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Forging A Mediterranean Empire

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 9
Date: November 18, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Having been a fan of a wide selection of computer and video games, and having delved into different genres at different times, I can safely say this is the best game I have played as of yet. I suppose my love for it is fed by the fact that I am taking AP World History at the moment, but regardless of that, anyone who loves war, war games, history, RTS games, or merely a game that provides an exhiliarating experience should buy this.

One of the funnest aspects of the game is the selection of "Factions"(civilizations & peoples), from Western European to Arabian. Required at first to play as the Romans (either of the three families, Brutii, Scipii & Julii), once you conquer certain factions you unlock them, making them playable.

As in previous Total War games, it is played primarily on a strategic map. Unique to this Total War game, however, the map is rendered in incredibly beautiful 3D detail, displaying country lines and physical attributes (such as mountains, deserts, and sumbolic representations of specialties to certain territories, such as camels in Arabia & wheat in italy).

An amazing new addition is the use of generals or nobility in-game. They are manifested as units of heavy cavalry, with more horses with them as they gain experience. These characters can be used as governers or as field generals, and as they do whatever their job is, they gain both new attributes and new additions to their "retinue"(their menagerie of folks who follow them about). Funnily, as the characters age the illustration representing them grays as he gets older, and you even grow attached to them(especially when, say, you've been commanding a huge army with one general, whose name has gone from "Adaluuih" to "Adaluuih the Conquerer" for his accomplishments).

Another vital and astounding part of the games are the beautifully rendered battles. When you attack, besiege, or are attacked or besieged, the game zooms in and a battle begins. You can modify the unit size to have around 40, 80 or 160 men per unit, with the largest single army possible being roughly 4800 men. Breathtakingly, each one of these men is shown on the battlefield. Specificities are not missed by the battle engine: when your army fires volley after volley of arrows at the enemy, you can watch an individual arrow cut down an individual man, and arrows that missed remain stabbed in the ground for the duration of the battle. Likewise, the dead remain in their slumber at the feet of alive and fighting warriors throughout the battle, and you can zoom in to watch each soldier's fights. Sieging is amazing in itself, as you can use such siege weapons as battering rams, ladders, siege towers and the very cool sap point, which allows your troops to dig underneath the wall and collapse it.

What acts as the cherry on top of this sundae are the games little idiosyncracies- the aforementioned experience-gaining character-leaders and family trees, the faction-specific(very diverse) types of troops you can train, the option of slauthering all in the village you conquer, enslaving them, or merely occupying it being just a few of the examples of this.

This game truly gives you the ooportunity to play out basically any ancient scenario you please: whether you want to forge a Gaullic empire world-round, destroying Zoroastrian or egyptian temples in place of a temple of Toutatis, or to impose the Roman life upon the peoples you conquer while leaving their liturgical buildings intact, this game lets you do it. A must buy for historian buffs[ones with a creative side as well], RTS lovers, or just anyone looking for a great game.

A whole lot of fun

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: January 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

This game is everything I'd hoped it would be and, although I am ashamed to admit it, I have blown away several entire days just playing RTW. If you liked CIV III and Ages of Empires, this has all the best of both and is money well spent. If you have never played the other "Total War" games (as I haven't) the camera system takes a little getting used to so go ahead and read the directions first. My only advice to would-be players is to crank up the campaign and battle difficulties to "max" once you get the hang of the game. On the normal settings, I found it to be ridiculously easy but the increased difficulties makes it a lot more interesting indeed. It is also much more satisfying once you have your heel on the throat of an enemy who actually had a chance of winning at one time. It is even semi-appropriate for younger players in that there is a lot of smack-talk (no profanity) but not any blood and gore (opponents just fall to the ground when you slay them). I highly recommend RTW.

Smell the pretty flower.

2 Rating: 2, Useful: 9 / 17
Date: April 16, 2005
Author: Amazon User

It is always true, that the more one plays a game the more problems they should see. This game's pretty graphics can easily hypnotize some gamers. Some other games have also coasted to perfect scores through visuals alone regardless of actual gameplay. Sadly for gamers, the main game hides many serious issues unless one is attentive to what is actually going on around them in the world. [...] Early on, these player could see the poor AI and problems with control of units. These troubles alone should have pushed RTW down to 3 stars. Now other major problems and bugs have surfaced that simply end the game for those aware of them. These issues are very serious and kill the whole POINT of the game! Remember - A flower may be pretty, but that does not amount to much if it also STINKS.

The best RTS you'll find (for a while anyway)

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 10 / 20
Date: April 22, 2005
Author: Amazon User

I'm going to second some of the other reviewers in saying that this game is very addicting and pretty much blows away any of the other RTS titles out now (LOTR:BFME included, not that it is bad).
I know some of the people who loved Medieval and Shogun found the controls in this game to be a little less friendly and I'm sure they have a point. I, however, just got into gaming within the past two years and for me R:TW has been blowing me away since it's release in November. I even bought a brand new Dell XPS so I could up my unit sizes and crank up the graphics.

