Veni Vidi Veci (Rome - Total War (PC))

Member Name: hornetz

Product:	Rome - Total War (PC)
Date:	02/09/09 (137 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Brilliant Gameplay

Disadvantages: May take up a lot of memory on computer

Rome Total War is the third game made by the Total War series. It has improved upon Shogun Total War and Medieval Total War and has embarked on a new era. There has only been one game made after Rome Total War which is Empire Total War, although in my opinion, Rome Total War is better. In Rome Total War you can decide to be the leader of several different factions. You can choose to lead a segment of the Romans, or you can be the enemies of Rome Carthage. The Greeks and the Seleucid Empire near Egypt are also an option.

Overview

At the beginning of the game you start with a couple of cities and a small army with your faction leader at command. The game is split into turns like most strategy games and one turn lasts six months. In Winter battles in Europe can become very tricky due to blizzards and in Africa in Summer your armies wearing metal can get tired very easily. You can then begin taking over towns and try to take over the whole world. The map on Rome Total War ranges from Britain, to Turkey and Russia to just past Israel. This ensures that with over 100 cities you will never get bored. Using the map you can also zoom in very specifically on some of your military units or opposition towns and you can even see if you are near a river or a mountain range which can cause a delay on your march.

As the title suggests the main aspect of the game is to command a Roman faction rather than Carthanigians or someone else. The Romans have been split into three playable factions. The House of Julii whose main objective is to defeat Gaul and take over Europe, The House of Scipii who have to defeat Carthage and the Egyptians to take over Asia and Africa and finally the House of Brutii who have to fight against the Greeks and the Macedonians. At the beginning of the game all these factions are allies although as you progress tension may arise as they all want to take over Rome and with that the whole of the Roman Empire.

With a campaign lasting 260 odd years from 200BC to 60 AD you can't expect your faction leader to live all that time while constantly fighting battles. This means that you can arrange marriages for your faction leader's daughters and make your faction leader's sons generals. A huge family tree then emerges which you can look at during each turn. Once again Rome Total War has paid a lot of attention to detail with characters looking older as they age.

Something that differentiates this game from its predecessors is its unique fact that of the Senate. The Senate as you may know from history were a sort of government for the Romans. They delegate tasks to you such as they might tell you if you take a certain town of an enemy they will give you money. Likewise you can blockade ports for military units or arrange treaties with other factions for the Senate pleasure. This is very important as if you have the majority of the higher ranks of the Senate in your faction you have a lot of power. Unfortunately if you fail missions then sometimes you have to pay large amounts of money. The factor of the Senate adds a bit of chance to the game as no two games will have the same missions.

As well as military units you can also employ agents. The most basic of which is the diplomat. He can go round to other factions making plenty of treaties. He can create trade rights to add more income, make allies and you can even make a treaty ensuring both factions attack the same enemy. Finally there is the map information which is very useful and the bribe which can give you settlements and armies without fighting any battles or making enemies. Then there is the spy. As well as finding out how many men are in an army and what types they are his best work is found inside opposition settlements. He can tell you if they are going to rebel and how much money they make. Finally he can tell you how many men they have and he gives you usually a third of a chance in opening the doors during a siege saving a lot of bother. Finally there is the deadly assassin. Available later on in the game he can be used to sabotage and destroy key enemy buildings. Also if he kills a faction leader of the opposition it can give you a huge advantage in the war. Unfortunately there is always the chance of him becoming caught and getting killed.

City Life

Governors are very important members in a city. A governor can only be a family member and when in a city he can decide lots of important things such as the tax levels and even which buildings to construct. Each building takes at least one turn to construct and some of the best buildings can take seven turns. Without a governor a city will be auto managed by the computer although you can choose if you want to spend a lot or save.

There are plenty of buildings to choose at any one time. Farms can be built for produce and money but they will also enable a larger population being able to live there. Markets can be constructed to ensure a steady income through trade. Trade of course can be taxed and you can choose how much you want to tax people. Finally, you can improve ports and roads to ensure lots of trade to the outside world. Finances are very important in Rome Total War as not only do you need to pay a recruitment fee you also have to pay their wages every turn.

