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Eye Candyed Game

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 14 / 21
Date: April 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

Im here to express my feelings and thoughts. I respect everyone who gives their opinion about Rome Total War. [...]

You see, Im all about good games and Rome isnt one. Sure I liked the graphics when I first saw them. But the graphics arent everything, there will be much better games than RTW, regarding graphics.

I can understand how one can be turned into a complete RTW fanboyish by just looking at the game for the firts time. Its completebly understandable, most of players are eyecanded, they simply dont care about anything else. I, on the other hand, like a balanced game, one that gives me the sense that Im playing a decent opponent. RTW is not one of those, the AI is completely idiot and it has some bugs that can destroy the Strategy-Game-Player experience. [...]

[...]

Total-ly different from Medieval Total War

4 Rating: 4, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: December 12, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Let me start by saying that a different approach is not necessarily a good thing ("If it ain't broken don't fix it!").
Rome Total War is a quite a disappointment when compared to its predecessor Medieval Total War, which has to be one of the BEST strategy games of all time! This is not to say that Rome Total War is a bad game; far from it. It has everything, from real like strategy to excellent graphics to extraordinary historical accuracy and much, much more!

Nevertheless, it does rank below Medieval Total War.
Why do governors have to come exclusively from Rome? Ideally yes, but one should have the ability to put up a provisional governor while waiting for the arrival of the proper governor. Furthermore, there is no chance/option to appoint a unit's leader ("captain" as the game likes to call them). Why??? Also, Governors have gotten terribly complicated with their stats. What happened to Dread and Piety? It used to be simple, effective, and FUN!
Religion now plays a minor role. Where are the wandering priests? Celtic Druids, Greek and Egyptian priests? Barbarian shamans? African witchdoctors? Christian apostles? Greek Philosophers?
Why not introduce the Christians when reaching 1 AD?
In addition, why are the borders so hard to spot? Each province could be tainted with the faction's color on the big map and thus get a better picture/understanding of one's borders. What happened to the watchtowers and the border posts???
In regards to the ships they seem able to carry too large an army.
The naval battles rarely allow for the sinking of ships, as the defeated side (more often than not) is somehow able to escape to fight another day. Moreover, how is it that a ship can sail with a crew of one, two or three? If you want to make the game more "realistic" and add numbers of crewmembers whenever you make port (which is great), then you should follow through and not go half way as far as realism is concerned.
Centurion: Defender of Rome from ages ago was infinitely better. You could participate in naval battles, gladiator games and even get to sleep with Cleopatra if you played your cards right in the diplomatic arena.
The speeds for the battles in Rome: Total War are three: fast, faster and fastest. Yes, it is cool to see the cavalry throw the enemy infantry up in the air during a charge, but when adding up all the positives and negatives, Medieval: Total War battles come on top.
Revolution takes place very often and it does not matter how many troops you have stationed in the city or who the governor is. All you can do is wait for the inevitable; for the revolution to unfold and then either enslave or exterminate the population, before you have to do it all over again in a few years time!
Changes have occurred for the sake of changes when they were not really needed, resulting in Rome: Total War having very little in common with its ancestors Shogun, Medieval Total War, and Viking Expansion. The others might be simpler at times, but they are way better, which just goes to show that complexity does not necessarily mean improvement!
Through efforts to make the game more realistic, it has become not so much challenging, but frustrating instead!

On the positive side, it is good to have and to be able to provide military support to your own units during battle. There is very nice music, which changes depending on which side you're playing, and generals make very cool speeches.
In addition, it is now more realistic that one province is no longer considered to be one move regardless of the province's size like before.
The siege engines and other siege equipment are amazing.
Furthermore, there is something for everyone as the variety of countries to choose from is vast indeed; from the barbarian Gauls and Britons to the mighty Egyptians and Greeks among others. And most importantly it is historically accurate (!), which is so rare these days...

The whole Total War series is STRONGLY recommended to both strategy as well as history enthusiasts.

Excellent Game. True Classic/

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 11 / 15
Date: June 25, 2005
Author: Amazon User

RTW is the epitome of PC Strategy excellent, and one of the most prolific strategy games to arrive in quite sometime. The numerous Strategy Game of the year awards that it received last year were well deserved, and only help to further substantiate the excellence that is RTW.

