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. Dabisha
    Mar 8, 2015
    0
    After more then 300 hours of frustrating, today I remove this garbage from my PC. When I thought that Creative Assembly touch the bottom with Shogun 2 TW, they sunk more deeper with Rome 2. RTS game? if in Rome 2 exist any strategy then pinball is strategic game too. AI is retarded, diplomacy does not exist at all, behave of AI faction in game is insane, when you control almost 3/4 of mapAfter more then 300 hours of frustrating, today I remove this garbage from my PC. When I thought that Creative Assembly touch the bottom with Shogun 2 TW, they sunk more deeper with Rome 2. RTS game? if in Rome 2 exist any strategy then pinball is strategic game too. AI is retarded, diplomacy does not exist at all, behave of AI faction in game is insane, when you control almost 3/4 of map "powerful" nation which holding one and only settlement offering you non aggression pact and ask money from you, every 2-3 turns, 2-3 small factions declare war on you, AI factions jumping over map and control one province in Asia minor and second in northern Europe, enemy units jumping over 5-6 territories to attack you, to get trade agreement you need a miracle, every turn is disrupt with some idiotic proposal and I could counting bad things until tomorrow. Grand campaign is insane too, objectives which you must fulfill are enormously, you need six month to finish single player grand campaign. They transform once great RTS game in some kind of shooting game.… Expand
  2. rBose
    Feb 28, 2015
    0
    Decided to give it another try after almost 2 years in the "patching" process where they have sprayed numerous doses of huge "improvements" that actually aren't there.

    I played day1 and stopped immediately once I witnessed how **** up the game is, I think it was released as a **** alpha and I played the latest version a few days ago, fully patched, the only thing I could definitely    Decided to give it another try after almost 2 years in the "patching" process where they have sprayed numerous doses of huge "improvements" that actually aren't there.

    I played day1 and stopped immediately once I witnessed how **** up the game is, I think it was released as a **** alpha and I played the latest version a few days ago, fully patched, the only thing I could definitely notice was the huge fps improvement, other that this nothing seems fixed.

    The AI is like a miniature retarded puppet that twitches and freezes whenever you give him orders, there are thousands of pathfinding issues.

    Uninstall and find something else to fill your time with, this **** is not even worth pirating.    … Expand
  3. Sansonite
    Feb 28, 2015
    9
    The score must change, because many people vote negative in the begining of the game, was horrible, but the game has been updated and fixed really nice, love this game so much, you will enjoy the fights between civilizations a far :D can play now coop campaigns, the score must be minimun 80- 85
  4. ttnordbo
    Feb 26, 2015
    0
    The total war series has dwindled and now they just pump new ones out with better grahpics and minimal additions otherwise. In fact, I much prefer playing medieval 2 total war these days, as its actually fun to play.
  5. sowingsadness
    Feb 22, 2015
    1
    Broken onslaught.
    No diplomacy.
    Strange boring stylistic.
    Very useless generals in battle.
    To strange power of veterans. Do not affect to the battle.

    Do not buy this game.
  6. simon665
    Feb 21, 2015
    4
    I very much looked forward to this game. I spent countless hours playing it. At one point, playing as Rome, I controlled all of Europe and most of North Africa. Just as I was getting ready to invade Greece, the number of rebellions in rear areas was simply out of control. In out of the places, like the northern Baltic, small settlements could rebel and create armies that were moreI very much looked forward to this game. I spent countless hours playing it. At one point, playing as Rome, I controlled all of Europe and most of North Africa. Just as I was getting ready to invade Greece, the number of rebellions in rear areas was simply out of control. In out of the places, like the northern Baltic, small settlements could rebel and create armies that were more powerful and larger than anything I could field. How elephants can magically show up here is beyond fantasy. Also, the covert actions were far more organized by my various enemies than could be believed. Within a few turns northern Italy, most of Spain and the Baltic states were lost to vast armies that magically appeared. It would have been nice to have been warned, but even if you were, these rear area revolts were simply too strong. A turn or two later Rome fell and I lost interest in this game. If I were to suggest an improvement to the game, I would allow the building or improvement of fortifications of settlements. This would have stopped the loss of far flung outposts because they were just too weak to defend against huge rebel armies. I will not go into the poor AI in the battles, many people have already done that. The Roman army was famous for building structures like forts and defenses, this is lacking in this game.… Expand
  7. Kotmalevich
    Feb 17, 2015
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible mechanics, enemy agent a permanent stop my army and the enemy was able to capture two of my main city, after which I lost and then went out and departed this game. HOW? As a small bum could stop an army of thousands of people for 5 years? !!!! 1 day maybe 2 days, too, the week is almost impossible, but not f***ing 5 YEARS!… Expand
  8. remzi
    Feb 17, 2015
    0
    It's more like Total Fail, than Total War. No in depth diplomatic systems, no in depth political system, just random actions.