Save your money

3 Rating: 3, Useful: 11 / 23
Date: October 01, 2004
Author: Amazon User

The designers departed from the tried-and-true system of territorial movement of Shogun and MTW. The period is wonderful...the graphics great...but you can get the same play by purchasing Legion from Strategy First for a lot less money and a lot less memory. The game does not play smoothly. I am going back to MTW.

Best strat game on the market and setting a new benchmark!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 15
Date: October 07, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Rome probably one of the best strategy games I've ever played, or at least in the last few years. What makes Rome stand out? Check out the list:

Game play - RTW is 2 games in one. The first is a empire building strategic game which plays like a richer version of Risk. Over a series of turns players move their armies, spies, diplomats, and fleets like cheese pieces over the vast plains of Europe, Eastern-Asia, Middle-East, and North Africa. Capture territories and reap the rewards in trade to further expand your armies. The second game involves your actual battles. While you have the ability to auto-resolve, why would you? This 2nd "game" gives players a chance to think strategically at the battle-field level. Place your armies at the start of battle for the best outcome and utilize their strengths to counter enemy weaknesses. There is nothing like zooming in from a birds-eye view to inches off the ground to watch your war-dogs take down the enemy general.

Graphics - Most strategy games deliver rather indecipherable graphics, that fail to adequately capture either the setting or the action involved. On the empire building map, graphics are rich and colorful. I'd swear that the diplomats and spies are actual people moving across the world (the animations are great!). And on the battlefields, every soldiered/dog/horse/elephant is detailed. There is nothing like watching the rain fall over a battlefield as archers launch flaming arrows into a horde of 100s of screaming barbarians (they burn real nice too!).

Depth - RTW has it in spades! Every aspect of this game has additional levels of depth that can be turned on or micro-managed to your hearts content. You can watch your family tree grow and shrink, monitor your general's traits and skills, switch a general to a governor and watch them develop, decide what to build, watch your trade routes, siege cities, explore the world, carry out missions for the senate, decide formations... it just keeps going.

Context - The game setting is historically accurate, with unit types, nations, and progression of time. The music and graphics add an excellent touch of realism. There is nothing like a rousing score to really propel you into the heart of a battle just as it gets exciting.

Width - You can play out the main campaign (3 sides to choose from in the start, with more unlocked as you progress), instant battles, historical scenarios, and even multi-player. The AI is pretty robust, though occasionally they do some stupid things (my only complaint), which hopefully will be taken care of in a future update. And lastly game could easily be modded in the future to enhance realism.

This is a great game, that you won't go wrong with buying.

All I had hoped for, and More!!!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 8 / 15
Date: October 13, 2004
Author: Amazon User

Not sure what game the other reviewer purchased, but, it can't be the same game I have. Rome Total War is an incredibly in depth strategy game featuring epic, cinematic battles with thousands of fully detailed 3D soldiers, amazing seige battles featuring flaming arrows, onagers, ladders, and seige towers! I've been playing the game for about three weeks now, and just finished the main Imperial Campaign as the Julii faction. Contrary to other reviews, the game played perfectly for me, with no bugs and graphics glitches. The game is addictive, so, be warned! I strongly, strongly recommend the game.

Good stuff

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 9 / 18
Date: September 14, 2004
Author: Amazon User

I've played the demo and eagerly await the release this month. Having played Shogun, Medieval, and Viking Total War, this is a huge improvement (to an already excellent series of games). The graphics level is amazing. You can zoom in and see very detailed individual soldiers at eye level, grass swaying in the wind, etc. Watching the war elephants rip through enemy infantry was a treat. The battle interface was a little weird, being used to the Medieval TW interface, but I think it will do nicely.

Rome: Total War

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 6 / 10
Date: January 15, 2005
Author: Amazon User

What a game!

This game is amazing in all aspects, and only has a very few minor flaws. With a campaign map stretching from England to the Middle East, and cultures such as the Greeks, Egyptians, Carthaginians, and (of course) three Roman factions, Rome: Total war is addictive and fun.

Rome: Total War contains three types of play- Campaign mode, Single Player Battle mode, and Multiplayer mode.

In the Campaign mode, the gamer can choose from three Roman factions: Julii, Brutii, and Scipii. After selecting one's faction, the Campaign for domination of the world starts. The Campaign map is a large map that shows provinces, armies, cities, navies, etc. It is a little bit like an oversized and souped up game of chess. Armies and Navies are moved around like chess peices, until they come in contact with an enemy. This is where the military strategy comes in handy. This part of the game is explained below in Single Player Battle mode, as they are almost exactly alike.

