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Possibly my favorite game of all time

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: February 22, 2006
Author: Amazon User

If you are a veteran of the previous total war games, then you should already have a pretty good idea of what this will be like. However, it isn't just Shogun or Medieval with better graphics.

To begin with, for those who don't remember the previous games, there is a strategy map, which is turn based, and then for battles there is a separate real-time interface. This separation is one of the most important things to making this game so much better than real time resource-gathering games like C&C or Warcraft. The micromanagement can get time-consuming, but you can set governors for towns without too much trouble.

The turn-based interface is almost entirely different from the previous games, in that position within a given territory actually matters. Movement is not just "one territory per turn." Roads matter. Occupying the farmland of a territory doesn't get you control of the territory; you need to besiege and capture the town/city.

Siege battles are a huge improvement over Medievil. For one thing, it is far more important in this game to actually assault the walls. For another, you can build things like battering rams and siege towers. You can make scenes that look straight out of the Return of the King movies (except with elephants instead of trolls). For other battles the only notable improvement will be the 3D unit graphics, which are a nice touch, and it runs just fine on my old GeForce3 (with most, but not all, settings turned down).

True, you have to play as one of the three Roman factions, or as the Carthaginians, before you can play as any of the other factions (such as the Seleucid empire, my favorite), but trust me, you'll want to play the campaign at least three or four times, so that's ok. I'm on my 6th time, and it's still impossible for me to stop playing once I get started.

As a final note, don't buy this game if you can't afford massive amounts of time to play it. It's very addicting. If you're looking for a game that will keep your single-minded attention for months, this is the game for you.

A Very Engaging Game

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 4 / 4
Date: September 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

ROME Total War is among the top RTS games that I have ever experienced (including the Age of Empires series, Empire Earth,1503 AD, and Stronghold Crusader). The graphics are top grade and the artificial intelligence actually has some strategy as opposed to most RTS games in which the ai gets set in one strategy or attack path and never differentiates its plans. On top of that, the strategy of ai players varies even more among the different factions in the game. Some use a deadly combination of archery and cavalry of wear your men down, while others like to use suicidal charges that threaten to break your lines. But it doesn't end there because the ai can always manage to surprise you, so set a double watch and sharpen your blades.
Battle, though, is not the only engaging aspect of RTW. As Julius Caesar once said, "Important events are often the results of trivial causes." You must also focus on your economic situation in order to be prepared for warfare, and for those of you who prefer nothing but battle, you can automanage your lands and cities with the ai. It's your choice, as is how most of the game proceeds.
The only part of this game that I might change is how sea battles are fought. Rather than commanding them just like land battles, they are autoresolved according to the number, experience, and weaponry/armory of your troops. Other than that, RTW is great.
This game is, as I have said, very engaging, be it through an extensive and complex family tree within your faction, or intricate dealings between your diplomats and those of other factions. Then again, you may choose to simply assassinate your opponents. It's all up to you in ROME Total War.

Of course you realize THIS means war

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 7 / 11
Date: February 18, 2005
Author: Amazon User

There was a time when all (or did it just seem like all?) real-time-strategy games featured hours of tedious resource-gathering followed by minutes (or seconds!) of intense battle. With the creation of the ground-breaking Ground Control and Shogun:Total War!, all that changed. While Ground Control was arguably completely tactical (no wimpy construction of troops for you!), the Total War series also included a sweet strategic game of city, troop, and resource management ala Axis and Allies (the board game), or Civilization (the turn-based strategy game). Still, the key to the brilliance of the series is making do with what you have. Sure, ANYONE can win when they outnumber the enemy 10 to 1, but what do you do when they outnumber YOU 10 to 1?! And what what happens when their units are all calvary and your all infantry, or all spearmen and yours horsemen? Sometimes real tactical brilliance is shown in how well you handle failure...