    My god, this was the worse Total War game I ever played, I really don't understand what's going with CA, Shogun 2 was really amazing and I thought I could only get better, but I didn't knew how creedy SEGA was, the ruined everything.
  9. vence
    Feb 12, 2015
    5
    This game is the perfect example for future generations of how a franchise with an epic legacy is run down to the ground, for what purpose ? to cater to console kids that want their games with no brain activity in them and to make more money, making ok money is not enough WE WANT MORE ALWAYS MORE $$$$
  10. citizen-ychoux
    Feb 12, 2015
    5
    Rome 2 at release was a shame. A broken product, served by an even more shameful DLC policy and PR management. It deserved all the hatred it got.

    More than 1 year after, 16 patches in, game is much better, but still not great. It has good features, is technically okay (not good, just okay), but its has just to many issues: 1/ AI far from good 2/ Politics useless and worthless 3/    Rome 2 at release was a shame. A broken product, served by an even more shameful DLC policy and PR management. It deserved all the hatred it got.

    More than 1 year after, 16 patches in, game is much better, but still not great. It has good features, is technically okay (not good, just okay), but its has just to many issues:

    1/ AI far from good
    2/ Politics useless and worthless
    3/ Terrible music
    4/ Way too much focus on units "magic abilities". Stop it CA, Total War is NOT a micromanagement game.
    5/ No atmosphere, no historical facts, no family tree, no description. Just barebone gameplay, and nothing more.

    Rome 2 could have been the best Total War ever. Without mods, it's one of the worst. With Divide et Impera, it's enjoyable, but it could have been so much better.    … Expand
  11. neigenoire
    Jan 29, 2015
    1
    I disliked the game because of the combat mostly. It just feels so weird and fake compared to the older titles (Medieval 2, Rome I). I can't really put my finger on it, but the battles just feel bad, the blobbing, the collisions, nothing feels or looks good... In M2 when your cav charged into the flanks of the enemy army, it felt impactful and snappy. In this game it looks very week andI disliked the game because of the combat mostly. It just feels so weird and fake compared to the older titles (Medieval 2, Rome I). I can't really put my finger on it, but the battles just feel bad, the blobbing, the collisions, nothing feels or looks good... In M2 when your cav charged into the flanks of the enemy army, it felt impactful and snappy. In this game it looks very week and not epic in any way whatsoever. Also, the AI acts very weirdly sometimes and generally feels like no progress has been done in that regard. All in all, not feeling this installation of TW.… Expand
  12. LaughingSam
    Jan 27, 2015
    3
    A very disappointing entry in the serious marginally improved by a years worth of patching. Sieges are still horrendous affairs, but not in the way we all hoped for, and naval battles are essentially unplayable. The political system may as well not exist for all the impact it has on your game, and why would you care about being emperor anyway when you've got no stinkin' family?!
  13. DamienOlivera
    Jan 27, 2015
    10
    Just like Rome wasn't built in a day, so was this game.

