"All roads lead to Rome: Total War."

With the Total War series entrenched with Shogun: Total War, Medieval: Total War and their respective expansions, Creative Assembly returns with a new game set in a new time: Rome: Total War, putting players in the togas and sandals of a Roman general with ambitions of military conquest and political dominance, ultimately to become Emperor of Rome.

To call Rome: Total War a “real time strategy” game would be a gross generalisation. Rather, Rome: Total War is both a real time strategy game and a turn-based strategy game, combined the best of both elements into one large campaign to take over the world. On the battlefield, players engage in large battles with direct control of numerous troops against enemy forces in a dynamic battlefield filled with missile fire, war cries and flanking moves. Outside of the battlefield, players are responsible for the economic development of their towns and conquered domains, building up settlements to produce money, top-of-the-line fighting men, or both. Players must develop economic strategies to bolster trade and increase revenue while maintaining a powerful army to sweep the floor with hostile neighbours.

The game begins with a tutorial campaign, which familiarises players with the gameplay of Rome: Total War. Veterans from Medieval: Total War will have little trouble adapting to the new interface and control mechanisms, although minor changes have been made to improve the gameplay experience. The campaign immediately puts the player into battle, explaining how to control an army on the field and to help the army of the Senate and People of Rome to defeat a barbarian attack. After the battle, the player is shown the reins of how to manage a settlement to construct economic, military and growth buildings and train new units. Players are then given the choice to either continue with the tutorial campaign or to move onto the main Imperial campaign.

The Imperial campaign, the heart of the game, sets players with the goal of becoming ruler of most of the known world. Initially, players can only select Roman faction to play as, each with their own natural expansion directions. The House of Julii, located in the north of Italy, expand northwards towards Gaul and Germania; the House of Brutii expand east towards Macedonia and the Greek Cities, while the House of Scipii expands south towards Sicily and North Africa. Also present is the omnipotent SPQR, the Senate and People of Rome, who act as the Roman overlord faction. Initially, the Senate issues missions for the player to complete, such as obtaining diplomatic agreements or waging war against a certain faction, in turn reward players with funding, military units or political standing. Periodically, the Roman factions elect new members to fill in Senate offices, giving every Roman faction the ability to increase their influence.

The Romans, in their quest to expand their borders for the glory of Rome, must face off against the barbarian tribes of Germania, Iberia, Gaul, Britannia, Dacia and more. Furthermore, they must overwhelm the civilised Hellenic cultures of Macedonia, Greece and the Selucid Empire; wrestle North Africa from the hands of the Carthaginians and Egyptians of the Ptolemaic Empire, and compete with the Eastern lords of Parthia, Armenia and Pontus. Each theatre of war provides a variety of terrains, battles and economic challenges.

But the ultimate goal is not on the edges of the world, but right where the Romans start. After combating the bitter resentment of the Senate, struggling through the ranks of the Roman politicians and gaining the love of the People, the Senate becomes jealous and declares the player as an outlaw and traitor to the Roman people, inciting a civil war. Players, on the other hand, can make the first move by declaring war on the Senate and wiping them from the face of the earth, taking their place as Emperor of Rome and becoming the sole ruler of Europe, the Middle East and North Africa.

To achieve this objective, players are able to train a variety of units to wage war with. The Romans start out with basic infantry units and archers, but as settlements prosper and newer military buildings are constructed, players gain access to more powerful units. Eventually, the Roman factions experience the historical military reforms of Gaius Marius, rendering all previous units obsolete and unlocking the most powerful legionary cohorts and elite cavalry units. In addition, players can also build artillery units, such as catapults and ballistae.

On the battlefield, units are controlled mainly with the mouse, but also feature many keyboard shortcuts to change direction, movement speed and formation. Before each battle, players are able to deploy their forces as they see fit, and once battle begins the player can change the speed of the game or even pause it to issue commands. Each unit has levels of morale and fatigue, which can increase or decrease depending on the tide of battle. A legionary cohort that has just routed an enemy unit will gain morale bonuses, while a line of archers that has been flanked by cavalry will quickly lose morale and even break upon impact. Likewise, units that have been holding a position awaiting the enemy will be fresh when they start fighting, while a unit that has been running a marathon will be exhausted, slowing down to snail's pace and suffering combat penalties.

Units also have special abilities, such as being able to use fire arrows, form a wedge formation, form a phalanx or improve strength by shouting a war cry. When sieging settlements, players are given the option to starve the settlement out, or to construct rams, ladders and siege towers to breach the enemy walls and bring a swifter defeat. Outside of battles, players can send diplomats to negotiate and bribe enemies, spies to obtain intel and open gates for besieging armies, and assassins to burn down buildings and eliminate enemy generals. Players can also build navies to command the seas and transport troops quickly.

While the game handles similar to its predecessor, the game engine is entirely new. While Medieval: Total War featured large battlefields with 2D sprites representing units, Rome: Total War is rendered in full 3D, with individual soldiers rendered with the finest detail. The battlefields vary from thick German forests to open British grasslands to mountainous terrains of the Balkans to the open Deserts of Africa and the Middle East. Additionally, battles also feature special weather effects such as rain and fog, which not only brings restrictions to player vision, but also affects the combat performance of their forces.

The audio aspect of the game is fairly generic on the campaign map, but during battle the action and intensity of the game can be heard in its sound alone. The game depicts the clanging of shields and armour, the thundering sound of cavalry charges preceded by the loud boom of a horn, followed by the panicking cries of fleeing enemies. The music transfers from the serene, peaceful music of the campaign map to the tense, ominous music of battle; quickly turning into chaotic melodies and chants when steel meets steel.

As players progress through and complete the Imperial campaign, new factions are unlocked, allowing players to go through the campaign as a different empire with different units to combat their neighbours and the Romans themselves. Alternatively, players can play a ‘short' campaign with more direct objectives of eliminating certain factions. Players also have the option to play through numerous renditions of historical battles, customise their own battles or play a quick game with pre-assigned units. Rome: Total War also features a multiplayer mode that allows players to combat each other with their own customised armies in a match of wit and tactics.

With the sheer amount of depth to the game, the replay value is off the scale. Every battle and campaign is different, and the ability to play as different factions gives players the chance to experience different challenges. Furthermore, the gaming community has released numerous mods to the game, further prolonging the replay value of the game.

But with everything seemingly going for it, Rome: Total War has an Achilles' heel: the AI. While the battles sharp, intense and full of action, the quality of the AI leaves a lot to be desired. Enemy armies are always predictable and can be manipulated and crushed with near impunity. Units are often seen fighting suicidal skirmishes, while Generals often run headlong into a wall of spears for no apparent reason. The initial release of the game had some awful friendly fire issues, with archers decimating their own units by firing volley after volley of arrows into their own ranks. The economic AI tends to build non-important structures before anything crucial, and consistently pump out useless units. All of these AI flaws makes the game a bit too easy to go through at times, but nonetheless provides sufficient challenge for players.

Rome: Total War, despite this shortcoming, maintains its integrity with its deep gameplay, impressive visuals and awesome replay value through unlockable factions and custom battles. This is truly one of the best strategy games ever made.

Graphics: 10/10
Sound: 8/10
Gameplay: 9/10
Replay: 10/10
Overall: 9/10

Reviewer's Score: 9/10, Originally Posted: 11/14/05