The creators of the Total War! Series have often emphasized that each of the games is different and stands on it's own. Some of the gameplay adjustments could be to make the game more balanced, but I get the distinct impression that many of them simply added historical accuracy. For instance, peasants in medieval Europe and feudal Japan spooked somewhat easily, but Roman troops are just a little harder to scare. Though the Romans had strength and efficiency in spades, they also had political rivalry on a massive scale and a vast demanding populace to appease. In other words, running an Empire is NOT like running a clan or a small country in a world divided. In particular, I find the aspect of the senate to be a huge boost to the strategic depth of this game. That and the allies who may or may not be on your side when it matters most. When it comes to both rivals and allies, it is often the wise course of action to go along with their schemes when they work to your advantage, and betray them when they have outgrown their usefulness...

Much has been said already about the scale of the battles in this game, with thousands of troops clashing on vast vistas. While I wont' argue against the sheer awe inspired by such sights, the part of the battles which most amazed me was not the size. First of all, units have unique personality, and I have seen them chat before battle, taunt the enemy, shift back and forth while looking around, and rattle their spears and shields as they give the war-cry pre-battle. Truly inspiring (to say nothing of the speech your generals give!). The second thing I love about he battles is the sound. Sure, hearing your men sound the charge is great, but it goes WAY beyond that. You can hear the excitement (or fear!) in your war dogs, catch clues as to the condition of your troops by the sounds they make in the middle of battle, and of course you will never forget the sound of calvary galloping straight into infantry as your enemy is sent flying (the sight is pretty hard to forget too). For me though, the ultimate aural moment came when Gothic Axe-Women charged my troops (their unforgettable skin-crawl inducing war-scream scared the heck out of me!).

On a side note, I should also mention that the music of this game is uniformly awesome, with mournful song played through your failures (heaven forbid), and stirring battle hyms plying through your triumphs (YES!). The last aspect of the battles I love is the camera. You can zoom right up to your cavalry as they charge, see your archers fire a sea of flaming arrows from their viewpoint, or focus on their foes and see them panic as the arrows hit their mark. The incredible cinematic nature of the battles is beyond description. You have to see it for yourself. It's like an old-fashioned historical epic that YOU CONTROL. Awesome.

Rome may not have been built in a day, but the learning curve is greatly lessened by two of the best advisers ever seen in a game (part of my brain keeps thinking Victoria and I should discuss the future of empire over dinner:).

Just give this game a try, and soon you'll find yourself hopelessly addicted to the world of Rome:Total War (just don't throw away the map until you have a degree in ancient geography), entranced by it's combination of rich gameplay, plentiful game modes (multiplayer, campaign, single historical battles and such), immersed in its sound, and reveling in the joy of crushing your enemies. If you love tactical strategy you must buy this game immediately. Either that or face the wrath of the senate....

Don't be fooled by the RTS" stamp

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: September 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First of all, being a strategy gamer since I was a kid, I have always appreciated turn based gems like Civilization 2 and Medieval Total War. The only change that the Total war series has brilliantly added was to allow the 'Armchair General' the ability to direct the battles. Telling someone that hasn't heard of Rome Total War' (they must live on the Moon if they haven't)
that it is a Real time strategy game is misleading to say the least. Rome Total war is as turn based as Chess! The Player has the option to allow the computer to statistically decide the outcome of the battle if he/she doesn't want to take the field themselves.
There is alot to this game/politics/invention/economics/and of course-War.

RTW has been in production for 4 years, and the people behind the game have a detailed knowledge of History. They also want to make a tidy profit from their efforts. Complaining that the battles are too fast by only playing the demo is unrealistic. I would be suprised if the creators don't have an option to slow battles down to what the players are comfortable with. If fact Iv'e talked to many people who played the demo and while at first they thought the speed was too fast, once they got used to it, the quickness was no longer an issue.
From my experience with SHogun and Medieval Total war I can only say that if Creative Assembly puts out everything they have tried to for RTW, that it should be a strategy gamers dream come true. And possibly take some of bumm rushing RTS'srs out of the monotonous gather/create/build routine that they have assumed was strategy all these years.
Rome Total War is King!, erm..Ceasar.

