Total War: Attila

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Feb 17, 2015
User Score
7.4

Mixed or average reviews- based on 655 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 445 out of 655
  2. Mixed: 106 out of 655
  3. Negative: 104 out of 655

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  1. ttnordbo
    Feb 23, 2015
    0
    This game is more confusing than previous total war games. Poor gameplay, even worse performance. The game simply isnt fun. Squalor ruins the game more than anything else.
  2. pazmacats
    Feb 23, 2015
    2
    Stopped playing after 6 hrs. Bad performance, bad AI, confusing mechanics + incomplete documentation, slow in game encyclopedia, defending a village works best by leaving the village cause of maneuvering inside village = pain in the ass, random attacks out of fog of war because of huge campaign movement range, extremeley sluggish campaign play, TONS of waiting: pacing and performance wise,Stopped playing after 6 hrs. Bad performance, bad AI, confusing mechanics + incomplete documentation, slow in game encyclopedia, defending a village works best by leaving the village cause of maneuvering inside village = pain in the ass, random attacks out of fog of war because of huge campaign movement range, extremeley sluggish campaign play, TONS of waiting: pacing and performance wise, 30-60 seconds turn times, very strange upgrade trees, unnecessary grief mechanics (sanitation)… Expand
  3. alQamar
    Feb 22, 2015
    7
    Attila is very likely to Barbarian Invasion an expansion of an original game, fielding a lot of advantageous updates.

    The difference between both are the price. While BI for Rome 1 was sold as an expansion, Attila is sold as an stand alone expansion quite full priced. Granted you can buy it for about 24 € outside Steam - and legal too - at a lower price Attila is worth it and works out.    Attila is very likely to Barbarian Invasion an expansion of an original game, fielding a lot of advantageous updates.

    The difference between both are the price. While BI for Rome 1 was sold as an expansion, Attila is sold as an stand alone expansion quite full priced. Granted you can buy it for about 24 € outside Steam - and legal too - at a lower price Attila is worth it and works out. What does not work out is the optimization.

    Attila is more demanding than Rome 2, but offers also better graphics, including MSAA, and more detailed units. While vanilla it looks like it is modded but it is not.

    Attila is Rome 2 2.5, without a year of patches. It is much better and whole, but still not worth a 8/10 that was given by the most of the reviewers.

    Rome 2 was about civilized scam, Attila is about barbarian scum. Armchair generals will love it. Also the multiplayer works much better and fluid.

    I can recommend a buy but not full priced. Look for legal alternatives instead and be prepared you have to lower the graphical settings even on high end computers.

    This all has a high price though: People with AMD processors (not graphics cards) will suffer a lot as they did in Rome 2, on quality settings or below Attila becomes barely playable. I am currently collecting results in the TWcenter benchmark thread.

    Warning: 7 DLCs are already reported on SteamDB.info, so get yourself ready for a DLC fest!

    +4 many "new" features that people wanted to have in Rome 2
    +1 better music but still repetitive
    +3 much better graphics, vanilla it looks like modded!
    +2 multiplayer has been improved alot, stability, chat and lot less lag, no slow motion units so far

    -2 on the flipside very high requirements, that are either very GPU limited even on HIGH-END computers (maximum quality preset or extreme preset and even quality preset) OR CPU limited on lower settings like performance and high performance
    -1 still severe lack of optimization for AMD CPUs, which now kills the game at all for people that have AMD processors.
    - to high priced as it contains a lot of features that were (intentionally) missing in Rome 2, 7 DLC listed and hidden zero day!

    I rate Attila with a mild 7/10 and can still recommend the game without serious pain.    … Expand
  4. indi01
    Feb 22, 2015
    8
    This game is fantastic, yes some tweaking is needed (Tagmata cav anyone?) but overall a really enjoyable experience. This is what Rome 2 should have been at release.
  5. Kragmire
    Feb 21, 2015
    0
    I'm about to give up on this game... after playing it for about a week. Let me guarantee you that I own and have played all the other Total War games - vanilla, modded, etc. Attila has broken AI that sucks all the fun out of the game for me. It isn't that it is "hard". It is that it is unplayably unfair. Let me give you a few examples:
    (1) Apparently you can have an empire of five    I'm about to give up on this game... after playing it for about a week. Let me guarantee you that I own and have played all the other Total War games - vanilla, modded, etc. Attila has broken AI that sucks all the fun out of the game for me. It isn't that it is "hard". It is that it is unplayably unfair. Let me give you a few examples:
    (1) Apparently you can have an empire of five territories, but can just barely afford to field 3 full armies. Meanwhile every AI empire consisting of a single territory can field 3 armies as well. How? Who knows?
    (2) The AI knows where your armies are, even when you are out of line of sight. I can save the game, and move my armies to one side of my empire, and an enemy will pop up and attack the city I just left. Meanwhile if I load the game and move my armies in the OTHER direction, a DIFFERENT enemy will pop up and attach the cities I left on the OTHER side of the map.
    (3) Because the AI cheats, there is no way to "surprise" the enemy. For example, if you move a single army (from out of line of sight) to an enemy city, you will find it strongly defended. Reload the game, and move TWO armies to an enemy city - and you find it abandoned because the forces fled before you were even within line of sight.
    (4) The AI will declare war on you - even when outnumbered. Then they will abandon their home territory, march their armies through four or five enemy empires - untouched - and attack you. Meanwhile their home empire is never touched even though surrounded by other enemies. If you defeat them and try to pursue, every AI empire you try to pass through will attack you, and the MOMENT you are one turn's move away from your home empire, every one of your neighbors (who are not supposed to know where your armies are) will raid your empire.
    (5) AI enemies will come to each other's defense, even though they are enemies.
    (6) I can trap an enemy army on a peninsula, and when I attack them they can "magically" retreat off the peninsula into deep woods three turns of movement away. While I am trying to pursue them through the deep woods that they magically teleported into, they are free to pop out the other side and raid my cities.
    It goes on and on. There is nothing more disappointing in a strategy game than cheating AI. Everything the AI does is supposed to be based on the game environment and evaluations of risks, rewards, and relationships.

