Total War: Rome II

 PC
  • Publisher: Sega
  • Release Date: Sep 2, 2013
User Score
4.4

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 3974 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 1,184 out of 3974
  2. Mixed: 613 out of 3974
  3. Negative: 2,177 out of 3974
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  1. andre_nqml
    Sep 5, 2013
    9
    This game is basically CA lying to us players during all development stage. First of all, they released the "pre-alpha" gameplay footage and said the game would look even better than that. First lie. The game doesn't look like that not even on the strongest PCs. They also kept emphasizing the entire video that they were going for a darker feel of war. What we get is almost a capture theThis game is basically CA lying to us players during all development stage. First of all, they released the "pre-alpha" gameplay footage and said the game would look even better than that. First lie. The game doesn't look like that not even on the strongest PCs. They also kept emphasizing the entire video that they were going for a darker feel of war. What we get is almost a capture the flag, and a bunch of special abilities (known as magical abilities). More of an arcade feel of war.

    There was a video where they talked about the phalanx and said the units would try to keep formation over anything. This is also a joke, since they break the phalanx in a few seconds of combat. Actually, if there is something they DON'T do is keep formation during combat.

    In another video, they said the AI has greatly improved. The AI keeps doing suicidal attacks on the cities during the campaing. I also played a custom siege battle where I was defending a city, and the AI sent some troops and then just stood with 90% of the army doing nothing, so I had to quit the game. You don't need any tactics to win the battles, just charge everyone (maybe use some of the magical abilities if you want) and the opponent will break in less than a minute and you will win the battle, killing 700 troops and losing 70. Even on legendary the AI is not a real challenge.

    They said they were going to have a more complex tech tree than the one from Shogun 2, with 6 different branches. They do have 6 different branches, but surprisingly, the one from Shogun 2 is much more diversified and useful. On Rome 2, you have lots of useless tech tree that grants for example (+2% wealth from agriculture, -2% agriculture construction costs) and the next level exactly the same, but instead, with a 4% bonus. Shogun's tech tree was a lot more creative! It's a stepback.

    Yet another thing they said, was that the interaction and intrigues between the roman houses would improve. You would get to the point where you could chose between overthrown the republic or be it's savior. This time you choose your faction, but you even control generals from the other houses and you already begin the game with full control over Rome. There is hardly even a senate. So what's the point of having a civil war at some point of the game if I already control all Rome? Why should I care? Also, there is not even a family tree anymore, to further ruin the immersion.

    By the way, the new recruitment system doesn't makes sense and just doesn't work well. You cannot recruit troops in cities anymore, unless you have a general inside the city, and you have a very limited amount of generals to recruit. So there are many cities you would like to guard, but you can only count on the city garrison. Also, you cannot send troops from an army to another, because they can't travel alone, so, you gotta get both generals close enough to exchange troops.

    I think they focused to much in small details like giving the soldiers facial expressions when someone dies next to him and they forgot to focus on the gameplay itself. By the way, we can't even notice if they actually added the facial expressions to the game because the combat is just a blob of troops and they actually hide some nice animations that gets hard to notice.

    I'll stop here, but those are not the only bad things about the game. It's still pretty much a beta version, and I don't think that many of the bad things about the game are patchable. They can patch the AI, the graphics, the animations, but for the content, I guess we'll have to wait for mods. They said over and over again that it was going to be the best total war game ever. They created a huge hype over it. They set our expectations extremely high. I bought it on pre-sale, and it wasn't cheap. I feel really disrespected.    … Expand
  2. hernethehunter
    Sep 9, 2013
    8
    Bugs and some game play issues aside at the moment this game will grow with patches. So that's why I gave it a genorous 8. Long time Total War fan since Shogun 1 but Rome 2 is more than just war and that might put some fans of previous titles off?
  3. dodzylla
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    The game is very good, but the AI is still the same every battle is very easy, on very hard too, so this is very disappointing the UI is disgusting.