In Single Player Battle mode, the gamer is in direct command of the army he/she has led to the battlefield. With 3D zoom, the gamer can get a good look at the action or survey the battlefield as a whole. Easy-to-use controls make the battle experience exciting and challenging, and such factors as weather, soldiers' energy, and missle soldiers' ammunition make battles very realistic. The only flaw is that a gamer can get stuck in one area of the battle map while following soldiers' movement. Aside from this, the Single Player Battles have been programmed to perfection.

Multiplayer mode is Single Player Battle mode, except over the Internet.

If you buy this game, the reasons I gave it 5 stars will become apparent within minutes! Recommended to young and old alike.

Not a perfect game, but can let you make it into one!

5 Rating: 5, Useful: 4 / 5
Date: October 25, 2006
Author: Amazon User

Read through all the other reviews to get more in-depth, but I will say that Rome - Total War totally reinvents the RTS genre!

Nowhere will you find the typical "peasant builds a town center, mines gold, cuts wood, build more peasants, build farms, build barracks, build soldiers, go kill all", for this is a realistic game with two completely different modes of play--strategy map, and battle map

The campaign begins with the strategy map, which is a map of Europe and parts of Asia and Africa, and several cities under your control. In these cities, you commission to have buildings built to improve such things as farm harvest, public health, entertainment, law, religion, and warfare, and train units to gather into an army.

Once you have an army, you send them off to battle, where you either let the computer auto-resolve the conflict, or you go down to the battlefield to fight it out

It's on the battlefield that the true nature of the game shines its greatest. Unlike in other games where you have individual soldiers fighting individually, and unlike trashy Hollywood Roman/Greek "epics" which have the soldiers behaving as thus (seeking out individual battles) your soldiers fight in formation, and you command the soldiers in units of a certain numbers. You have to come up with tactics, strategy, and have your units fight in strict formation, or you risk the enemy outflanking or breaking through your lines, and your units routing if the fighting gets too tough (btw, rout means retreat)

The complexities and intricacies of each individual unit on each side and their formations makes for infinite playtime if you're sick of one particular faction (you hate legionaries, if you defeat the Greeks, you can play with them and the phalanx!)

The complexities of battle are much more historically accurate than most other games, and you pay for your units with money raised either by trade, taxation, or the spoils of war.

Alas, it has its own share of problems. Aside from minor graphical issues and some playability issues, Rome Total War isn't as historically accurate as it could be:

- For one, the Egyptians aren't portrayed as the Ptolemaic Empire, but rather more akin to the Egypt you see in documentaries or movies like "The Mummy", with chariots and solid gold armor and such.

- Some of the Hellenistic factions don't have the proper variety of units.

- Advanced formations (such as the triplex acies or the Macedonian Phalanx) aren't available, you if you want to have the traditional Roman triplex acies, you'll have to set it up yourself

- Politics aren't as complex (which cannot be faulted) but some things are completely inaccurate such as the Greek city-states being one faction, the Gauls and the Germans and all the other barbarians being only one faction rather than numerous (though in fairness, it would not only be easier to do this, but it would make for easier gameplay to someone trying to play as one of these factions, to start with a whole country like the other factions rather than a single city)

- The Romans have been separated and factionalized into the highly fictional military groups distinguished by familiar family names (House of Julii, House of Brutii, House of Scipii, SPQR)

- The music is exquisite, but much too tame for a war game

- Morale is made way too low for all units, so armies can traditionally break and rout within minutes of an engagement, making for quick and easy victories.

- The AI (before patch 1.5) is quite dim and lacking in proper knowledge of tactics or strategy---or as some people claim, totally retarded

These would all be enough to bring the game down at least one star, but the creators of the game are truly brilliant geniuses for this reason:

They have made almost all of the game files easily accessible, and easy to modify

Thus, with experts in the field of modding, you come out with absolutely brilliant modifications which totally expand and change the nature of the game, from the music to the units and everything listed above, making the game more historically accurate, to expanding the map to nearly DOUBLE its size.

The best of the mods out there are definitely Rome - Total Realism, and Europa Barbarorum (in its beta stages), and there are some other minor mods out there such as SPQR, Invasio Barbarorum (for Barbarian Invasion exp pack), etc.

With the mods, you can almost completely change the gameplay, for the better, and have a game that is not only sharply historically accurate, but which improved AI and fighting, meaning the battles will no longer be hunting down routers, but a lengthy, tough, gritty battle with your men fighting on to the death if surrounded, and the enemy never backing down in the face of sudden changes or spooks

If you're going to get RTW, I recommend playing it in its entirety just to familiarize yourself with it, then go out and get one of the above mods to TRULY expand the game, and make it absolutely perfect for you!

PS, you don't have to be an expert modder to change some aspects of the game, such as the amount of armor or damage a certain unit has or can deal, the cost of the unit, the general nature of a foe, the amount of men in a single unit, etc

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