More than anything, it proves that the spectacle of large, open war with vastly differing units, stances and strategies can be as mesmerizing now as it was more than a decade ago when Shogun: Total War first debuted.
This hulking mass of real time strategic battles and turn-based empire building is as complex and war-mongering as its predecessors, and definitely does justice to the Total War name. But if they are, and they’re going the route of more instant-action or tower-defense style skirmishes and MOBA combat, then The Creative Assembly’s Total War: Rome 2 doesn’t indicate it at all.
But playing against another human is a very different experience to mulling things over on your own, and to our mind a less enjoyable one.Strategy games may have evolved past the point of old-school, past the point where micro-managing districts and regions and food supplies and diplomacy are worth sacrificing one’s well-being and immediate education/job/future before. But while bugs can be squashed the artificial intelligence remains a thorn in the game’s side that only the multiplayer options can hope to remove. Some of this of course is perfectly reasonable and realistic, but when everyone from the Egyptians to the Britons makes the same mistakes it spoils the sense of authenticity.Īnother problem is the sheer number of bugs at this stage, with this last weekend seeing a flurry of patches to known issues – and we’re sure that will continue for some time to come.
On the battlefield it’s still relatively easy to tempt the computer out with quick moving cavalry or infantry units, ruining its formations and allowing you to take advantage with a good flanking. Computer-controlled factions on the campaign map are now better at taking advantage of your mistakes but they still fail to co-operate amongst themselves in terms of treaties and trade. The frustrating thing is that the problems are still the same as always, they’re just less pronounced than they previously were. And although there is a significant improvement in Rome II there are still enough problems to keep the game from a perfect score. Despite how complicated the screenshots may look many of the more advanced systems are not introduced until much later on, even then via some very thorough tutorial videos.īut while the controls have never been as tricky as new players might fear it’s the artificial intelligence that is the series’ Achilles heel. You can simply let the computer auto resolve a battle on the campaign map but to do so would miss the whole point of the game.Īlthough there are many optional controls the basics ask you simply to point and click where you want your troops to go. Here you control tens of thousands of troops all at once, from highly trained foot soldiers to cavalry, artillery weapons, and speciality units like elephants and flaming pigs(!). Neatly streamlined in terms of micromanaging your cities, the strategy element is the best it’s ever been but the real heart of the game is on the battlefield. As has always been the case there’s an attempt to humanise the strategy element by giving you control of your family’s political and social life, which again works especially well in the context of ancient Rome – from who to marry to what to do with a sacked city. It looks and plays much like a simplified version of Civilization, but rather than trying to compete with Sid Meier’s venerable classic Rome II in particular emphasises different elements. You can play the whole game from here if you like, constructing buildings, training troops, and taking diplomatic – and even personal – decisions. Rome II uses the same basic set-up as all the Total War titles, with overall control of your faction (from a choice of three different Roman families or a range of non-Roman civilisations) taking place on a turn-based strategic map.
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