For some odd reason, people seem to try to lambast the game with some of the most ridiculous issues that I have ever seen. I've heard people say they weren't receiving any tribute, when it's obvious the faction paying doesn't possess enough funds. The a.i. bug that everyone mentions is only noticeable when you save and reload the game after every turn, and why some would voluntarily try ruin their experience is beyond me. I have never had the a.i. not go where I've told them in regards to sieges or battles. Either the player that stated these issues did't know how to control his men, or the gate that he mentions wasn't knocked out, which makes me question the validity of his post since the gatehouse was still pouring oil. Someone even mentioned that sea battles were a problematic (what?) since they were automated, and assigning husbands to your daughters is essentially silly, eventhough this can result in the availability of new men with skills who can help you to expand your empire dramatically. You will hardly notice any of the bugs unless you go to the main forum or intentionally seek them out. I promise you this.

Your never forced to play the tutorial, aleast I wasn't, I simply skipped it. If you wish to unlock other nations, all you most simply do is defeat them in the campaign and they are unlocked, ssimple. However, I believe you can cheat to unlock them if you are so inclined to do so.

The gameplay is nothing shot of excellent. You start the game out in italy, and what part of italy you start in depends on the faction you chose. House Julii is to the north, Bruti to the east, and the Scipii to the south. As you open trade routes with other nations you begin to receive denarii, which allows you construct new buildings and train new units. Units that possess high management skills and who are placed within towns become governers, and help increase the money flow. Poor governers will embezzle money, or not try accumulate the maximum amount of funds that can be obtained from that settlement. If you wish to focus only war, you can set the settlements to be automanaged, which helps to alleviate stress later on in the game dramatically. Be warned, poor managers can bring a city down hill. You can set up all sorts of diplomatic alliances and protecotrates with other nations. You can demand tribute, map information, deman attack on another faction, bribe leaders, etc.

In regards to your leaders, they gain experience as they age, and also begin to develop some unusual traits based on their actions. Although some are inherent, such as being a drunkard, a poor economist, or possessing preverted sexual desires. You create traits however. If you have your generals constantly in battle, they will begin to develop a taste for blood, if they constantly run from battle, they will become cowards, if they remain as governers they become better economist, etc. You can also get more leaders by marrying of your whoring (seriously!!) daughters. It's best to choose men with at list some decent skills in some field, whether it's being a good commander (better morale and experience for troops, also has a higher chance of winning automated battles). You can also build up these mens stats by having them pursue certain endeavors.

Battles are nothing short of incredible. Controls are simple and easily understood, and if you have issues you can get advice from the game whilst in battle. The small details in the game are quite surprising, your general gives a detailed speech at the beginning of the battle and even tells you the odds that you will face in the coming battle, you'll see men celebrate when they have overcome a tough foe, you'll watch as your men lock their shields when the enemies get too close. You'll see centurions amd generals give orders to their men. Cavalry tramples men and sends them flying when they charge home. Phalanxes lower their spears when put into their phalanx formation, and this spear wall is almost impenetrable unless flanked or attacked by overwhleming odds. Watching your men charge into each other recretes scenes witnessed in movies such as Braveheart. Flanking can devastate an enemies army and turn the tide of the battle in a heartbeat. Watching volleys of arrows rain down on your opponents is a sight to behold (well probably more so for me), as is watching elephants plow through dense formations like a super charged bulldozer (make sure to bring flaming pigs!!!). There area also numerous combat animations, one in particular being the amusing Brad Pitt stab witnessed in Troy, which was obviously included by the developers to add amusement to the game.

Morale plays a major, major (!!!) factor in battles. Men may run at the sight of an overhwelming enemy force, the death of an excellent general, if they see other men running away, if they are getting flanked or surrounded, or if they are too tired.
Fatigue results in men fighting more sluggishly and moving more slowly. Experience can vastly rectify many of the above mentioned issues since men become more resilient to many of the above mentioned issues.

Sieges are astounding. Cities are gigantic, and look like something seen in a Lord of the Rings movie. You'll have numerous siege weapons at your disposal. Battering rams, catapults, siege towers, tunnels, ladders, and ballista. Defenders have the advantage of tough walls, longer range, defensive towers, boiling oil at gates, and choke points within their city. Taking walls is extremely enjoyable, particlarly as you watch your forces receive flaming arrow showers and you try to puncture holes within the defenses. If you don't attack correctly (using catapults to soften defenses first), a majority of your siege weapons can be destroyed before they even reach the walls. As the defender you can plug up holes in the walls with troops to delay the enemies advance, and thus keeping them within the range of the deadly wall archers, if they get past your walls, you can try to ambush them within the confined city streets, by sneaking men behind them or blocking their path to the town square. If the enemies reach the town square and hold it for 3:oo min, they win.