On to the military side of things likewise there are plenty of buildings you can construct. barracks can be built to train infantry, stables for cavalry and archers can be trained in the same way. roads also help armies to move quickly and efficiently although this can help the enemies too in a speedy attack. Ports can be built to train huge warships to attack other countries. Finally big walls can be built to give more time in a siege for aid and smaller armies won't even be able to construct siege weaponry.

Your towns population can be increased by less taxes and lots of food produce. You can see how much population you have and there is a percentage so a bit of maths will be required if you wish to know how many people will be in your settlement next turn. More people means more space and when you have a certain amount of people you can make a bigger town. With a bigger town comes more things available for construction. Roads can become paved and then highways. Ports can become dockyards, farms can become latifundia's and small traders can become huge forums. Other constructions can be made as well such as arenas for entertainment and academies to make a well ran town. Military buildings such as barracks can be improved to make a better quality of soldiers.

There are also lots of buildings that can make the citizens happy. This is very important as if they are angry they might revolt which means that the town is taken from you as is any soldiers that you left there. They are converted into rebels and you have to take the whole place again. Once again the makers show historical knowledge as this happens a lot the year Spartacus lead his rebellion. Temples improve happiness of the people as do several other things. Lots of food and low taxes go down well and arenas and horse races make them especially delighted with the entertainment. However, unfortunately these come at a big financial loss. Games and horse races cost thousands of denarii as well as hundreds being lost in taxes. This means that you have to make a big decision between finance and happiness and balance it well.

Battle

Now that you have built up a big army using your wealth you see an annoying settlement on the horizon constantly sending small brigands against you. With your commander you march and try to take the town and burn it to ashes, smoke drifting along like a fog masking the fallen alerting the other tribes of your prowess. To do this you will need to train a good army and most importantly have a great leader. Will you be a good enough leader to conquer?

Once again Rome Total War shows its magnificence in its attention to detail. If you are trying to cross a bridge when attacked by an opposition army the river with the bridge will appear on the battle map. This is very important to a good commander as woods can be a perfect place to hide and lie await in ambush.Hills and mountains likewise offer perfect opportunities for a cavalry to charge down. The weather also changes everything. Fog lets armies creep onto each other. Rain makes archers and artillery weapons effectively useless and extreme heat in Africa can make your armies tired very quickly even if they don't march a lot. Likewise vision can be impaired in the blizzards of Europe in the Winter.

In my opinion the best thing about the battle is because unlike lots of war s and strategy games you are the main factor not numbers or skill. Of course they can change things but good tactics is one of the most important factors. For example the simplest tactic is simply attack a unit at the front and hold them. At the same time get a unit to go round them and attack them from the back. Not only do you sandwich the enemy unit but you can get a lot of kills before the unit turns around especially as they have less armour on the sides and on their backs.

The graphics in my opinion are absolutely outstanding although I am sure you need a good computer for them to work so well. Battles containing thousands of different men all 3d and extremely life like is an extraordinary achievement. Also you can see your men moving their swords and hitting the enemy and if you fight near a river you can see limbs floating off down river. However this game is a twelve and is probably suitable for those younger than twelve as well. The music is good as well pounding when cavalry charging and slow and classical in the main menu. Never skip the opening scene as that has some brilliant music coupled with extraordinary detail never fails to keep my heart pounding.

One of my favourite types of battle is a battle when you are under siege. It is exhilarating when men are climbing up ladders while being shot at with flaming arrows and boiling water as they keep going and have to fight for the town street after street clambering over dead bodies in a long and bloody struggle. However one of the only disadvantages in my opinion of this game is the fact that for naval battles all you can do is skip the battle and then it tells you the result. This is especially annoying when you have loads of military units with lots of ships and then a couple of pirate ships come and win the battle when you have nothing you can do about it. In Empire Total War however you can fight naval battles/

All in all I will have to say that in my opinion this is the best game ever invented in the world. It can be played for hours as there are separate modes for historical battles and custom as well quick battles. The Computer is a good opponent and will beat you many times. Everything about this game in my opinion is brilliant apart from the fact that it takes too much memory on your computer. This game can be bought for under £20 in Game or Amazon. Finally, I will end by saying that even though I have written more than 2000 words I don't think I have done Rome Total War justice as there is a lot more to say.

Summary: An absolutely amazing game