    This is by far my favorite Total War game. Everyone praises "Shogun II" but this is in my honest opinion, my favorite. It expands on so much and has so many new benefits that trump the older games. Of course there were going to be bugs in the beginning, what does one expect? It's pretty much every modern video game company    Just like Rome wasn't built in a day, so was this game.

    This is by far my favorite Total War game. Everyone praises "Shogun II" but this is in my honest opinion, my favorite.

    It expands on so much and has so many new benefits that trump the older games.

    Of course there were going to be bugs in the beginning, what does one expect?

    It's pretty much every modern video game company does: release it with so many glitches and so many bugs, that at times, it's unplayable.

    I have seen the glitches, I have seen the bugs on forums and so forth. And thus I just waited.

    And the wait was all worth it.

    I for one don't agree with video game companies doing releasing games that are not even playable and releasing it to the markets, but at the very least, this game was done with great ambition. And for that, I applaud them.

    For in the end, it is indeed my favorite Total War in the series.

    They fixed the AI, they fixed the bugs, and it runs beautifully. I have over 200 hours on it and still counting. And I will keep at it.    … Expand
  14. Atr0s
    Jan 22, 2015
    2
    Every problem was brought up unchanged from the previous game and added up with new ones thanks for many half-tested features. While some of these problems have been fixed, like the complete absence of AI to deal with specific but regular situations (like sieges) the problems intrinsic to the engine still stand. All big fights devolve into 1v1 duels like in Shogun II (no single unit can beEvery problem was brought up unchanged from the previous game and added up with new ones thanks for many half-tested features. While some of these problems have been fixed, like the complete absence of AI to deal with specific but regular situations (like sieges) the problems intrinsic to the engine still stand. All big fights devolve into 1v1 duels like in Shogun II (no single unit can be attacked by more than one unit), making melee battles last than it reasonably should (even if it's one elite survivor against a whole mob). The battle mechanics also changed unreasonably from the previous Rome title, turning pikemen in phalanx from the previous unpassable wall to a murder machine to anything that dares a frontal assault and making some hybrid units only able to use ammunition when charging. The siege machines also have an absurd degree of precision for its time, particularly when using first-person mode (you can actually point the general location you want your projectile to land, unlike Shogun II on which you had to guess its trajectory based on angle and distance). The naval battles, the first big "improvement" to the series (marines, for the first time, can disembark and help in land battles), also suffer from the same problems as land battles during boarding (1v1 duels), boarding can't be disengaged under any circumstance and several glitches still plague it (jumping marines for example, on which your tripulation jumped off ship as a boarding action, only to inexplicably fly high and drown by landing on the sea). If it wasn't enough, the ONLY thing worthwhile about voice acting in this game is Mark Strong as the narrator as they didn't bother with the factions languages (not even making a fake eastern/greek/latin/celtic-esque accent) unlike the previous titles.

    All in all, it's a poor Total War game. Stick to the previous titles as they didn't have as many killjoy bugs as this one. CA is offering here a bad product as the graphics will be nowhere as good as trailers show (tons of videos on Youtube to show what this game really looks like on Ultra, with often hilarious results when zooming in the individual units) and most official reviews were done by people paid to put up a good word for the game or too lazy to actually research the previous titles and evaluate the overall improvement (or lack of).    … Expand
  15. reviewobsession
    Jan 21, 2015
    5
    First, I agree with negative reviewers because they are right to be angry as customers who had to wait about one year to get their expensive game fixed.

    If you're not a Total War fan, buy this game. Don't be afraid of bad user reviews, CA fixed the game with too many patches and it's playable now. If you're a Total War fan, there are two things you should consider; "arcade campaign    First, I agree with negative reviewers because they are right to be angry as customers who had to wait about one year to get their expensive game fixed.

    If you're not a Total War fan, buy this game. Don't be afraid of bad user reviews, CA fixed the game with too many patches and it's playable now.