    Everything else is fine.
  4. PlasticMenace
    Sep 3, 2013
    8
    A great game, but not the masterpiece it could have been. A little bit less marketing and a little more AI development could have cured the blemishes of previous Total War games, but unfortunately this is not the case. A beautiful and incredibly performance heavy game that will hopefully come into its own as patches and optimisation occurs. While I feel that the Total War series and Rome 2A great game, but not the masterpiece it could have been. A little bit less marketing and a little more AI development could have cured the blemishes of previous Total War games, but unfortunately this is not the case. A beautiful and incredibly performance heavy game that will hopefully come into its own as patches and optimisation occurs. While I feel that the Total War series and Rome 2 too indeed comes a long way there are niggling bugs that seem to re-occur every iteration. Nonetheless, Rome 2 provides a deep, intuitive and sometimes intimidating addition to the impressive Total War series. Some reviewers, compare the RTS and Turn-Based features to the Civilizations or Starcrafts of this genre, we should remember that Total War has its own unique place in strategy games and fills a vital niche that only CA has filled. Rome 2 was not built in a day and the workmanship put into the soldiers, variety of units and animations show this, but several more of these days should have been spent on the AI, which I'm afraid carries the series curse of sluggish movements and silly decision making.… Expand
  5. AstroCat
    Apr 15, 2018
    8
    I've enjoyed and fully supported CA since Shogun 1, and this was a complete scam and rip off at launch. At the time of this review we've had 9 patches since "launch" and it is finally starting to becoame an ok product. I wouldn't have even come close to recommending this game until now. With a few mods I now can finally have a bit of fun with Rome 2, it's not what it should have been butI've enjoyed and fully supported CA since Shogun 1, and this was a complete scam and rip off at launch. At the time of this review we've had 9 patches since "launch" and it is finally starting to becoame an ok product. I wouldn't have even come close to recommending this game until now. With a few mods I now can finally have a bit of fun with Rome 2, it's not what it should have been but at least its playable now.

    The EE version has finally made this the base game it should have been almost a year ago. I can finally feel comfortable about recommending Rome 2. As well I've been enjoying myself playing the game, although I still do use mods to further customize the experience.

    2018 update: Nice they are still supporting the game, but what really gives this game life, depth and longevity is the mod, Divide et Impera, I can't recommend it enough!    … Expand
  6. Sheriden
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Finally got Rome 2 after a long wait. I am very happy with what we've got, and I know CA will improve the game over the coming months with patches and updates. The game is huge and people need to me more understanding when dealing with a game on this scale. This game will keep me entertained for YEARS. Highly recommend to any strategy/TW fan.
  7. hastatimaster
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    only played Rome 2 two hours this morning but it didnt take any longer then 30 minutes to realize how great this game is and how much more great i can be with modding and patching, far out weighs Rome TW so i think it deserves 9 thats not a fanboy score its my honest opinion.
  8. DMFW
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    So far impressed with the game. I'm not running into any problems with the load times. The only thing I find bad is the ui is very different from shogun 2 which I've been playing a lot recently. Not perfect but it's what I was expecting. Worth the money.
    Haven't checked fps but on extreme no lag. My specs i5 Oc to 3.7ghz, 660 and 8gs ram. Load times no different than shogun though the    So far impressed with the game. I'm not running into any problems with the load times. The only thing I find bad is the ui is very different from shogun 2 which I've been playing a lot recently. Not perfect but it's what I was expecting. Worth the money.
    Haven't checked fps but on extreme no lag. My specs i5 Oc to 3.7ghz, 660 and 8gs ram. Load times no different than shogun though the turn lengths extend because of the size of the game.    … Expand
  9. Mrtonyxdxd
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Total War ROME 2 it's just a deep beatiful strategy game like every other game of the total war series! Don't be fooled by the bad review couse it has some imperfection but WHATEHELL it's only the performance that need to be improved and some Ai adjustement nothing more! Keep it classic and buy this game because it deserve it. I gave this a 10 couse there are people that give it 0 whileTotal War ROME 2 it's just a deep beatiful strategy game like every other game of the total war series! Don't be fooled by the bad review couse it has some imperfection but WHATEHELL it's only the performance that need to be improved and some Ai adjustement nothing more! Keep it classic and buy this game because it deserve it. I gave this a 10 couse there are people that give it 0 while they have played like 5 min into the game and then they keept playing Ride to hell Retribution. You will love this game as soon you start the campaign!… Expand
  10. Gratson
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    I'm a huge fan of the Total War series, and so far I'm NOT disappointed! The game is clearly a member of the Total War series, anyone who has played their previous titles will be familiar with the general gameplay. However there are new features in just about every aspect of the game that have been added, everything from province management, to agents to battle, that makes this feelI'm a huge fan of the Total War series, and so far I'm NOT disappointed! The game is clearly a member of the Total War series, anyone who has played their previous titles will be familiar with the general gameplay. However there are new features in just about every aspect of the game that have been added, everything from province management, to agents to battle, that makes this feel different from other Total War games. As a long-time fan of the series, I love the changes, I'm looking forward to a couple hundred hours of gameplay (I had 300+ on Shogun 2). Thumbs up!… Expand
  11. Orthogon
    Sep 25, 2013
    8
    It's shocking to play a Total War game where features people use *all the time* have been dropped from the battle (guard button anyone? No loose formation, etc.)