The biggest problems within this excellent game reside mostly within the enemy a.i. Although it is a pretty good combatant, sometimes it makes some extremely bonehead moves like having it's generals fight on the front lines, letting certain units get flanked, or not responding to siege equipment which has circumvented it's defenses. Otherwise it's a pretty good strategist, butit is no replacement for a human player, so don't expect it to be.

If you haven't bought this game, I don' see what your waiting for.

For a RTS playing oldtimer, this game rocks!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 16 / 26
Date: October 11, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I know a lot of people (kids) are comparing this game to MTW or Shogun. I have never played those games at all. Why? Well, I've been on a FPS kick for the last couple years playing such games as Far Cry, M of H, Call of Duty you name it! But I have played many RTS games including the Age of Empires 1, 2, 3, Empire Earth, Empires: Dawn of Modern Warfare, Rise of Nations, Home World 2, Orb, American Conquest/Fight Back, etc.... the list goes on and on but here's my point!

I have never played a RTS game with such depth and top-notch graphics to boot that captures your imagination and takes all of reality and time like this game does to me!!! The main reason is there is soooooo much you can do with this game. You can fight every battle you want (battle map) or have the Computer resolve it for you. You can in-slave the population after you successfuly take a settlement or put them to the knife. You can micro-mange to a depth I have never witness before!!! What really inmpressed me about this game is it is user-friendly!!! Anyone can play this game! All those other RTS games I previously mentioned, most are so confusing and boring to play I don't even bother anymore.
No, I never played this series of games before and it may not be as good as MTW but I know that you can do anything you want with the game. It's endless and it has more diplomacy and stradegy than any game I have seen to date (2004) including all those RTS games I mentioned. I should of played Shogun/MTW and I didn't but I don't regret it. Besides, this is more up-to-date than Shogun/MTW?

In all, I think you guys are right (most of you guys) about this game. It's awesome! The world map is the best thing going for this game and the battle map makes this game un-believeable!
There will be always someone who will not like a game but for you guys and you know who you are, this game is better than what your willing to admit, you can't fool an old RTS gamer now can you????

Beware of this Tech Issue....

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 13 / 20
Date: September 30, 2004
Author: Amazon User

First off, this is a great game - excellent mix of strategy and tactics, easy to use interface, agreeable level of difficulty.

There is one major technical issue potential buyers need to be aware of. A number of people are reporting that they can not install the game off their DVD drives, as the installation hangs on a VOICE1.DAT file. People with CD drives don't have this problem, and I have verified this by trying the install on my machines using both types of drives.

No official word yet from Activision on a fix for this major bug.

Save your money for a company that really deserves it.

1 Rating: 1, Useful: 17 / 30
Date: April 10, 2005
Author: Amazon User

The games graphics are stunning, the music is ok, the historical accuracy may be around 5 to 10%, the AI is one of the worse I've seen. Bugs are every where its Horse Archers, melee Cavalry who turn around once they get close to routing units, units that form the Phalanx change to the swords when you order to attack, the famous seige bug, etc. [...]

"...this game is fantastic and realistic..."

Fantastic for graphics nothing else. Realistic no Egypt looks like they are back in the Old Kingdom, Pikemen lose to a Armored Hoplite, Cataphracts lose to some Roman Cavalry, I can keep going on but I wont.

"This tends to become a bit addictive ("what is next, and next, and next...")"

I never find my self saying whats next because I know whats next the AI loses all the time because of its poor decisions I can only lose battles by auto resolve or playing MP.

"...cunning and good strategy are necessary."

Oh my god unless your a kid who isnt even in his teens then you must be a bad player to think you need to be cunning and use strategy for this AI. Theirs no need for strategy because the AI just throws everything it gots down at you so then you can easily flank them or hit their rear.

"But RTW is the closest to what perfection is in PC games in the year 2005."