Puzzled by "perfect" ratings.

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 10 / 19
Date: February 24, 2005
Author: Amazon User

After seeing perfect/five-star ratings for this game, I bought it. But then I PLAYED it. Within minutes I saw troops that could easily be attacked from behind without fighting back. I found the battles very easy as one can simply bait a unit in, then attack from behind in this manner. Is the game "perfect" to many because they can use the bad computer AI to always win the battles? The more one plays 'Rome', the more problems they should be able to see. Sure the graphics are great as one can zoom in on battles. Be warned though, if you zoom in you will see just how awful the AI is. See your units fire arrows right into the backs of your other units, even right into the back of the head of the fellow right in front of them. You can do nothing but shake you head as your guard towers auto-fire, blasting your own men as they try to defend the city. This is a perfect game? Go figure.

Veni, Video, Somnambula. I sat, I played, I fell asleep

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 11 / 22
Date: October 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I really dont know what the hype is about. Bought the game, played the tutorial and all I ever do is fight Gauls, fight rebels, fight Gauls allied with rebels, rebels allied with Germania who are allied with Britannia who are allied with, thats right, the Gauls. Oooh Veni Vidi Vici. Yea Right!
Senate missions consist of blockading one port after another very exhilirating. NOT. People get added to your retinue and they all have their special talents and points. Where is my calculator so I can figure out what good they are to me with whatever leader they belong to, if indeed they serve that leader any good and if not I can move them to another leader or general if it works over there. Ooops didnt work lets see, if I take Procrasis the diplomat from General Falucha and give him to General blah blah blah.
There is no sense of accomplishement other then winning ground and lets face it, all the fighting in the end amounts to a chaotic mad rush and fight to see who kills more. You really do need multiplayer to handle seige engines by one person and the dogs by another and the chariots and archers etc etc cause as a single player it aint gonna work so just end up piling all your troops on top of the other and usually if your numbers are greater you will win everytime.Stupid AI

This reminds me of all the hype of Tresspasser Jurassic Park, and how it would be non scripted and you could go everywhere and really feel immersed in that Island B world
Well in the end the game was interesting for its concepts but scripted and dull, but if you went over to some fan forums it seemed like the game couldnt do no wrong and who the hell was anybody else to say otherwise.

So the people who give it 5 stars kinda puzzle me. Cant return the game so it has to be 5 stars? Cant admit that its not the end all and be all of the TW series so its gotta be good and the rest of us dont know how to play or our computer sucks, yada yada? Oh well, maybe there will be a WW2 Total War in the future.

One star for graphics, the gameplay however...

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 31
Date: April 28, 2005
Author: Amazon User

[...] The first month or so after the game was released I had seen the vast majority of reviews here and elsewhere raving about the game that gave it "perfect" scores. I then decided to buy it. I did not jump right into the campaign modes the way most did. I began with 'custom battles' to see how the battle scenes played.
Within minutes I was seeing the problems with AI (both computer and own units), control of troops,and other issues that other reviews have mentioned. Then for a few days I tried the campaign mode, but the problems above with battles ruined the highly strategic thought I put into them. These troubles alone ended gameplay for me.
Now, as many have played many hours/days(and seen through the graphics), they are starting to see these flaws in the game as well as many serious bugs that destroy any strategy one may have beyond a couple turns.
The game as it is today IS visually stunning compared to others of its type. Sadly, this is the ONLY thing it has going for it. If one is easily entertained by good graphics only, they may enjoy this one. If one puts thought into their games, they will simply be unable to play Rome Total War for very long at all.

Demo is cool- Drooling over full-version!

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 12 / 25
Date: September 19, 2004
Author: Amazon User

If history sparks your interest... if you're a strategy game nut, or if your favorite parts of the "Lord of Rings" movies were the Battles... then you will appeciate what Creative Assembly is dropping in our laps(minus the magic and monsters!!).