    The AI can't put up a good fight, which makes the battle mode fun : I know formulaic games get boring, but they've taken the formula and broken the fun bits, you won't be recreating your Rome: Total War battles or any    It's shocking to play a Total War game where features people use *all the time* have been dropped from the battle (guard button anyone? No loose formation, etc.)

    The AI can't put up a good fight, which makes the battle mode fun :

    I know formulaic games get boring, but they've taken the formula and broken the fun bits, you won't be recreating your Rome: Total War battles or any episodes of Time Commanders with this, it just can't do it!    … Expand
  12. triladar
    Sep 23, 2013
    8
    Seriously, the only thing I want to comment on this game is: What a fu**ing dissappointment!
    I'll try it again in like a year and hope the patches they release until then make it playable.
  13. MariosGAte7
    Feb 17, 2020
    10
    Great game after all the updates.. My favourite dlc is wrath of sparta and is worth buying if you like ancient greeks and also if you download the mod HELLENIKA which is a mod absolutely for wrath of sparta you will experience the ancient greeks with many more units all of them historical accurate and a much better campaign ...Give it a try you wont regret it!!! Make sure to read theGreat game after all the updates.. My favourite dlc is wrath of sparta and is worth buying if you like ancient greeks and also if you download the mod HELLENIKA which is a mod absolutely for wrath of sparta you will experience the ancient greeks with many more units all of them historical accurate and a much better campaign ...Give it a try you wont regret it!!! Make sure to read the manual before playing if you download the mod..… Expand
  14. Generaldraxeo
    Apr 15, 2019
    9
    As a fan of history and previous Total War titles, I greatly enjoy this game and its replay-ability. Unfortunately the developers chose to do a money grab which is all-too-common these days in gaming where the developers release the most bare-boned game and then release features which should have been in the original sale as buyable DLC. This game is a prime example of that: variousAs a fan of history and previous Total War titles, I greatly enjoy this game and its replay-ability. Unfortunately the developers chose to do a money grab which is all-too-common these days in gaming where the developers release the most bare-boned game and then release features which should have been in the original sale as buyable DLC. This game is a prime example of that: various vanilla factions that are rewritten and remade into more interesting ones, blood & gore needing to be bought, etc. On top of this horrific anti-consumer mentality, the game was (and still is) riddled with bugs, glitches, and clunky AI mechanics when it comes to campaign and battle tactics.