The perfect what, rip off, worse game, worse customer service, the perfect lie.RTW doesn't come close to being perfect. The loads of bugs, bad AI reactions in the campaign map, bad AI decisions on the battle field, not even as realistic as they make it seem, etc. Your vision of perfection is just another eye candy game.

Strategy gaming at its finest!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 6
Date: May 05, 2006
Author: Amazon User

The follow up to the immensely successful "Shogun: Total War" and "Medieval: Total War" takes the action back in time to 200 B.C. - the era when the fledgling Roman Empire started to expand across Europe and assert its might. There are a number of gameplay options to choose from. The Imperial campaign is the real meat of the game, where you can take control of your chosen faction and either guide it to complete dominance over all the other factions, include the Senate of Rome. If you prefer a shorter game, a condensed version of the imperial campaign is available, where you only have to meet a couple of the preset victory conditions for your faction. Initially just 3 variants of Romans, the Julii, Scipii, and Brutii, are available to play, but upon beating the Imperial Campaign you can unlock all the other civilizations to play with. There are over 15 uniquely different factions you can toy around with, and this really adds a fresh perspective to the game whilst providing some nice replay value. Playing as Egypt, for example is a bucket of fun because you get to go against the might of the Romans as they try to invade your turf, and then of course you can go for it all and take the fight to the Romans themselves as you lay siege to the eternal city itself! The full Imperial campaign is designed for the hardcore gamer because of the commitment required, but thankfully the shorter versions are much less time consuming and can be completed in a day or two. As well as the campaign, you can choose to relive over a dozen historical battles. If preset battles aren't your cup of tea then there is an option to create your own custom battle, and the options are staggering. Everything from the time of day, to weather, to the troop armor and weapons levels can be tweaked. Multiplayer options are also available, with a solid LAN offering and of course the online Gamespy service that pits you in customizable battles against other human opponents. It has to be said that playing online is a thrill, the human opponents provide much more of a tactical challenge than the AI. Lag is usually kept nicely in check, there were no major issues that I experienced.

The graphics are simply outstanding, and sets a new standard not just for strategy games but the whole industry. Over 10,000 fully animated models can be on screen at a time, and watching two armies clash in a head to head melee takes your breath away. Arrows pepper the sky, cavalry kicks up clouds of dust, bodies fly after an elephant charge and close combat is pure carnage. You can zoom in to admire the detail, and with a decent system the graphics can be maxed without fear of slow-downs or frame skipping. The developers really have outdone themselves in creating a flexible and reliable engine. The overhead map in the campaigns is beautiful, a vast improvement from previous Total War games. Weather is accurately detailed, with snow falling in the winter, and rain trickling down during battles.

The campaign is played in turns, and two turns represent summer and winter, and account for one year of game time. City management is surprisingly deep, with everything from trade, food production, taxes and public health to take care of. Those that are daunted by economic micromanagement need not fear, an automanage option is available to make things easier. There is a solid assortment of buildings available to build, with each having its economic purpose, and in a neat touch the architectural style differs from faction to faction. A Gallic Temple looks considerably different from Greek one, and this keeps things realistic. The ability to zoom in and take a look at your city in full 3D glory is a wonderful touch. You can spend a good few minutes just admiring the beauty of some of the bigger cities like Athens, with people scuttling about on the streets as mighty walls loom over them. Military management is the focus of the game and creating armies is relatively simple. You can build units from a nicely varied selection, and then combine them into an army with the click of a button. Special mention must go the flaming pigs for being the coolest unit in the entire game. You'll see what I mean once you pit them against those pesky elephants.

The family aspect is back once again, and your family members play a key role in the handling of everyday affairs within your empire. Your family expands as the game goes on, getting incredibly large by the end of the imperial campaign, which keeps in pace with the expansion of your empire (if you've been doing things right, that is. If not, then expect a very crowded capital city by around 50 B.C.) Stationing your family members in cities helps with their management, and your family members act as generals on the battlefield, with the more successful ones gaining experience and more skills. This is really nice touch, as you can watch your Faction Leader's son for example, lead a successful campaign against the vicious Gauls over the years and raise his Command skill battle by battle. And your family ages too, and it is truly sad to see your more potent ones bite the dust. Expect some drop in Senate favor when your leader with 10 stars in Influence dies due to old age. Of course they can die on the battlefield too, but you might want to protect your generals the most, since they are the most important part of your army. A good general boosts morale by a significant amount, and rallies fleeing troops. A good general will also kick some serious amounts of ass if used right. Try charging your General's entourage into the flank of a barbarian warband and you'll see what I mean.

