lose. Politics, weddings, births deaths, ambassadors, spies, assassins sea battles, alliances, treaties. You can lose track of time and get lost in the roman world.

8.3.2010

Anyone who owns or is buying this game should immediately download the patches for Rome Total Realism, a free mod which completely rejigs this game for the better. While it doesn't improve the graphics it makes the units and factions much more historically accurate (no more made up Roman SAS style units!), utterly rejuvenating this now old game. I never thought I'd play Rome again after Medieval II came out years ago, but I'm having great fun replaying it all over again in a much better version. Download that mod!

19.6.2012

This game in my opinion is the greatest Strategy game ever. Picking a faction their are two aspects to the gameplay. First of you have to manage and organise your settlements, economy, complete missions given by the Roman Senate and manage the general happiness of your people. The second aspect is the battle and military aspect which Total War games are famous for.The gameplay is fun, challenging and terribly time consuming. I would recommed this game to any lover of either History or strategy games.

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