    There are other glitches and problems in this game, and I have had one crash. Given that it is brand new, this is not too bad, and I assume they will patch the small problems. But until they fix the AI, this game is dead to me.    … Expand
  6. succorosso
    Feb 21, 2015
    2
    Unlike other negative reviewers I didn't experience significant technical glitches, BUT, the game is regretfully totally unplayable. Maybe the developers wanted to create a historically unacurate feeling of impeding doom, but thy have done it in an extremely cheap and ill concived way.
    As a Roman empire you preside over a vast expense of towns and villages with mostly LEVEL 1 buildings.    Unlike other negative reviewers I didn't experience significant technical glitches, BUT, the game is regretfully totally unplayable. Maybe the developers wanted to create a historically unacurate feeling of impeding doom, but thy have done it in an extremely cheap and ill concived way.
    As a Roman empire you preside over a vast expense of towns and villages with mostly LEVEL 1 buildings. This rag tag empire has big problems keeping itself fed and keeping the order. All of your armies are crappy LEVEL 1 units. Looks like Rome managed to conquer the world using inferior troops. Then the barbarian armies crawal out from under the rocks. They don't have crappy level 1 troops, no sir, they got good troops and they got a lot of them. You need to fight them off. Autoresolve gives you no chance. The only thing you can do is park next to the arrow tower, activate defensive testudo and hope the tower kills enough enemies to break them. Masterpiece of strategy? More like ill concieved, unplayable garbage.
    And yes, now every miserable character, and you will have a lot of those has his miserable skills, that you need to click together and again and again and again. There is some lame family tree I don't care about, but the game will keep on reminding me to click their stuff around.
    Overall you fight an uphill battle against highly advanced and omnipresent "barbarians", together with the rebels and neighbors that want a piece of your inept empire.

    Dear developer: I'm sorry I've bought this game, mechanics are a bit better than Rome, but naval battles are a joke, tower mechanics are as crude as it gets and overall can you please lay off boring spies and heros and Crusader king like family tree that doesn't belong to a strategy game and give me something playable?
    Not recommended at all. Waiting for mods.    … Expand
  7. blackbird1
    Feb 21, 2015
    0
    If the fonts was not good tor ead or to small for you in rome 2 or shogun its even worse now.
    when will ca notice that its 2015..... make scale able gui or increase your damn font size for at least 2.
    and don't put bright font on bright background and

    don't put tooltipps on the side of the screen center it.

    your ui is more annoying than before.
  8. dans221
    Feb 20, 2015
    9
    I held off buying the game until the early reviews came out after the Rome 2 release was so badly botched. I have to say, Attila has really improved where Rome 2 fell short: the release is well optimized, there's a variety of factions available straight off the bat, and the battles feel more immersive. Most importantly it has a very distinct and interesting atmosphere where Rome 2 feltI held off buying the game until the early reviews came out after the Rome 2 release was so badly botched. I have to say, Attila has really improved where Rome 2 fell short: the release is well optimized, there's a variety of factions available straight off the bat, and the battles feel more immersive. Most importantly it has a very distinct and interesting atmosphere where Rome 2 felt rather bland even after all the patching. I like the developments to the characters & family trees in Campaign mode. I really recommend this one!… Expand
  9. svablas
    Feb 20, 2015
    10
    We must agree that this is best TW game so far but what best means that is not much to say. Its better in all apspects compare to shogun 2 (second best) so i give 10, because its best so far and 10 is only logical score it could have. There is bunch of idiots that have problems with theyr gaming setup blaming game for problems that ruins theyr experience. Computer specs do not mater mostWe must agree that this is best TW game so far but what best means that is not much to say. Its better in all apspects compare to shogun 2 (second best) so i give 10, because its best so far and 10 is only logical score it could have. There is bunch of idiots that have problems with theyr gaming setup blaming game for problems that ruins theyr experience. Computer specs do not mater most of the time (old man can beat young criple without sweat) .

    Solid game, but there is lots of space to improve it expecialy AI. Yep AI best so far but if you take closer look you will see that Ai do very good job at positioning units right before he charge/counter charge and if you counter it he still folow the same path. I saw no units rotation at the heat of battle, no fake retreat/mini ambushes. Thats is crucial. Break AI formation, battle plan (pretty easy to find out) and thats it, if you know what you doing, IF you follow SUN TSU rules of ART OF WAR AI no match for you, but if you go straight you will be SLAIN as newer before. What i noticed that now AI likes split his formation, make larger gabs, not like old one with his monolite formation that is cannons meat. Now its much harder to devastate AI with catapults etc. need good timing. But common battle rule is that if you make gaps you must move a lot more that is hard for this AI, he just cant handle it, but stil creates a chalenge if you are 1:2 and in 1:4 you need good position and army composition to actualy try your luck that in most cases ends very bad, better avoid this :) also i talk only about legendary difficulty.

    Solid game.

