Rome: Total War

"I came, I saw, I conquered."

Just like Julius Caesar, I came, I saw, I conquered. No, I didn't travel back in time to command legions of men, I went to my local gamestore and bought Rome: Total War. This game has unique innovation that no other strategy game can mimic, as well as an education.

Before I start, I am assuming you are running an above average system with at least 2 Ghz of processor speed, 512 RAM, and a 128 mb memory card. If you have less than that, I suggest you turn back now because R:TW will run like a cow in quicksand. Yes, R:TW is a graphics hog.

Gameplay: 10
The gameplay of R:TW is unlike most other games out there. First off, this game is NOTHING like Warcraft or Empire Earth.

In the turn based section, you control a whole empire from a world map view, where you can do things an emperor would have back in Roman times. From sieging a Gallic city to ambushing a Roman army in the middle of the woods to bribing an Egyptian general to join your faction. In addition to many different actions, there are different strategies to play. Say you plan to assault a fortified city, you can send in a spy to find out a weakness, or to open the gates when you attack. Say the enemy king is threatening to overthrow your rule, send an assassin to take him out. You could sit back and let the enemy attack your walled cities, and when their men have been depleted, you could launch a counter-attack into their lands. Play as a merchant faction and horde money until it is time to launch the attack, and use your accumulated capital to create some of the best units your faction can buy. The possibilities are limitless. All of this takes place in turns, where every turn equals half a year in the game. You have from 280 BC to 12 AD to complete your objectives, so that equals out to nearly 600 turns of potential play. Trust me, most of you won't pass 150 BC.

Now for the real time battles. This is the fun part of the game. You command men in units, so you potentailly at highest settings, command 20 220 men groups. Do the math. The battles are spectacular too. You can see individual men fighting and dying, and tactics take a great role in the battles. Taking the high ground is essential, and Creative Assembly has made the Roman tactics work well. The experience is like nothing else, and it is easy to pick up, hard to master.

Replayability: 8
As I addressed before, there are many ways to play a game. Along with that, there are numerous mods out there, and it is fairly easy to make a mod yourself. You can play as at least 20 factions, each with a unique position, units, diplomacy and tactics. As well as custom battles, pre-made challenges and historical scenarios that actually happened way back when. However it lost points because at a point in the game you get a feeling of, "Been there, done that." Of course after a week or two, you will re-discover the game and play it with renewed vigor and enthusiasm.

Multiplayer: 5
There is indeed a multiplayer function to this game, where GameSpy handles the matchmaking. But I took of lots of point because of the lack of players online, the problematic servers, and the screwy multiplayer engine. It seems that on every computer there is a different scenario, so you might have won the battle by a landslide on your end, but on the other side, the opponent massacred you.

Graphics: 8
The graphics are stunning, and it is apparent that the developers put a lot of effort into creating them. Individual men are visible, along with unique actions and expressions. Reflections and glints are visible, and the graphics are, as I said before, stunning. But points were detracted because you need an above average computer to run this thing.

Controls: 10
The controls have not been changed from any other Total War game. If you have never played before, it will take some getting used to, but once you master the curve, the controls are easy and natural.

Fun Factor: 9
Overall, this game is great for strategy/history buffs or the casual gamer who is looking to expand their gaming knowledge. I have actually gained quite a bit of knowledge about ancient history and tactics, so use that as a reason for your parents to buy this for you. I also have used the in-game screenshot feature to take pictures of formations and battles for use in history reports/projects. I would have liked a better multiplayer system, but hopefully that will be released in the upcoming patch that will come out late January.

Thank you for reading my review, sorry if it was a bit long. However, if you managed to read all the way through, I think you deserve a copy of R:TW all for your self. Happy battles!

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 01/18/05