The tactical battles are the best bit of the game, and the sheer number of tactical varieties and nuances are staggering. Formations are easily changeable, with everything from loose formation, to toggling flaming arrows for your archers, to forming testudos with your legionaries is available. Hell, if your war elephants run amok you can order its rider to kill the beast, which is a wise option because they WILL trample over your troops too in the midst of panic. The interface is wonderfully simple, managing units is a two click process, and even laying siege (the most exciting battles are the big sieges) is a breeze to manage. Of course you have to micromanage every unit to ensure a clean victory, but the interface really helps with getting the hard bits of management sorted so that you can focus on the tactics and admiring the gorgeous graphics.

For those sneakier out there, assassins and spies can also be employed, and if used right they can cripple an enemy army or city before a big battle. Espionage in itself is deep and immersive, as is diplomacy. Your diplomats can bribe and negotiate with other factions, and offer alliances, trade agreements etc. Forming alliances is the key to staying alive early, because having too many enemies early on makes things considerably difficult. Naval battles are also included, but these are resolved automatically by the AI, which is a bit of a disappointment.

Although I'm running out of superlatives here, the sound design has to receive special commendation. Never before have I been so drawn into a real time strategy game by the means of sound. Everything, and I do mean everything is incredibly detailed, from the shouts and cheers, to clash of steel, to cavalry hooves. This has truly set the bar for the rest of the industry to try and leap, and trust me it will be a long time before another strategy game comes this close to realistically recreating the ambience of a battle. The music is nothing short of fantastic, its cinematic quality blends in seamlessly with the action onscreen, picking up at key moments during battle. Your heart rate should get a healthy workout when two armies clash together and the orchestral theme starts booming. This is a complete audiovisual entertainment experience.

If there are any bad points, you would be scraping the bottom of the barrel looking for any serious ones. The minor annoyances such as the Wardogs unit count not being displayed properly after a battle and the minor glitches in unit formations are not nearly substantial enough to take anything away from the game. The AI is not perfect, but with a tactically complex game like this it is understandable.

Anyone who is a serious strategy gamer owes it to themselves to go buy this game. If you don't feel like buying it, then at least try it once, and let the seamless blend of tactical battles coupled with empire management and topped off with revolutionary audiovisual presentation lure you towards that store shelf. No I don't work for Creative Assembly, but I have been a gaming for over a decade now and I must say that Rome: Total War is quite simply one of the most complete videogaming experiences that I have ever had.

IT's NOT YOUR SAME OLD TOTAL WAR

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 22 / 43
Date: September 03, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've been a fan of the total war series since Shogun:TW, but, I want to make clear to all those previous buyers of this game and those that enjoyed the first two versions, this one is "not" the same "battle speed" as before.

If you enjoyed the battle speed and death speed of STW/MTW, you may not like the battle speed and death speed of RTW, why? Because everything is practically "doubled in speed of the battle play". Marching is the speed of charging in STW/MTW, charging is the speed of Olympic atheletes racing Hemi engined monster trucks.

If you aren't a click fest junky, and more of the turn based, slower real time strategy type player that brought you to the Total War series in the first place, and you haven't played the demo, I suggest, in fact I HIGHLY suggest you play the DEMO before purchasing this one.

As beautiful as the graphics are (and most of us grogs don't give squat about graphics as much as gameplay), the battle speed has been made for the clicky fest RTS kiddies out there in this one.

I never used "pause" in STW/MTW, but, there's no way to play this one without using it and to me that just kills the immersion of the battle, the battle speed of STW/MTW gave the "perfect" feeling of command time needed to send orders to your troups, there's no way to get that feeling in RTW, because, the battle speed is just too darn fast.

I had been waiting on this game for over a year and a half now, and I can't believe they have sold out their "core" customer base to the RTS clicky fest kiddie crowd, but, well, you know corporations and money, money comes before us all and they said this game would draw in a "new type" crowd, they just never told the core base that it would eliminate a lot of them in the process.