    Buy

    Slay

    Be slayed (most likely)

    And enjoy!!!    … Expand
  10. mweagle
    Feb 20, 2015
    6
    The game is fine. If you played any TW game, you would feel right at home with the basics. Family free adds a layer of gameplay to which you can really optimize your people in power.
    Combat is fine, just like the other TW games, and the best thing: The AI isn't as dumb anymore. It now actually does things that makes sense.
    So why the 6? Simple, the game is very heavy. As in very    The game is fine. If you played any TW game, you would feel right at home with the basics. Family free adds a layer of gameplay to which you can really optimize your people in power.
    Combat is fine, just like the other TW games, and the best thing: The AI isn't as dumb anymore. It now actually does things that makes sense.

    So why the 6?

    Simple, the game is very heavy. As in very very heavy. I can play BF4 on 1080p, medium with a stable 125fps. But TW:A on low can't run higher than 60. This would not effect the grade too much, but the loading times are quite long. I didn't install this on my SSD, which I should have, and that resulted in loading times up to 20 seconds for a battle. In 2015, quite unacceptable.

    Now that is also not too bad and can be played with. What cannot be played with, it the unstability of the game. I have yet to finish a combat in real time, because every single combat, the game "stops working". I did every single thing to prevent this (googled it), I put every single setting to low. I basically prevented everything that could make the game crash. Once or a couple times is OK. That can happen. But from the 10 battles I tried, all 10 crashed. And battles in TW are not 2 minute clashes. They can take a long time. And to lose every single perfectly executed statagy to a consistent crash is the worst thing this game can do. And it does it.

    And before you think, "omg ur system suckz", I have never experienced more than 3 crashes in the first 30 hours of any other game, even the ones that are known for crashes. My system is better than the recommended system and I can play it above 60fps. Yet the crashes are gamebreaking.

    Would have been a 9 if not for these issues.    … Expand
  11. Ed_
    Feb 20, 2015
    9
    FAR BETTER than Rome II

    Here you can fight and build up your empire or can make mistakes and fall. The AI is good (some smaller issues but those are bearable). Graphics would be amazing if you had 4000 dollars for a computer but it also runs smoothly on weaker PCs and runs perfectly on my MAC (the game is still nice). Music: meh... One thing though! Magyars are not mongoloids...LOL    FAR BETTER than Rome II

    Here you can fight and build up your empire or can make mistakes and fall.
    The AI is good (some smaller issues but those are bearable).
    Graphics would be amazing if you had 4000 dollars for a computer but it also runs smoothly on weaker PCs and runs perfectly on my MAC (the game is still nice).
    Music: meh...
    One thing though! Magyars are not mongoloids...LOL

    Good game. Looking forward to DLCs.    … Expand
  12. EndoRoboto
    Feb 19, 2015
    9
    This game is my Total War Heaven. I've played hundreds of hours worth of Total War games and this is most definitely my favorite yet. The fact that it is fully playable and working quite well at launch is one that really not many saw coming.
    The campaign is my favorite of any game so far. Not only is the map much more detailed and beautiful, but the AI is also much smarter than what I've    This game is my Total War Heaven. I've played hundreds of hours worth of Total War games and this is most definitely my favorite yet. The fact that it is fully playable and working quite well at launch is one that really not many saw coming.
    The campaign is my favorite of any game so far. Not only is the map much more detailed and beautiful, but the AI is also much smarter than what I've seen in past games. Diplomacy is actually useful and quite necessary here. If we take into account the creeping cold from the north that extends south and ruins fertility as the game goes on as well as the inexorable wave of Huns heading ever westwards, there's more than enough reason to get one up and moving to better lands as opposed to Rome 2 where typically where ever you start is more or less where you're going to be in your possession unless flipped by another nation. Here in Attila, if you see the unbeatable hordes heading your way you can even abandon a settlement, giving you a short income boost and completely razing the land you own making it useless to your enemies. At that point I would consider heading south and west to better vacation spots. I hear the north coast of Africa is quite fine this time of year.
    Province and Settlement management is similar to Rome 2 but there are small changes that really shine such as you can now issue an edict in any settlement that has a governor instead of needing to take over the entire province first as in Rome 2.
    Generals and forces have better laid out trees so you can actually plan ahead how you want to build your character or army/navy. Family trees have also returned for those that missed them so much from Shogun 2.
    The battles are quite a sight to behold. Volleys of crossbow bolts cast shallow arcs as opposed to traditional bows which fall very nearly vertical after they reach their apex. Men catch fire and *scream* bloody murder. Bare-chested barbarians wielding the falx charge to bring their weapons to bear on their once Roman overlords as their warhounds bound beside them teeth bared. This is Total War. The AI for the battles is slightly improved perhaps from Rome 2. Was is definite is that the updates Rome 2 received for over a year have all found their way home to Attila as well.
    There are some issues that the game faces. Some report that enemies raze settlements far too often creating large swathes of wasteland that cost ridiculous sums of money to repopulate. Another issue is that upgrading a unit through research makes it so you lose the ability to further recruit the lower-tier unit you replace. This wouldn't be such an issue if the units you were upgrading didn't change their role completely. Optimization is another problem, albeit a very slight one. I run the game on a fx6350 and HD7850 at the preset medium/quality settings and a beautiful run she is. One thing to note however, I did customize the anti-aliasing to MLAA instead of the other AA choices. After this change, the game not only looked a lot better (duh) but it surprisingly ran smoother as well.
    Creative Assembly is seems have really outdone themselves this time around. The issues the game has can and we can almost be guaranteed will be patched in the coming weeks and months. I almost feel bad for modders this time around as the game has so few faults for me personally that I don't feel like I need certain mods just for the game to be playable a la Rome 2 pre-EE.
    If you are a Total War fan, stop reading this and just get it already. If you consider yourself a grand-strategy fan you need to do the same. Just like watching guys on fire as you send in the dogs to finish them off while their city burns around them? Yeah, you get the idea.    … Expand
  13. wolfswoosh
    Feb 19, 2015
    10
    Fantastic Singleplayer - good out of the box multiplayer.