    Despite all of these drawbacks, Rome Total War 2 is a masterpiece of entertainment and strategy. Important concepts are taken into account in battles such as momentum, armor type, weapon type, weather effects, fatigue, and various other realistic aspects of ancient warfare that impacted battles. The management system is a fun balance between economy and expansion alongside very engaging battles. What enamors me with this title compared to others is the level of detail in engagements between units. Seeing clashes between groups of swordsmen and spearmen never ceases to excite the viewer. I've played Warhammer Total War and the detail in combat does not measure up to Rome Total War 2. Another great feature that I appreciate is the zoom-in feature, where the camera is brought in directly above individual units so you get to see and experience the battle from their perspective. Using this feature to get down into the action lets the player have a much more up-close and personal experience, and the result is just mesmerizing most of the time.

    I would recommend buying this game when it's on sale so that we do not reinforce bad business practice like this developers are trying to push. This game with all the DLCs still has problems, but the campaigns are enjoyable, the factions are unique and fun guaranteeing different playthroughs each time you play, and the DLCs that should have been the only paid DLCs (Imperator Augustus, Caesar in Rome, etc.) are a fun change from the typical grand campaign as well.

    A lot of these negative reviews are understandable based on the glitches of the game that come up and the poor developer support. However, that being said, you can still play through the whole campaign and have a fantastically fun time. Another thing to keep in mind is the recent dramatic trend brought on by a lot of the incel community who intentionally gave the game negative reviews when the developers refused to remove or reduce female characters in the game. It's a bit of a silly tantrum to have for people trying to change the historical significance in women monarchs and female influence, but nonetheless they have tried their hardest to give the game a bad reputation based on that fact.

    All in all, the game is not for everybody, and if you're like me and don't mind a few glitches and minor gimmicks here and there, you should enjoy this game if you like RTS style games about ancient warfare. I've logged over a thousand hours in this game with the DLC campaigns, and will probably continue to play this game far into the future based on its high replay value.    … Expand
  15. Babutto
    Oct 1, 2019
    8
    Pros:
    - provincial system - now you need to control the whole province to get benefits. How? There are ways;
    - research - simple and useful. You research almost until the end of the game; - economic planning is important and requires management. You cannot simply forget about the economy; - agents are cool and training is now balanced; - WAR! - diplomacy in total. Cons: - AI    Pros:
    - provincial system - now you need to control the whole province to get benefits. How? There are ways;
    - research - simple and useful. You research almost until the end of the game;
    - economic planning is important and requires management. You cannot simply forget about the economy;
    - agents are cool and training is now balanced;
    - WAR!
    - diplomacy in total.

    Cons:
    - AI cheats all the time. You have to station garrisons at every province in case nomadic tribes arrive. The same is for TW Warhammer. But here you may predict where they arrive;
    - AI predictions - it's complete crap. You may win in a battle and AI would tell you before that your chances are 10%. Another crap following the series since TW Rome;
    - political system - by far the worst. You may fight and conquer but then realize you're screwed and you face the civil war. I understand why they did that BUT when you master how the system works it nullifies all of its advantages;
    - cannot make confederations. FAIL.

    Many users criticize TW R2, also because the predecessor is a masterpiece. However, the game is cool itself. It just requires research and an additional and clear explanation of what the hell is going on with the politics.    … Expand
  16. Slayver
    Sep 16, 2021
    10
    At the start, the quality was not very good. But, over time, we managed to make a lot of additions correcting gameplay and expanding the player's capabilities. The project is essentially an icon of its time.
  17. albegres
    Feb 5, 2022
    8
    77/100
    Nowadays it has not the same problems it had at launch. Very solid game with good gameplay. It might feel like a "map painter" but it's very fun to replay it now and then. It has still a good amount of players
  18. ChromeRun
    Dec 28, 2014
    9
    This game has definitely improved to a point to which now it can be considered playable and also fun. I would recommend the game in its current stage.
  19. BigMac849
    Oct 26, 2013
    8
    After the patches CA has been rolling out, I must say this is my favourite of the series. If we continue to get these great patches, I can see this game becoming a solid 9.
  20. Phsic
    Oct 25, 2013
    8
    What was once bug ridden and simplistic, is now a challenging successor to the legendary series Creative Assembly. Unfortunately, the player base continues to be ignorant of the updates and continues their bashing of a perfectly polished successor.
  21. ThePurpleOrange
    Oct 7, 2014
    9
    After the fifteenth "Emperor Edition" patch, along with the mods: Divide et Impera; GEM - Graphical Enhancement Mod; and Bullgod's Unit Cards, I am thoroughly enjoying playing Total War: Rome 2 and I do recommend it to previous Total War fans.