    If you're a Total War fan, there are two things you should consider; "arcade campaign gameplay" and "succesful battle mechanics"(after many patches and tons of scripting). Arcade campaign is too easy because there is no time limit, logistic planning, senate politics and complex city management. I think it's not bad to try new mechanics as a game developer but they lost depth in these systems. On the other hand I have to say diplomacy is much better than older games in the series. Battle system works very good. Battle AI is better than old ROME. Campaign AI is broken so you have to install mods. Nothing to say about graphics and sound, they are great. But UI is still terrible and I'm afraid they won't change it. In spite of problems I'm sure you won't regret when you buy this game because of its epic battles (but don't except challenging campaign and get ready for strange frustrating bugs) Just wait for 70% discount    … Expand
  16. Perun
    Jan 18, 2015
    0
    I have no idea why all "critics" give this game so high scores
    Becasue its huge ass AAA game? So it will get high scores no matter what
    Why only Quarter to Three saw how idiotic game is??? How horrible it is compared to older titles, I dont even start with bugs and crashes, slowdowns and glitches, because after one **** year this game is at least playable (but why would anyone play it    I have no idea why all "critics" give this game so high scores
    Becasue its huge ass AAA game? So it will get high scores no matter what
    Why only Quarter to Three saw how idiotic game is???
    How horrible it is compared to older titles, I dont even start with bugs and crashes, slowdowns and glitches, because after one **** year this game is at least playable (but why would anyone play it is for another story)

    Next game will be Warhammer total war, what the **** this game series died after Medieval 2, with horrible new Warscape engine and transition to causal audience (which is idiotic and half retarded by that scores and sales)
    Empire -idiotic ai, at least enine was good for ranged combat
    Shogun -polished warscape, still retarded melee and arcade-ish combat where your soldiers just mix together into one huge mess
    Rome 2 -total crap (badum tsss)

    I give this game 2 points, one is for funny glitches I had during my short gameplay and one is for hope ...who knows maybe they will return to roots and to their core base ...who am I kidding? its Sega, they will always target wides possible audience and will care about their pockets    … Expand
  17. TheIxianKing
    Dec 31, 2014
    7
    I really liked the game and the whole idea of a faction conquering all the others! Some game mechanics like the civil war or the sieges were really awesome and made the game always interesting. Despite the advantages of the game there are some draw backs too. First fo all, the A.I. of the game isn't really good...
    When it comes to the campaign map, it doesn't think like an army but like a    I really liked the game and the whole idea of a faction conquering all the others! Some game mechanics like the civil war or the sieges were really awesome and made the game always interesting. Despite the advantages of the game there are some draw backs too. First fo all, the A.I. of the game isn't really good...
    When it comes to the campaign map, it doesn't think like an army but like a very sophisticated machine! What I mean is that the game will position its armies like it knew how far your army can go or what units it has! It's a game that you will really like and enjoy! (play with Seleucid or Bactria!!!)    … Expand
  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. Shurkhan
    Dec 27, 2014
    1
    This is my first review. I decided to create an account so I could write the review I would like to have had read before buying this game. This game is NOT like previous Total War games that I've loved! The UI is very different and confusing. The whole feel of the game is different. You start off limited to only two armies, so defending is a pain in the butt. There may be a wayThis is my first review. I decided to create an account so I could write the review I would like to have had read before buying this game. This game is NOT like previous Total War games that I've loved! The UI is very different and confusing. The whole feel of the game is different. You start off limited to only two armies, so defending is a pain in the butt. There may be a way around this, but like I said, it is confusing, and not interesting enough to really want to learn it. It might be okay if you aren't expecting a game that is ANYTHING like the original Rome Total War or Medieval Total War. The battle are similar, but the campaign is an entirely different game. I am very disappointed that CA decided to move away from something that really worked.… Expand
  20. Gutenisse
    Dec 26, 2014
    10
    According to Steam, I have played 835 hours of Rome II and I love it. I have never played a game as long as this and I have been playing computer games since the early '90.