    If your a fan of the series its never been this good in singleplayer - buy without hesitation!
  14. Ariakkan
    Feb 19, 2015
    9
    The best Total War release that I can recall. Polished, with some minor glitches (mind you, this is a monster piece of software and it will not work properly in undergeared machines) but years light from the bugs of other titles in the franchise.

    A huge improvement from Rome 2, a massive experience as a whole and a must-buy for any Grand Strategy fan. Kudos to Creative Assembly, one    The best Total War release that I can recall. Polished, with some minor glitches (mind you, this is a monster piece of software and it will not work properly in undergeared machines) but years light from the bugs of other titles in the franchise.

    A huge improvement from Rome 2, a massive experience as a whole and a must-buy for any Grand Strategy fan.

    Kudos to Creative Assembly, one of the few and rare gems that still exist out there!    … Expand
  15. Trajan
    Feb 18, 2015
    10
    Awesome Game. It feels great again playing total war. Rome 2 was a let down and Attila brought my favorite strategy series back. Great Faction and Unit variety. Great single player experience. Loads of features with several layers. I highly recommend this game. As expected optimizations and tweaking will happen over the next few months but Creative Assembly has built a fantasticAwesome Game. It feels great again playing total war. Rome 2 was a let down and Attila brought my favorite strategy series back. Great Faction and Unit variety. Great single player experience. Loads of features with several layers. I highly recommend this game. As expected optimizations and tweaking will happen over the next few months but Creative Assembly has built a fantastic game to keep me entertained for years to come. I will rate the game 10 to offset the Trolls who try to mess with metacritics scoring. Reality I would give the game no less than 8.5 and up to 9.… Expand
  16. Papaflower
    Feb 18, 2015
    10
    Finally an effort to return to what made the Total War series great. CA at last seems to understand that oversimplification and false advertising are not methods which attract new fans. Whoever thinks that Attila is a copycat of Rome 2 misses the point of a FRANCHISE. Attila, after some tweaking,is to become a Great Total War Title.
  17. MK32USMC
    Feb 18, 2015
    10
    Most fun campaign in total war history, and I have not yet been attacked by the huns! Very fun multiplayer.
    A must have. Only bad thing I can think of is that battles finish way too quickly, not allowing us to execute more battle tactics. Other than that,its a bloody good game!
  18. EarlGreyHot
    Feb 18, 2015
    8
    It's a good game and certainly an improvement over Rome 2 at release. At this point I'm only 10 hours into my first campaign which, as you know with these kind of games, isn't enough time to get to know it properly but I will say that I like the tone and feel to the game so far.

    My one main complain is that it has crashed once for me so far and my save file was kept freezing at the end    It's a good game and certainly an improvement over Rome 2 at release. At this point I'm only 10 hours into my first campaign which, as you know with these kind of games, isn't enough time to get to know it properly but I will say that I like the tone and feel to the game so far.

    My one main complain is that it has crashed once for me so far and my save file was kept freezing at the end of the turn, eventually I managed to get it to the next turn but it was annoying.    … Expand
  19. Anco
    Feb 18, 2015
    9
    A huge improvement from Rome 2 and the devs listened to many and many community suggestions.
    There's obviously some polishing to be done but the only complain that i can do for now is how the unit mass works. Everyone in combat is too close to each others so it makes a giant single mess.
  20. benlesagedu42
    Feb 18, 2015
    9
    This game is very good. I played all TW games so far and according to me...this one will be one of the best.

    But at the moment, we need a blood and gore DLC (with new and more animations than rome 2!)

    Thanks CA, you learn from Rome's 2 failure!
  21. Haromerr
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    If you have ever craved the feeling in a strategy game that the entity you are playing is every bit as smart as you, if not smarter, then Creative Assembly's newest offering Total War: Attila is for you. It has a superficial resemblance to its predecessor, Rome II, and obviously it uses a development of the same engine, but whereas Rome II had a certain predictability about it, Attila hasIf you have ever craved the feeling in a strategy game that the entity you are playing is every bit as smart as you, if not smarter, then Creative Assembly's newest offering Total War: Attila is for you. It has a superficial resemblance to its predecessor, Rome II, and obviously it uses a development of the same engine, but whereas Rome II had a certain predictability about it, Attila has moved beyond that. On campaign or on the battlefield, it is full of surprises, and even on lower difficulty settings it's almost a certainty that at some stage you're going to have to reload an earlier save and start over.

    The game captures superbly the grim onset of the Dark Ages, as Rome collapses, the barbarians arrive, and the landscape is littered with empty, desolate settlements that signpost the savage passing of the hordes, chief among them the massive, seemingly unchallengeable might of the Huns.