No Matter what People say this is a GREAT game

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 14
Date: May 19, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This is a great grame with awesome graphics and gameplay, consequently it is very demanding, but most bugs in gameplay is a result of your computer and not the game.
First of all I would like to say some things about bugs in the game, most of these can be avoided if the gamer is smart. For example, when I positioned my archers to close to another unit it would end up shooting that unit in the back. So all I did was position my archers farther away. Also the game has an option of "Arcade Style Battles" which stop any freindly fire from damaging any units.

Ok, to the game. The campaign game is great, It is like civilization but with an extra strategical element. To play the game well you need to think broadly when it comes to strategy, unlike the previuos Total Wars where strategy was only confined to the battle field. With a little prior planning any gamer can make huge victories and turn battles into massacres, even if the odds are stacked agains you. For example: A greek army had invaded one of my provinces, I sent a main battle force of a group of Principes (Roman Heavy Infantry, Still no match for frontal phalanx warfar), which were supported by a small group of archers and skirmishers. I then sent out a contingent of cavalry to the Greeks flanks (remember this is still in the campaign map). When I attacked with my main force the game wnet into the battle map, my main army appeared on the map while my cavalry was just outside and on the greeks flank waiting for the battle to begin. When I did start the battle I advanced and engaged the greek phalanxes with my infantry and missle troops. While I was engaged my cavalry raced behind and attacked the greeks rear and throwing them inta a panick. I can say with confidence that had I not done some prior prepeartions (i.e sending my cavalry to there flanks) i would have surly lost the battle. This is a prime example of how planning on a grand scale can affect battles that can even affect the whole game. For instance: Had I lost that battle my main army would have been crushed, my dominating force in greece would have been put out of commision and I would have been eventualy expelled from the pennensilu. This brings up another uniquenes in the game, battles, even small ones, can drasticaly affect the whole gaming expireince.

The battles also have there own bit of strategy, much like that of the campaing map. This, however is on a smaller and less grand scale. Even in this, however, the game excells. A lot about battles and the diversity of your armies depend on the terrain and who your fighting. Such as if you are fighting the greeks, the real battle winner will be your archers, who can kill at a distance and harrass slow moving phalanxes. If you are fighting armeinians, you would want swift heavy cavalry and a base of spearmen to combat the armeinians dependancy on horses. And if you were battleing the Romans themselves you would want a solid base of spearmen supported byt somoe fine cavalry to ward off skirmishers and take out their archers.
This game presents wonderful opportunities to exersise your strategical intellect and is a must have for any stratagy buff.

Unbelievable

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 12
Date: January 02, 2005
Author: Amazon User

For those uninitiated with the Total War series, let me give you a run down. The total war series combines turn based strategy and real time strategy in a brilliant manner. The player builds up cities with various military/economic/cultural buildings and uses these cities to develop large armies. And by large, these games mean it. Where most games offer up armies of 100 soldiers max, total war offers armies in the thousands. On the turn based map, the player also moves about agents to establish diplomatic relations and to do the occasional spy work. When armies engage on the turn based map, a real time battle mode begins in which strategy actually matters. Overall, the series is great though a bit difficult for the uninitiated.

Now for the specifics in Rome: Total War. This game is amazing. The graphics are outstanding as the camera zooms from a birds eye view all the way into the heart of the combat. Take a look at screens from various sites to see what I'm talking about. And the gameplay has improved immensely.

The turn based mode is beautiful. Where the older games had relatively non descriptive maps, the map for Rome is colorful and highly detailed. In addition, armies don't just move from province to province but they actually move within provinces. This means that walking through those large North African countries takes A WHILE, but its more interesting.

Diplomacy works well as you can create trade agreements, alliances and military access treaties. There are various other items that can be offered and it adds a lot of depth to the game. It's amazing to see how far the game has taken diplomacy from the simple alliances of Shogun.

The real time mode has also had some nice new additions. While regular battles are still relatively the same, they look a lot nicer. The details on the characters are much improved. An interesting addition here is the new special abilites of many characters. Archers can set their arrows ablaze to intimidate the enemy and Legionary soldiers can form walls with their shields to block enemy missle attacks.

Where the big changes for the real time mode kick in, is when sieges take place. Gone are the incredibly bland sieges from medieval total war. Instead, there are grand siege towers, battering rams and catapults that liven up the field. The excitement is high as the armies break through the castle gates to crash into the spearman of the enemy general.

Overall, the game is one of the best I've seen. I've played it non-stop since I first got it and plan to for many more months. It deserves its 5 stars for its high quality and amazing gameplay.

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