    I really liked Rome I, Medieval II and Shogun II, but Rome II excels them all in every way, except the UI, but I got used to it after a few hours. The graphics and sounds are superb and the combat is excellent.    According to Steam, I have played 835 hours of Rome II and I love it. I have never played a game as long as this and I have been playing computer games since the early '90.

    I really liked Rome I, Medieval II and Shogun II, but Rome II excels them all in every way, except the UI, but I got used to it after a few hours.

    The graphics and sounds are superb and the combat is excellent. The AI has been improved over time and is good enough for me, playing on Very Hard.    … Expand
  21. LosingStreak
    Dec 25, 2014
    2
    I gave this game a year to fix itself from the terrible release state but it still has glaring problems.

    Bad UI that fails at showing you unit status whilst at the same time blocking a big part of the screen Poor optimization Confusing unit cards Stale battles due to scripted kill moves Units don't feel like they have weight when they collide Politics suck and is a useless gimmick    I gave this game a year to fix itself from the terrible release state but it still has glaring problems.

    Bad UI that fails at showing you unit status whilst at the same time blocking a big part of the screen
    Poor optimization
    Confusing unit cards
    Stale battles due to scripted kill moves
    Units don't feel like they have weight when they collide
    Politics suck and is a useless gimmick
    No avatar conquest mode    … Expand
  22. orctown-troll
    Dec 20, 2014
    7
    If it runs at all the game is GOOD. The map is big and beautiful. The tactical battles are fun. After that, sad to say there are numerous problems with this game design, so it is not the great game it might have been. I won't get into the details, since others have covered them, but obvious bad points include: instant transports for armies... clunky region development..... excessiveIf it runs at all the game is GOOD. The map is big and beautiful. The tactical battles are fun. After that, sad to say there are numerous problems with this game design, so it is not the great game it might have been. I won't get into the details, since others have covered them, but obvious bad points include: instant transports for armies... clunky region development..... excessive DLC....crappy optimization.… Expand
  23. SamuelDT
    Dec 10, 2014
    8
    Great Game! I am not understanding all the bad reviews. I think this game is quite comparable with the original Rome. Better Graphics. I was almost through the campaign. Long game, can take a bit long each turn. The interface may take a little while to adjust from the differences in the interface in the first Total War Rome.

    I am excited to play again with the Emperor Edition and    Great Game! I am not understanding all the bad reviews. I think this game is quite comparable with the original Rome. Better Graphics. I was almost through the campaign. Long game, can take a bit long each turn. The interface may take a little while to adjust from the differences in the interface in the first Total War Rome.

    I am excited to play again with the Emperor Edition and finally complete the campaign when I have the time.

    I think I would rather play this latest Rome II instead of the original just because of the difference in graphics and visually appealing in battles watching a large line of hundreds of spear-men guarding hundreds of archers coloring the sky with arrows.    … Expand
  24. cylian3
    Dec 8, 2014
    0
    Boy am I glad I didn't pay for this game. Despicable launch issues and disgusting day 1 DLC's aside, Rome 2 is a cancerous mess that took the overall excellent concept from Shogun 2 and fundamentally ruined it entirely. The AI is a bunch of dumb bricks, Tech trees are linear as all hell, generals and agents die every other week from "natural causes" leaving any real character developmentBoy am I glad I didn't pay for this game. Despicable launch issues and disgusting day 1 DLC's aside, Rome 2 is a cancerous mess that took the overall excellent concept from Shogun 2 and fundamentally ruined it entirely. The AI is a bunch of dumb bricks, Tech trees are linear as all hell, generals and agents die every other week from "natural causes" leaving any real character development to be absolutely pointless as the developers had to make the disgusting new "Family" features be used somehow, city expansion through warring is absolutely retarded as the game DEMANDS you need to rush-build culture and religious buildings to avoid, and I'm not kidding now, a whopping -75 to a -100 out of a possible +100 "Unhappiness" in cities you occupy as peacefully as possible. ON THE NORMAL DIFFICULTY LEVEL.