    This game on release is a huge advance on Rome II, which itself was a work of flawed genius, in my opinion. It's definitely worth wheeling out the General's armchair and sallying forth to remake the ancient world in whatever image you care to try and make it in. Glory awaits!    … Expand
  22. dj_cole
    Feb 17, 2015
    8
    Total War Attila is both a step forward and a step away from what I've come to love with the Total War Series. I've been a fan of the series playing every game since Total War Medieval. I'm also a fan of grand strategy games as a genre and have played many different iterations from my first love of Star Wars Rebellion to modern iterations like Total War Rome II and Hearts of Iron III.Total War Attila is both a step forward and a step away from what I've come to love with the Total War Series. I've been a fan of the series playing every game since Total War Medieval. I'm also a fan of grand strategy games as a genre and have played many different iterations from my first love of Star Wars Rebellion to modern iterations like Total War Rome II and Hearts of Iron III. Through all those games I've followed a methodical plan of action. Secure a resource base, research technologies and send out a large force to secure and hold territory. Total War Attila doesn't let me do that. The game held a fire to my feet and forced me into action.

    The game starts with the Roman Empire in decline and various factions vying for territory. Playing as the Geats, one of the Norse factions, the game turned against me quickly with famine and a harsh winter that meant I simply could not sit still. So, I gathered my forces, sailed across the sea and did what Vikings do, I invaded the British Isles. Within ten turns I was feeling the same intensity it took dozens to feel in Total War Rome II. With food shortages at home and forces suffering from attrition after the journey across the sea my options were to secure land or die. My first battles were almost as nail biting as a march into Northern Africa with legions of Roman soldiers to face down Carthage because there was so much at stake.

    There are some notable improvements, if you want to call them, to the battle system to make it more realistic. It's the little things like having to actually have siege equipment to assault a fortress or having units be able to return to the fight after breaking. The combat, as always, is intense and a joy to watch up close.

    One of the more notable aspects of the game is the new horde system that allows you to pick up your faction and move it. You uproot your civilization, losing all you've built up, and move your people into a new area in order to conquer and re-establish yourself. There are four playable factions that start out as hordes. I don't love the feature, but it really is a child of the concept of the game.

    The game starts chaotically. In the north harsh winters grip the land forcing the Norse to move south to not starve. Nomadic hordes are moving in from the east to attack the crumbling Roman Empire. The game is very much in flux and, unless you're playing as one of the three established factions (the Western Roman Empire, the Eastern Roman Empire, or the Sassanid Empire) you are pushed to move either from others moving into your territory or harsh environments. I experimented with the horde mechanics, but I'm admittedly a settle and build up type of player so I played intentionally trying to not have to use them as one of the Norse factions. It can be done but it requires building up in other areas to support the motherland, so to speak.

    The menus and interfaces are much improved from previous iterations. After the initial confusion from years of Rome II's interfaces I grew to like the much more accessible UI.
    There is a much more in depth internal political system that those who have played Crusader Kings would recognize, albeit in a lighter version. The system is more in depth than in Rome II and I felt like I was in a precarious position quite often trying to maintain loyalty among my members and still retain the influence. Rather than the fairly basic senatorial system in Rome II there is a dual system of dominion and control. Dominion is your influence over the people of your faction while control is how the elite view you and can be lost or gained through political intrigue. Influence is spent on political intrigue to further your goals or secure loyalty.

    The game looks great and sounds great. It's a joy to watch the battles unfold and the campaign map is aesthetically pleasing enough to be worth looking at for extended periods of time.

    Overall the AI does a good job, but can make strange choices. It will decline political treaties that seem favorable or offer non-aggression pacts with a large payment when I’m not even close to them. Or it will park an army that could easily wipe out the defenders at a settlement a short distance from the settlement and just sit doing nothing for years.

    Total War Attila isn’t the perfect game. And at the end of the day it may just end up being a novelty for me. I like being a plodding, methodical empire securing territory and defending it before moving on. What Attila is, is different. It forces me to play a way I don’t want to. It makes that small empire in the distance playable. And sometimes, what you really need is something different. I’m not still playing Star Wars Rebellion, after all. I would recommend Attila to anyone who enjoys grand strategy, and highly recommend it to anyone who enjoys Total War games like myself. It may not be a perfect step forward, but it feels fresh.    … Expand
  23. Lightbane
    Feb 17, 2015
    7
    I can't fully recommend the game as of yet, it still has too many bugs. The new algorithm they use with the battle auto-calculate needs adjustment, and they need to fix the lag and crashing. And the AI behaviour with just sacking settlements instead of sack&loot. Only uprisings seem to take cities. When they fix the AI issues this will be a solid 9/10
  24. Mikeyisroc
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    A huge improvement over Rome 2, Attila is dark, gritty, and different. The Grand campaign is very interesting, and the AI very much improved. A couple of release day glitches and bugs here and there, but nothing serious.

    This series is stepping in the right direction.
  25. AchedTeacher
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    After playing 10 hours (about 2 of which were the long tutorial) I can definitely say I enjoyed the hell out of this. I liked Rome 2, contrary to many others, and liked it even more with the expansions the Emperor Edition gave but Attila is refinement at its best at a 33% discount compared to what Rome 2 originally cost.

    Characters and agents are much more likable than before, mostly    After playing 10 hours (about 2 of which were the long tutorial) I can definitely say I enjoyed the hell out of this. I liked Rome 2, contrary to many others, and liked it even more with the expansions the Emperor Edition gave but Attila is refinement at its best at a 33% discount compared to what Rome 2 originally cost.

    Characters and agents are much more likable than before, mostly due to the improved family tree system. And while this doesn't quite boast Crusader Kings' intricateness (other characters still just pop out of nowhere), it's enough for a franchise like Total War.