    The game is now almost unrecognisable from the shambles that it was at release and I have increased my previous rating of a 4 to a 9.
  22. AMysteryUser
    Oct 27, 2013
    8
    I just picked this game up and frankly Its exactly what I wanted from a total war game that being said it has some fps issues and I had to install a couple of mods to tune the traits and character ageing which were both unwisely setup to say the least (the traits were boring and everyone drops dead of old age way to fast by default). But hey its total war and the AI got patched and can nowI just picked this game up and frankly Its exactly what I wanted from a total war game that being said it has some fps issues and I had to install a couple of mods to tune the traits and character ageing which were both unwisely setup to say the least (the traits were boring and everyone drops dead of old age way to fast by default). But hey its total war and the AI got patched and can now fight back!… Expand
  23. Wazzer
    Feb 25, 2014
    8
    Earlier on, sure, this game was very buggy. The campaign sucked because of bad AI and there were bad system/graphical bugs too. But it has become a much more polished game with consecutive patches and an excellent modding community. OK initially the game was a problem but now it is quite an alluring game all things considered. Loving the multiplayer and the campaigns are now much moreEarlier on, sure, this game was very buggy. The campaign sucked because of bad AI and there were bad system/graphical bugs too. But it has become a much more polished game with consecutive patches and an excellent modding community. OK initially the game was a problem but now it is quite an alluring game all things considered. Loving the multiplayer and the campaigns are now much more challenging (and varied with all the scenario mods).… Expand
  24. GameCommenter
    Jun 2, 2014
    10
    Ever since the game was published, it was BS. There was bad AI, many glitches that really pissed off gamers including me but as the times goes, the game(patched) and became the best total game ever!!!

    Go to www.youtube.com/user/lionheartx10 for awesome rome total war 2 walkthrough
  25. Jomanponer
    Jun 8, 2014
    9
    I think it was a great game could be a ten but a few issues. AI is too easy not a challenge to play campaign. More diverse units and elephants and chariots I find to be to powerful. Campaign is good except for AI but the diplomacy and everything else is fine. I gave it a 9/10 for being rome total war 2 but for being a total war game I would give it a 5/10. I think that CA rushed this gameI think it was a great game could be a ten but a few issues. AI is too easy not a challenge to play campaign. More diverse units and elephants and chariots I find to be to powerful. Campaign is good except for AI but the diplomacy and everything else is fine. I gave it a 9/10 for being rome total war 2 but for being a total war game I would give it a 5/10. I think that CA rushed this game I still think they have potential to make the greatest total war game and the best strategy game ever, which I think their other games are. I think it has improved in campaign in the fact of how you manage everything, and I like the size of the maps and the tons of different battle setting such as coastal battles and such. I just think when it comes to AI and actually fighting it falls short and the other games to me looked more polish, and are much better to play fights on also I think they went backwards on graphics as well. It doesn't really deserve a nine I am just being easy on the fact that fighting battle are not fun and are stupidly easy because I think how the campaign works its an improvement.… Expand
  26. Finfx
    Sep 5, 2013
    8
    As many others have said, the performance and optimization of this game is absolutely terrible. Furthermore, the graphics are completely unlike any of the alpha footage and they are quite ugly in the final release. The lighting effects, texture quality, shadow quality, etc., is all of a low quality. We were promised a grittier, darker art direction for the game and that was evident in theAs many others have said, the performance and optimization of this game is absolutely terrible. Furthermore, the graphics are completely unlike any of the alpha footage and they are quite ugly in the final release. The lighting effects, texture quality, shadow quality, etc., is all of a low quality. We were promised a grittier, darker art direction for the game and that was evident in the alpha footage. Now we have bloom, bloom lighting everywhere.