    To put it into a comparison, stacking a maximum sized grand army with the most hardiest of units lead by a fearsome general into a city's garrison will net you about 15-20 happiness. Build 2-3 very expensive buildings that help the population's happiness and you might bump that up into maybe the 30 mark.. Exempt the city from paying taxes and you got another 20. This still leaves you with a -50 city unhappiness and rebels WILL flood your gates. IT. IS. INSANE. I played as the Germanic barbarians, conquered 3 cities, rushed every singe stability & happiness building I had on all of them while specializing in construction (to make these happiness & stability buildings better), declared peace, lowered taxes to the minimum for about 30-45 years (turns) and I STILL HAD MASSIVE REBEL & SLAVE UPRISINGS EVERY YEAR.

    The new UI is a crystal clear example on why you shouldn't try to fix what ain't broken. The battle unit controls have been hamstered by making one M1 click be the command for units to get in a line (removing your ability to De-select all units as was commonly wanted in Shogun 2 while having Mouse button 2 + drag be that EXACT EXISTING COMMAND FROM THE PREVIOUS GAMES), they removed the convenient control ball you had on the bottom left where you could tell selected units to turn in unison, back away or more forward mere inches. While a bit confusing to beginners, it was FUNCTIONAL. What did they get to replace it? Calling this a replacement would be an overstatement since you can no longer do any real precise movements but what we got instead is an ball-busting charade of moronic and messy "Formations" that pretty much only adhere to all your units on the board at once. Flanking? Ambushes? Tactics? What's that?

    And don't even get me started on the camera. You have either the choice of watching from space with a telescope, being unable to see anything clearly or zoom in and have your nipples be plowing the ground and your nose stuck in a random soldier's armpit. While the camera in Shogun 2 was nowhere near perfect, this one makes a bad situation even worse as If you are all the way down on the ground, It will "Lock" itself onto there and require you to tell it to go up TWICE. Fail to do that over and over again flawlessly in the midst of battle and the camera will instead just change the angle of staring into a random armpit to a nearby sweaty blood-stained crotch of your fellow soldier because the developers thought It would be a good idea to leave the camera design to some random guy off the street with Alzheimer's sniffing paint.

    Moving past that, the AI diplomacy reminds me of whining children, constantly pestering you about wanting free money, military access, alliances and trade agreements every other 5 years. While not bad in itself as you can conquer them to make them shut up, IT CANNOT BE TURNED OFF OR AVOIDED IN ANY WAY DURING THE LOADING SCREENS. And If you conquer the annoying spammers, you'll get new borders with other spammers! An endless cycle of annoyance created as a place-holder for actual AI relationships due to lazy design.

    I could keep on pouring sewer on this game but I don't want to spill any on my shoes so I'll simply suggest everyone to avoid it.. Unless you enjoy swimming in feces.    … Expand
  25. Wraithcat
    Dec 4, 2014
    5
    After playing nearly 60 hours on this game, I can say that it is really an enormous disappointment. Having bought the Emperor edition (which represented the FIFTEENTH major patch to the game!), I figured that all of the bugs would have been ironed out and that there would be a decent core game. The diamond would have been polished.

    How wrong I was. Playing with the Romans, who should    After playing nearly 60 hours on this game, I can say that it is really an enormous disappointment. Having bought the Emperor edition (which represented the FIFTEENTH major patch to the game!), I figured that all of the bugs would have been ironed out and that there would be a decent core game. The diamond would have been polished.

    How wrong I was.

    Playing with the Romans, who should be a good starting faction, the first thing I really noticed was the incredible lack of in game information. The in game encyclopedia is simply awful. It a **** to navigate, and many of its entries simply don't contain the sort of information that you need when playing a complex game of this sort. For example, For example, if I click on a particular skill during a character level up, I get only that skill with no way of knowing what it might lead to, meaning I have to manually access a separate entry containing this info

    The search function is useless and doesn't allow the player to click through to a more detailed explanation. When I went to try and look up information about Traditions, I came up with two entries, but no way of clicking through to the actual Encyclopedia article on the topic itself.