    Playing mostly as the Huns and Visigoths so far, I've only got an idea of "barbarian" factions of which mostly the horde aspects. Battle AI seems seriously smarter, although it's still quite easy to beat your opponent on normal (as it should be).    … Expand
  26. sebseb
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    One of the best total war games, includes good old and new mechanics, and way more optimized at launch than Rome 2, Still haven't found any bugs yet. Recommended for Total War fans.
  27. RiccyC
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    Wow. I didn't expect much from Attila after the fiasco that was Rome II - but I was wrong and I am delighted to say Attila is so much better its not even close. Good job CA - you've really listened to the criticism. The campaign is challenging and complex - there are so many mechanics at work it really takes some mastering (I've only played 6 hours or so but that's usually enough timeWow. I didn't expect much from Attila after the fiasco that was Rome II - but I was wrong and I am delighted to say Attila is so much better its not even close. Good job CA - you've really listened to the criticism. The campaign is challenging and complex - there are so many mechanics at work it really takes some mastering (I've only played 6 hours or so but that's usually enough time in TW games to pretty much "do" all the features - not this time!) and its actually "polished"! Its atmospheric because of the music and the map.

    Return to form for the series - because its gone back to its roots and hasn't tried to appeal the arcade crowd. Probably why its getting better user ratings than reviewer ratings whereas in the past the reviewers have rated games higher than users! Because they seem to like arcade clickfests!!    … Expand
  28. Hexcaliber
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    There is a lot of hate for the current game which is unfounded, three reviews submitted within a few minutes of release gave it a 0,including claims better systems have bad performance; clearly nothing but unbiased hate.

    I have found performance to be better than Rome II, not a single crash in 4 hours of continued play everything near maxed and it looks better than Rome II too. I am    There is a lot of hate for the current game which is unfounded, three reviews submitted within a few minutes of release gave it a 0,including claims better systems have bad performance; clearly nothing but unbiased hate.

    I have found performance to be better than Rome II, not a single crash in 4 hours of continued play everything near maxed and it looks better than Rome II too. I am currently running it on an I7 4790k, 8 gig of ram and an Nvidia GTX 680; fps in full twenty stack battles is around 60 fps and the campaign map runs around 40 fps zoomed out.

    As for the game itself, the campaign and battle ai are much improved as is the siege ai, a problem in several earlier games from the series.

    Ignore the bitter haters, many of who clearly do not even own the game, if you have any doubts head on over to twitch and watch a few streams, see that there are no performance problems and make up your own mind.    … Expand
  29. Exfan
    Feb 17, 2015
    2
    Not as bad as Rome 2? Rome 2 should have been polished product like this? These are frankly stupid arguments. Attila is even more horrendous beta state game than Rome 2. If you really wan't this game wait about 9 months to year or buy it at some discount sales. If you like total war series i suggest buying Rome 2 or Shogun 2 those are far superior games at this moment.
    Game is    Not as bad as Rome 2? Rome 2 should have been polished product like this? These are frankly stupid arguments. Attila is even more horrendous beta state game than Rome 2. If you really wan't this game wait about 9 months to year or buy it at some discount sales. If you like total war series i suggest buying Rome 2 or Shogun 2 those are far superior games at this moment.
    Game is horrendously optimized at the moment so if you haven't got some uber rig to run this game please do not buy it. At this point some might think game must be amazing looking because "uber" rig required, sadly that is not true. Well they used Rome 2 engine on this game clearly they should try to make new less taxing engine. Two products in row same optimization problems (Attila and Rome 2).
    Strategy wise game has really potential they actually listened players at this time. So i give 2/10 because at least they tried to make decent game. Sadly there are loads of more polished strategy games at market at the moment. Played little bit of tutorial and AI seems to be at same moronic level as in other games in this series.    … Expand
  30. mblomstrand92
    Feb 17, 2015
    0
    !WARNING! Horribly optimized game !WARNING!

    I have a Geforce NVIDIA GTX 970, Intel Core i5 4670K 3.8 Ghz and 8 GB of ram. This game can't run near 60fps in a big battle even if I choose the next lowest settings on everything and with very few filters, and also those on the lower settings. I can't play the battles if they turn to big and therefore all sieges and larger battles are    !WARNING! Horribly optimized game !WARNING!

    I have a Geforce NVIDIA GTX 970, Intel Core i5 4670K 3.8 Ghz and 8 GB of ram. This game can't run near 60fps in a big battle even if I choose the next lowest settings on everything and with very few filters, and also those on the lower settings. I can't play the battles if they turn to big and therefore all sieges and larger battles are instantly unplayable for me. Game looks to be a step up from Rome 2 but I can't deal with this. As fast as you hover over a lot of units the framerate just drops like hell. So if you have a real solid rig and can deal with playing around 30 fps I guess it could be fun. But not for me. 30 euros wasted. Thanks alot.    … Expand
  31. GMoon777
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    CA have made many good games in the past. sometimes they go wrong and can't achieve the targets that they set, this may be due to SEGA forcing an early release (they fund it, they own it) or because of lack of experience with features, but Total War: Attila is everything that Rome II should have been, this has happened before with Empire total war and then they sorted it out with Napoleon,CA have made many good games in the past. sometimes they go wrong and can't achieve the targets that they set, this may be due to SEGA forcing an early release (they fund it, they own it) or because of lack of experience with features, but Total War: Attila is everything that Rome II should have been, this has happened before with Empire total war and then they sorted it out with Napoleon, Total War Attila is amazing, in depth, immersive, fun and almost bug free, give CA another chance and pick this up.… Expand
  32. meusli
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    The best Total War to date and that includes AI that works and depth that will keep you coming back for more. Their are many new additions to this game and my favorite is the Family/Faction controls.
  33. monkeylizard99
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    Attila is a great addition to the Total War series. It builds off the basic Rome 2 system and, while throwing out broken features and poor balance, it adds new features the greatly improve the look and feel of the game.