    The UI is similarly awful in that it takes the clean, artistic UI of Shogun 2 and turns it into a generic mess that is all too similar to Empire's setup.

    The fact that CA is already working on DLC is absolutely disgraceful. The game is broken. My PC can run BF3, CIV V, Shogun 2, all on ultra settings with absolutely nothing turned down. Rome 2 succeeds in offering worse graphics with worse performance. It's like CA's QA does not exist.    … Expand
  27. Mesner
    Oct 24, 2013
    10
    After all the performance issues, poor optimization and all the things people have complained about, here comes the fourth patch (more to come yet), and I have to say that this game is awesome. The AI is a lot better than when the game was released and in fact minor factions declare war on you (in the released game they didn't). In fact I'm in a world-scale war as a Roman, allied withAfter all the performance issues, poor optimization and all the things people have complained about, here comes the fourth patch (more to come yet), and I have to say that this game is awesome. The AI is a lot better than when the game was released and in fact minor factions declare war on you (in the released game they didn't). In fact I'm in a world-scale war as a Roman, allied with Carthage and the Greek city states against Seleucid faction, eastern rising empires and all the Gaul tribes. Battle AI is improving, and now is not always easy to win a battle. A month after the release I can say I'm beginning to have fun with this game. Hope you can say the same.… Expand
  28. Bertzilla
    Oct 28, 2013
    8
    Finally purchased Rome II this past weekend after Patch 5 was released. I will state now that I am an old time Total War fan and I have quite a high end system. Having said that I have had no frame rate problems even with all the settings cranked up. Also, I have been reading all about how long it takes for the AI to run through its turn; no issues here, takes about 10 seconds. NowFinally purchased Rome II this past weekend after Patch 5 was released. I will state now that I am an old time Total War fan and I have quite a high end system. Having said that I have had no frame rate problems even with all the settings cranked up. Also, I have been reading all about how long it takes for the AI to run through its turn; no issues here, takes about 10 seconds. Now granted, I have only just started playing and I am sure I will run into some glitches soon enough but so far I am impressed, but can only imagine how rough it must have been to play this game before all the patches were released. Although CA and Sega really screwed up the launch of Rome II, it seems like they are committed to making it the epic strategy that we all know it can be and I even think it can easily surpass Shogun II, although there is still work needed to be done especially on the AI. Keep at it folks.… Expand
  29. Escobar
    Feb 28, 2014
    8
    Yeah this game was not "perfect" at the time of release, not even close it. But now, after many months they have published patch and as an result this game is playable now. Campaign is good old same and graphics are awesome! This is quite heavy game so you`re gonna need good PC if you want to play it with max graphics..
  30. LordSolar
    Sep 20, 2014
    9
    Although this game was quite bad when it was released, it has become a pretty good game because of CA's continued patching. I wholeheartedly recommend it.
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Awards & Rankings

4
#4 Most Discussed PC Game of 2013
7
#7 Most Shared PC Game of 2013

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
76

Generally favorable reviews - based on 71 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 49 out of 71
  2. Mixed: 15 out of 71
  3. Negative: 7 out of 71
  1. Worth Playing
    Nov 18, 2013
    74
    The game is far less polished than Shogun 2, and a few more patches will help, but Rome II is still a flawed game that is underwhelming when compared to previous titles in the franchise.
    Read full review
  2. PCGamesN
    Nov 6, 2013
    70
    And here’s the rub: every addition, every sub-system, every mechanic is subservient to War. War is what Total War is really about. Everything else not directly related to conflict comes across as ancillary. Rome II is a game for warmongers, on both the campaign map and, obviously, on the battlefield. When peace is happening, nothing is happening. When war is happening, Rome comes alive.
    Read full review
  3. PC PowerPlay
    Oct 28, 2013
    40
    If you will play literally anything featuring Total War and Rome in the same title and don't value your time, this is for you. [Nov 2013, p.80]
See all critic reviews »