    The way provinces are arbitrarily organised into groupings of 2-4 cities is unhistorical and frustrating as well. It inhibits the ability of the player to successfully manage their gameplay as they see fit.

    For example, Southern Italy and Sicily form the province of Magna Graecia, which contains a provincial capital (Brundisium), along with three other cities, one of which is Syracuse.

    Syracuse was founded by the Ancient Greeks and was still held by the Greeks at the emergence of the Roman period. It was a powerful, independent city state in its own right and not simply a Greek imposition on a Roman province.

    Because the game registers the city as part of a mostly Roman province, it is going to suffer major cultural issues because the province isn't entirely Roman, or Greek. Initially as the Romans, I chose to ally with Syracuse, thereby ensuring that one of my major provinces suffered a permanent hit to its unhappiness. In my second game as the Romans, I killed them off straight away, but this left a very bad taste in my mouth. Good game design wouldn't force Railroad the player into there being only one correct strategic choice to make. I should be able to live and let live with my allies without suffering negative gameplay effects.

    Another issue, is the stupidity of naval combat. There are two major problems here. Firstly is the unhistorical treatment of ranged weapons in the game. In ancient times, ballistas and catapults were fitted to ships, but were incredibly and inaccurate. Not in RTW2, however, where they are the killer app. A Navy made up of 50% ballistas and another 50% of ships to just float around and confuse the enemy can easily win battles without any significant losses. Ramming might be historical, but it is for chumps.

    A major issue that really ruins the game is that the IA doesn't know the difference between attack ships and transports and that transports can actually be used to ram other ships. The IA will happily send a whole Army to attack a navy, despite having absolutely no chance of winning. Sure, on land, those Royal Spartan Hoplites are a force to be reckoned with, but on sea they are about the equivalent of a mob and die far easier. But the IA continually sends its armies to attack my navies, fails to run when I attack their transport fleets and almost never backs up its transports with a proper escort.

    Another issue with the Navy IA, is that LAND UNITS can reinforce naval battles, meaning an automatic loss to the navy being attacked unless it is stupid enough to land. I was blockading a town with my Navy and realised that I was suffering attrition, so I decided to hightail it out of there as my army was going to be there in two turns. As I left, I was attacked by a couple of ships in the port. It took me less than a minute of game play to kill them, but I lost the battle, and was force to retreat on the campaign map because the battle took place within the Armies reinforcement zone, despite being on the sea. Had I landed my crews, I would have been slaughtered, but they couldn't touch me and certainly couldn't reinforce a Naval battle and shouldn't have been part of the equation to begin with.

    There is also a limitation on Armies that you can field and the requirement that every army MUST have a general. The practical effect of this is that it means that you can't simply shuffle units around to reinforce your armies as needed. Instead, you have to take one whole army over to the other army and reinforce in person.

    For example, Romans have no archers, so if you want those Cretan Archers, you have to either send your entire army over to Crete to get them, or assign a general specifically to take them to armies that need them. Either way its a micromanagement nightmare.    … Expand
  26. 75alex
    Nov 28, 2014
    9
    I didn't buy Rome 2 at release, because I saw it wasn't even playable, but I have to say CA did a fantastic job with patches, and since Emperor Edition the game is really enjoyable. I have played every Total War since Empire, and it is better than all three of them. The grand campaign is sick because the map, despite a few flaws is awesome, and the units are both well made and balanced,I didn't buy Rome 2 at release, because I saw it wasn't even playable, but I have to say CA did a fantastic job with patches, and since Emperor Edition the game is really enjoyable. I have played every Total War since Empire, and it is better than all three of them. The grand campaign is sick because the map, despite a few flaws is awesome, and the units are both well made and balanced, especially with mods like Radious installed. The game is way more complex as well, building cities is actually a quite realistic and fun thing to do, and combat has improved a lot, especially combat AI. The AI is actually clever now, aside from a few bugs here and there, but that and all the combat related issues come from the Warscape engine, that dates back to Empire. The same goes for the lags in large battles like sieges or bridge. I think Attila Total War will be an even better game as it brings lots of new and old missed features (like family tree), as well as the hordes system which we know for know very little about.… Expand
  27. herbertbracke
    Nov 28, 2014
    1
    I really liked the first rme total war, medieval total war, shogun, empire and even napoleon.
    But now they lost me completely, this game is bad. period.
    it feels like you're playing beta all the time, the graphics are really crappy (and i have a geforce gtx 880), the ai does stupid maneuvers,...