    The battle AI is much improved, with fewer path finding issues and new siege mechanics. Even unwalled settlements are defensible and the AI is effective at both    Attila is a great addition to the Total War series. It builds off the basic Rome 2 system and, while throwing out broken features and poor balance, it adds new features the greatly improve the look and feel of the game.

    The battle AI is much improved, with fewer path finding issues and new siege mechanics. Even unwalled settlements are defensible and the AI is effective at both defending and attacking the new maps.

    The campaign map is also significantly improved. All provinces contain 3 regions, making each province a little more balanced, while making the actually building system more of a balancing act between food, squalor, happiness, and religion. It becomes very difficult to keep your settlements in order and continue to progress to the next building tiers, but all this ties in well to the feeling of just trying to survive. When you demolish buildings, it just drops them down one tier at a time, because as the game progresses, you will find that you need to step back and actually decrease the size of some settlements in less fertile areas. During this time period even Rome decreased in size as more people dispersed in order to better survive on what little each acre of land could provide.

    As the game progresses you will not only have to contend with Huns, a force to be reckoned with, particularly after the birth of Attia, but also with global climate change. Driving the food shortages at the time was a state of global cooling. as the snows advance southward, your lands will become increasing less fertile and you will have to fight to survive. You really feel the pressure to advance toward the south and west into more fertile lands, regardless of who may already be there.

    The family tree is back, and also sees significant improvements, being far more engaging and interactive than ever before. pulling from some ideas within the politics systems from Rome 2, CA clearly threw out the old system and kept only the handful of things that really worked. Managing influence and control in order to maintain the appropriate level of power can be very difficult and sometimes trying to juggle it all is daunting. Fortunately things won't slip out of control too quickly as long as you're paying attention to your internal politics. It's definitely worth popping in every turn just to keep on top of things.

    There are several types of factions that can be played. There are the large empires of Western Rome, Eastern Rome, and the Sassanids. The Sassanids are relatively easy faction to play with ample cash, easily manageable squalor, high religious tolerance, and a secure starting position. If you're looking for a good place to get you're feet wet without drowning in all the new mechanics, this is the place. The two Roman Empires, though, are only for the veteran players as they are floundering empires, in a state of decay. Both will lose territory before they can begin to expand again and regain their former glory.

    You may play as several barbarian factions playing through a more typical Total War experience, beginning with one province and expanding outward, often into the more established empires. Each faction has similarities with the other factions, but they each also have their own flavor and will play a little differently. The only factions I lament, are the Celts lack of individuality,feeling more like Romans than Celtic natives. However, hopefully they will fix this in the future with another culture pack.

    You can play as one of the migratory tribes and march across Europe in order to find your new homeland, fleeing the destruction and cold of the north east. They play similarly to the other barbarian factions but start in horde mode. All barbarian factions may enter horde mode when they lose their last settlement, but the migratory tribes start on the run. You'll have to rampage across the Roman Empires, and probably take a nice chunk out of one of them for your new homeland, in order to reach relative safety. However, while on the march, your armies are your cities, and as such, you will periodically have to encamp them in order to build more structures to produce food, wealth, and troops. Eventually you will need to settle as no one wants to run forever...

    ...unless you're the Huns. The Huns are like a migratory tribe that can never settle. You will burn the world, desolating entire swaths of the east, driving into Europe, killing and burning all that dare defy you. The horde mechanic creates a distinctly unique experience even for Total War veterans.

    I gave this game a 9, because while it is not perfect, it is a big step in the right direction, making one of the best Total Wars to date. From it's minute details of allowing you to rename each individual settlement, all the way to the sweeping new mechanic of being able to desolate regions, leaving charred and uninhabited craters where once there had been a thriving city, Attila lets us truly experience the dark ages.    … Expand
  34. 11eleven11
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    This gam deserves solid 8. However, I am giving 10 since there are still many people who are bitter at CA after Rome 2. Its good that Attila is stand alone. Avoid rome 2 support Attila!
  35. darksot
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    At least Attila is much better than Rome2. Of course Attila is similar to Rome2. It is naturally CA use same engine -_-. But its optimization is really good. I think Attila will become greatest total war.
  36. AggonyDuck
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    Compared to Rome 2, Attila is in many ways what its predecessor should have been. It is polished, with well-crafted campaign and battle mechanics. The unit and building design is complex, requiring careful planning both in army and building construction. The game has a central theme of decline and destruction, which is supported by the game mechanics and the art design that allow the gameCompared to Rome 2, Attila is in many ways what its predecessor should have been. It is polished, with well-crafted campaign and battle mechanics. The unit and building design is complex, requiring careful planning both in army and building construction. The game has a central theme of decline and destruction, which is supported by the game mechanics and the art design that allow the game to mirror a world in a state of disheaval. The music in the game is also atmospheric and the battle maps look like they belong to a living world.

    The game is complex, but the UI copes with added complexity well and the game manages to cram a lot of information to the screen that was previously completely inaccessible.

    In all ways the single player is superb, offering probably the best campaigns in a Total War to date. Depending on your faction, the experience will vary wildly. However what drags the score down for me is that multiplayer has yet again been overlooked in terms features. The battles are great, but the MP infrastructure is unchanged from Rome 2 and that is a great shame.    … Expand
  37. Rufsian
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    I'm making it a 10 just to counter other people rating it 0 just because Rome 2 MASSIVE FAIL on release and people are rating Attila based on that.

