08-10-2004, 10:23 AM
Many People would have played a game in the Total War Series. The concpt of them is very simple, to meld RTS (aka C&C or warcraft) with turn base Stratagy (aka Civilization, Master of Orion). Creative assembly has done this well for there last 2 games (Shogun and Medieval) mixing a risk style Stratagy game with a basic RTS (with a 3d world but 2d Bitmapped sprites)
With ROME they have moved to a completely 3d game and have done it really well without doing away with the giant Armys that the game is known for.
The first thing that will hit you with this game is the scope of it. You command a faction of the roman empire. You must deal with everything from what type of units your cities build to who your daughter should marry. In a far reaching campaign you must conquer Europe, Middle east and northern Africa and also defeat the 2 other Roman factions and take control of ROME to be Emperor. As a strategy game alone ROME is very good an on par with such games as Civilzation.
Where this game really stands out is when you fight Battles. We are talking full on battle that can involve up to 10000 soldiers (most battle only involve 1 to 2 thousand) The first difference you notice over old total war games is the amazing 3d engine that they use. Battles come alive with men fighting it out, calvary smashing into enemy lines and elephants going nuts tossing men into the air. Even more impressive are City Assualts. Unlike the last Total war games you can now put men onto the walls to rain down fire on the enemy. Ladders, catapults , Siege towers , battering Rams and even tunnels are used to break into the city. Meanwhile defenders can rain down arrows and even pour hot oil onto men as they try to take the city.
The game is highly polished with lots of little extras. Generals give a speech before battle that changes to reflex the generals personality, who you are fighting and even what the gods have to say about your chances of winning. Units will cheer when they win through a hard fight against a unit. Barbarian units will scream an shout before battle to induce fear in there enemy and the camera will highlight interesting and important events in battle such as the death of an enemy general or breaking down the gates of a city.
The only bad points about this games is the lack of a Multiplayer Campain. However the Multiplayer included is a nice change from Your normal RTS. It rewards good tactical planning and the games usally end in under 15 mins. If you liked any of the former Total war games or you enjoy Stratagy games your gunna love ROME:Total War. If your more of a Warcraft/starcraft fan it may not be your thing but You’ll still might enjoy the Historic battles or the RTS side of the campaign.
I look forward to giving this game a bash at the next LAN.
With ROME they have moved to a completely 3d game and have done it really well without doing away with the giant Armys that the game is known for.
The first thing that will hit you with this game is the scope of it. You command a faction of the roman empire. You must deal with everything from what type of units your cities build to who your daughter should marry. In a far reaching campaign you must conquer Europe, Middle east and northern Africa and also defeat the 2 other Roman factions and take control of ROME to be Emperor. As a strategy game alone ROME is very good an on par with such games as Civilzation.
Where this game really stands out is when you fight Battles. We are talking full on battle that can involve up to 10000 soldiers (most battle only involve 1 to 2 thousand) The first difference you notice over old total war games is the amazing 3d engine that they use. Battles come alive with men fighting it out, calvary smashing into enemy lines and elephants going nuts tossing men into the air. Even more impressive are City Assualts. Unlike the last Total war games you can now put men onto the walls to rain down fire on the enemy. Ladders, catapults , Siege towers , battering Rams and even tunnels are used to break into the city. Meanwhile defenders can rain down arrows and even pour hot oil onto men as they try to take the city.
The game is highly polished with lots of little extras. Generals give a speech before battle that changes to reflex the generals personality, who you are fighting and even what the gods have to say about your chances of winning. Units will cheer when they win through a hard fight against a unit. Barbarian units will scream an shout before battle to induce fear in there enemy and the camera will highlight interesting and important events in battle such as the death of an enemy general or breaking down the gates of a city.
The only bad points about this games is the lack of a Multiplayer Campain. However the Multiplayer included is a nice change from Your normal RTS. It rewards good tactical planning and the games usally end in under 15 mins. If you liked any of the former Total war games or you enjoy Stratagy games your gunna love ROME:Total War. If your more of a Warcraft/starcraft fan it may not be your thing but You’ll still might enjoy the Historic battles or the RTS side of the campaign.
I look forward to giving this game a bash at the next LAN.