    it's crap basicly
  28. heime2003
    Nov 16, 2014
    2
    i didnt think creative assembly could messed it up cuz they are good develpers and has good record
    but it was slap to fans face. everything in this game is steps back from rome 1
    not to mention huge framemate problems, every moments u have to fight glitches, non responsiveness and bugs instead of units. even high end computers cant run this game on high setting without lag or    i didnt think creative assembly could messed it up cuz they are good develpers and has good record
    but it was slap to fans face. everything in this game is steps back from rome 1
    not to mention huge framemate problems, every moments u have to fight glitches, non responsiveness and bugs instead of units.
    even high end computers cant run this game on high setting without lag or stuttering. thinking the game looks not better than rome1 i wonder dev leave programming of the game to their interns
    biggest let down. luckily i didnt upgrade my com to play this which saved me $$$ and bitter disappointment    … Expand
  29. Truth_
    Nov 5, 2014
    4
    There are thousands of reviews and thus I do not expect this to be seen. And there is little to nothing I can say that wasn't said, or wasn't said better, elsewhere. I am simply posting to add my score.

    I was mad just the same as everyone else. The difference, however, is that I was expecting it. I was expecting graphical and technical glitches galore. I was expecting bad AI. And    There are thousands of reviews and thus I do not expect this to be seen. And there is little to nothing I can say that wasn't said, or wasn't said better, elsewhere. I am simply posting to add my score.

    I was mad just the same as everyone else. The difference, however, is that I was expecting it. I was expecting graphical and technical glitches galore. I was expecting bad AI. And I even expected, although hoped against, the game's mechanics that weren't pulled out in Shogun 2 weren't further widdled or dumbed down. And I got what I expected.

    There is little variety to troops between factions, there's little variety to the gameworld, there's no role-playing/story elements like was promised, economy is incredibly simple and easy, AI is horrible on the campaign map and in battle, and multiplayer did not work for the longest time.

    In all, it seems all facets of the game are worse. If only the probably hundreds of thousands to millions of dollars spent on motion capture, that doesn't even seem that great or functional, was spent on making a better game.

    Note: Kudos for releasing free factions with each DLC expansion. And kudos for patching the game constantly (although that wins little points as there should have been fewer problems to begin with).

    Objectively I want to rate this game a "5" as it's playable and has fun elements of other Total War games I've enjoyed... but for some reason I just can't have fun playing this game. Unfortunately I must give it a "4".

    The game is clearly inferior to prior titles. I do not expect this to change. My only wonder is if this will affect future sales of new titles.    … Expand
  30. dyselehrt
    Nov 2, 2014
    5
    I have some 600 hours put into this game at the moment, and I will play it for many more to come. However, I would not recommend others to buy the game for the vanilla version since I do not think it is that much fun. It has improved in the latest patches yes, but it is still really not that good. If you do get this game though, do it for the mods. There are some incredible mods out thereI have some 600 hours put into this game at the moment, and I will play it for many more to come. However, I would not recommend others to buy the game for the vanilla version since I do not think it is that much fun. It has improved in the latest patches yes, but it is still really not that good. If you do get this game though, do it for the mods. There are some incredible mods out there which lifts the game immensely. But no matter what the AI will still be dumb as ****

    I suggest waiting for Attila since it feels like Rome 2 has been test-version of something greater to come. However, make sure not to pre-purchase it. You never know with Creative Assembly nowadays...    … Expand
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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.
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  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.
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  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]
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