    Attila Total War is a solid 8 on my book. Stability, graphical fidelity, GAMEPLAY wise and the best A.I. in a Total War to date. HANDS DOWN. Anyone who played past Total War games and became a fan of the franchise and then comes here to    I'm making it a 10 just to counter other people rating it 0 just because Rome 2 MASSIVE FAIL on release and people are rating Attila based on that.

    Attila Total War is a solid 8 on my book. Stability, graphical fidelity, GAMEPLAY wise and the best A.I. in a Total War to date. HANDS DOWN.

    Anyone who played past Total War games and became a fan of the franchise and then comes here to rate Attila less than a 6 has some serious life issues that need addressing because you are just projecting your bitterness in the wrong place in a futile act to fix them.

    Best Total War to date. Hands down, up, in & out. These words come from someone who absolutely despised Rome 2 Total War and all the fiasco that came with it.

    SEGA Japan, CA UK, whoever did learn the lesson whatever there was to learn. Good job. Great game.    … Expand
  38. Karomsir28
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    Attila is awesome. I couldn't stop giggling while I lost my first battle it was amazing fire arrows raining people dieing in the ditches while Norsemen chopped at each other in a boat battle. The burning buildings in the sight of the setting sun and the general carnage are an amazing up from rome two. Its makes rome look like sims, and the whole coloring is like those visceral ninetiesAttila is awesome. I couldn't stop giggling while I lost my first battle it was amazing fire arrows raining people dieing in the ditches while Norsemen chopped at each other in a boat battle. The burning buildings in the sight of the setting sun and the general carnage are an amazing up from rome two. Its makes rome look like sims, and the whole coloring is like those visceral nineties medieval movies with spit and blood. Sadly you'll have to wait for the blood dlc because ratings and what not, but it already is brutal. As for the campaign it hasn't been out that long but already I can see a lot of quality changes. neighbours readily do diplomacy with you and attack you in the back and they generally use every option thats aviable to the player.
    Other random points: Boat battles are fun finally really fun. Your troops will fight to the end if they get a moments rest after each time they break thus making the roman chess board formations useful. This is same for your enemies need to finish them utterly or they'll come back suddenly. Towers are strong now. Game is generally harder than rome 2, think shogun 2. Battles do not feel like a chore as I had to use more tactics in just my first few than in half a campaign for rome. also you won't really have time to use battle animations, but I'm sure that some people will come and say how easy it is for them and unlike "random other rts from the rose tinted past". This is not a dlc or expansion this is a standalone TW game that happens to be in Europe. Them battles are the most cinematic I've seen from a TW game yet. Also I dont understand why 39 people (at the moment of writing this pulled the score down when I haven't read a single negative review from those who played it...
    This is my first ever review I felt motivated to write, go figure... :D    … Expand
  39. DukeJon
    Feb 17, 2015
    8
    Although lacking any genuine innovation for the Total War series, this game is essentially Rome 2 done right. The apocalyptic, frantic and atmosphere of the game, particularly on the strategy map, makes for a compelling experience. The AI is markedly stronger than Rome 2 and the effects and music are very well done. Overall this is a strong effort. What we need from the next Total War gameAlthough lacking any genuine innovation for the Total War series, this game is essentially Rome 2 done right. The apocalyptic, frantic and atmosphere of the game, particularly on the strategy map, makes for a compelling experience. The AI is markedly stronger than Rome 2 and the effects and music are very well done. Overall this is a strong effort. What we need from the next Total War game from the Creative Assembly is the addition of more innovative features.… Expand
  40. Hildor
    Feb 17, 2015
    9
    Creative assembly has truly taken to heart the criticism leveled at the previous title, and the result is an enthralling portrayal of the fall of Rome that has by far surpasses the most recent games in the series.

    This is a return to Total War at it's best
  41. Wintermist
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    Clearly they took the complaints on Rome II to heart, what I've played so far it has all the things I missed from Total War for a long time, it's actually Campaign focused now rather than just Battle focused. I'm loving it, and if this is the way future Total War games will be like, I'm one happy gamer!!
  42. 1muflon1
    Feb 17, 2015
    10
    Attila is everything what Rome 2 supposed to be, but wasn't. The game is challenging, more complex, intricate and deep.

    Those players who played total war just for an eyecandy and battles may not like the new complex political system, but those of you who really enjoy strategies like CK2 or other paradox games, will love it.

    The Attila is a step in the right direction for the franchise.
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Awards & Rankings

69
#69 Best PC Game of 2015
33
#33 Most Discussed PC Game of 2015
50
#50 Most Shared PC Game of 2015

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
80

Generally favorable reviews - based on 66 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 52 out of 66
  2. Mixed: 14 out of 66
  3. Negative: 0 out of 66
  1. Gaming Nexus
    May 21, 2015
    88
    For the uninitiated, Total War: Attila does a good enough job introducing a very detailed world and mechanics.
    Read full review
  2. Riot Pixels
    Apr 19, 2015
    68
    Creative Assembly needs to put extra effort into the making of the upcoming Total War: Warhammer so as not to lose the last vestiges of the studio’s credibility.
    Read full review
  3. Games Master UK
    Apr 9, 2015
    91
    Like the man himself, Attila is brutal, unforgiving and complex, and all the better for it. A triumph. [April 2015, p.68]
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