The Total War games are 2 games in one: A STRATEGIC TURN-BASED game controlling the events/circumstances of a TACTICAL REAL-TIME-STRATEGY. To my knowledge Creative Assembly was the first game developer to attempt to merge these sub-genre's... and successfully so.

The Turn-Based portion gives the slow, methodic pace of empire building and managment; the Real-Time portion gives the frantic, no-holds-barred experience of battlefield command on a grand scale(REALLY big battles) as compared with previous real-time only stategy games.

I've never played Shogun... but I REALLY enjoyed Medieval: TW. I've been closely following the developement of ROME: Total War for what it promises and will likely be... Quantum (a measure for all games released in that genre for several years afterwords).

Several reviews on this board have given reference to Civilisation(Turn-Based strategy) and Age of Empires(Real-Time strategy)... these game franchises(though they may now seem "quaint") were Quantum and defined their genre's for several years afterwords.

Creative Assembly has promised to completly over-haul all aspects of their formula: a drastically more detailed Turn-based portion(dynamic politics/diplomacy/economics), and a highly detailed 3-D Real-Time game(thousands of historically accurate soldiers slaughtering one another- for you're enjoyment).

If they can deliver on what they've promised(and all indications are - they will), ROME:TW could have a HUGE impact on the Strategy gaming genre.

Here's hoping it does!!

Gold Standard for Stragety games

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 14
Date: November 02, 2004
Author: Amazon User

For those who like to combine empire building and tactical combat, and who doesn't, this is the new Gold Standard.
While the AI on all but the hardest level is pretty tame, the actual battle field gives would be Caesars a chance to see if they have what it takes.
Forget to hold reserve, forget that the besieged will hit you when your back is turned, pick the wrong formation and terrain, all these will kill you.
Yes,there are a few glitches, particulary in building your legions in the early game, and it would be nice to play the Carthaginians or Egyptians or Pontics for a change, but over all,this is the one that will eat up much of your time and give you the best bang for your buck. It's what every new game will be judged by.

Insult to your brain.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 8 / 14
Date: June 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I too was amazed when I began to play 'Rome'. It is truly beautiful to look at compared to most games of its type before it. Unfortunately for highly strategic gamers, this is the only thing it has going for it. As I played more, I began seeing that even very basic elements critical to strategy were "broken". Troops on both sides are dumb...REALLY dumb. They fail to fight back sometimes (and don't run away either). They can't make the simplest of maneuvers without extreme micromanagement. Left to their own thought(AI), your idiotic archers fire into your OWN troops battling the enemy rather than an open unit bearing down on them. Your enemy may just stand in place, be bombarded by arrows and boulders over and over, and fall to their death. (Strange too that those huge boulders sometimes hit a single member of a unit...and BOUNCE OFF him!) Running the perimeter of a city's walls within reach of tower fire, computer troops get picked off easily, losing most of the unit by the time they reach their destination. Individuals simply walking off the tops of walls to die is common as well. Imagine all these problems going on at once with hundreds of troops scattered throughout the battlefield! Once you know the abilities of different units the same basic strategies work every time - bait them in with a little faster unit, then attack from behind with another. That's it - no thought required. So many more problems plague 'Rome' within the battle scenes alone that it will end gameplay for anyone thinking beyond the average gamer. In fact most gamers should be screaming that - The COMPUTER controls reinforcements from YOUR OWN ARMY! It is truly a mystery how many can completely miss such factors essential to strategy and gameplay and rate this game highly.
Not only do the over-hyped battle scenes fail, but other aspects to the game are flawed as well. Naval battles must be auto-resolved from the map. These battles may pop up at any time as the enemy "magically" tracks you down anywhere at sea. You may feel more like the host of the Dating Game as you try to figure out which generals to marry off, or a psychologist as you try to figure out which leaders in your army the programmers deemed compatible with each other. You will soon be wondering why your cities deteriorate faster with "upgrades" you provide. Of course, such problems may or may not be planned by the designers of RTW, but any way one looks at it, it is a badly done game.

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