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. clarkethepigeon
    Sep 7, 2013
    1
    Having had this game since release I have only been able to clock up around 5 hours of play time according to Steam (and I suspect much of this has been time spent fiddling in options menus in an attempt to make the game playable). In this time I have established several things:

    Firstly, the graphics are absolutely jaw-droppingly awful. If you haven't seen the regiments of low-res    Having had this game since release I have only been able to clock up around 5 hours of play time according to Steam (and I suspect much of this has been time spent fiddling in options menus in an attempt to make the game playable). In this time I have established several things:

    Firstly, the graphics are absolutely jaw-droppingly awful. If you haven't seen the regiments of low-res potatoes in the game's community hub on steam then I suggest that you do so before you even considering purchasing this game. I don't know how it managed it, but I'm convinced that Medieval 2 looked better than this, let alone Empire or Shogun. The game is horribly optimised and only seems to recognise one of the cores in my processor, leading to extremely high temperatures and an unbearable amount of fan noise, and though my machine is a good deal more powerful than it needs to be to run Rome 2 at a high level the game lags horribly even in the campaign map. Bizarrely, the actual battles tend to run more smoothly though it tends to descend to a conflict between a few hundred sprites on glitchy black patches of terrain before long. In the graphics and presentation stakes, then, Rome 2 gets an absolute panning.

    Secondly, the actual meat of the game is simplistic and fails to engage the interest of the player. Campaign decisions are far inferior to previous iterations of the franchise and the sense of developing one's own cities has been removed with the strange decision to massively simplify the whole process. The fact that there are so many tiny factions plays havoc with diplomacy (the faction lists are just too long to sift through and relationships with neighbouring states will tend to be short) especially given that they persist even when they don't own any cities (armies belonging to a faction without any territory still count as a faction) which leaves the campaign map cluttered and frustrating, especially since the number of armies that the player controls is capped; you will spend a great deal of time simply chasing these around your territory.

    Another major problem with the campaign is the lack of focus on naval warfare (it simply isn't worth it) and the fact that you will find yourself autoresolving battles a good 90% of the time. In one campaign as Athens I conquered the entirety of Greece and Turkey without once having any kind of evenly matched pitched battle before becoming bored and giving up. There is nothing about the campaign that is compelling.

    Lastly, the AI is appalling in both the tactical and strategic portions of the game. Battles are easily won against overwhelming odds in the tactical sphere (all custom battles since the campaign gives very few opportunities for this) due to poor decision making and incredible gullibility on the part of AI generals (ok, its a Total War game; I didn't expect any less) and this cheapens any kind of strategic planning that you might employ in the campaign. Worse, from the strategic standpoint the AI does crazy things like retreating its army stacks away from its last city as my army approached (allowing me to easily capture the city with no resistance and to then confront the remnants one by one), or simply walking away from the contested area completely and not even attempting to put up a fight. This completely kills any kind of immersion you might have in the game when combined with the graphics and framerate issues that so many people are experiencing.

    For its broad ambition being its only redeeming feature, I give this game a 1.    … Expand
  2. sakuma
    Sep 7, 2013
    1
    This game is bad and when I say bad I mean "ok that back to Shogun 2 and don't look back" bad. I can't think of something to save in this game if not the graphics and even that I feel like I was duped. The UI sucks combat is too short and simple the management disappeared no more variety in battle always the same brownish terrain in summer, 15 armies? seriously? naval battle imbalancedThis game is bad and when I say bad I mean "ok that back to Shogun 2 and don't look back" bad. I can't think of something to save in this game if not the graphics and even that I feel like I was duped. The UI sucks combat is too short and simple the management disappeared no more variety in battle always the same brownish terrain in summer, 15 armies? seriously? naval battle imbalanced in the beginning "look my land army crushes your navy!" I don't know how this could be improved... At least totally change the UI but I won't by any other Total war after such a debacle and I loved CA i played TW since Rome the first I loved the mods but It all disappeared with Sega and I won't come back! You shouldn't either.… Expand
  3. Yoke
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Total War fan since shogun. Loved Rome and Medieval2, was TWs prime time. Been downhill since ,and this launch is just a fiasco. Soooo much content missing I just feel so let down and missed chances with this game. Been wanting it for months
  4. SgtBash13
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    I don't normally submit reviews on games, however after awaiting this longly anticipated sequel to be released, I can't help but vent my frustration & disapointment to others. Rome 1 was surely one of CA's most fondly admired titles in the Total War series, therefore it was vital that more than ever CA stepped up & delivered a 2nd that we all craved for. Rome 2 however fails do to this,I don't normally submit reviews on games, however after awaiting this longly anticipated sequel to be released, I can't help but vent my frustration & disapointment to others. Rome 1 was surely one of CA's most fondly admired titles in the Total War series, therefore it was vital that more than ever CA stepped up & delivered a 2nd that we all craved for. Rome 2 however fails do to this, poor graphic performance & constant bugs equals a frustrating experience when you were promised (and expected) far far better. Shogun 2 is more than this ever will be & sadly the Total War series is in demise, like so many others.
    Typical Cash & Grab im afraid!    … Expand
  5. KeithMoonsLiver
    Sep 7, 2013
    3
    Total war games have always been rough at launch, but as someone who has played since medieval this is CA's worst effort yet. More concerning than the usual bugs and optimization issues is many of the gameplay decisions CA has made. They have been flirting with "dumbing down" or "consolfying" the series for awhile now, and I think this may be the point where they've finally stepped overTotal war games have always been rough at launch, but as someone who has played since medieval this is CA's worst effort yet. More concerning than the usual bugs and optimization issues is many of the gameplay decisions CA has made. They have been flirting with "dumbing down" or "consolfying" the series for awhile now, and I think this may be the point where they've finally stepped over the edge.

    The future of this game depends entirely on modders and how much CA is willing to support the modding community. I expect CA will fix most of the technical issues over the next few months, but it will take major overhaul mods to fix the parts of the game which are working as intended but simply poorly designed and not well thought out.

    My advice to anyone interested in this game: Wait. Forget about Rome 2 for awhile and go play something else. 12 months from now this game may have been patched and modded to the point where it's a very good gaming experience but as it stands now, it's not worth playing and certainly not worth paying anything near $60 for.    … Expand
  6. Electric123
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    If you have to pay 60 bucks which is more than average for new titles, and as it turns out you got the ability to take the occupation of a beta tester...not that big of a deal.
  7. BillyJ
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    I bought this game, with all promise, hope that it would be good I loved the original. I should of known as soon as i loaded the main CGI i started to drop frames that i would be disappointed. I played the game maybe for 30 minutes with frames dropping to 5-10 per second on the worst graphics settings. At that point i took the copy i bought from best buy and smashed it with a hammer. DoI bought this game, with all promise, hope that it would be good I loved the original. I should of known as soon as i loaded the main CGI i started to drop frames that i would be disappointed. I played the game maybe for 30 minutes with frames dropping to 5-10 per second on the worst graphics settings. At that point i took the copy i bought from best buy and smashed it with a hammer. Do not buy this game.… Expand
  8. peadora
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    It is simple, I pay full price for the game, the game crash everyturn and is not playable at all.
    A game that is not playable worth nothing 0
    Whoever lucky enough to be able to play the game without crash, well lucky you, please rate it base on your own gaming experience. But in my case, my gaming experience is 0. I would forgive them if they release this as a Beta, I would    It is simple, I pay full price for the game, the game crash everyturn and is not playable at all.
    A game that is not playable worth nothing 0

    Whoever lucky enough to be able to play the game without crash, well lucky you, please rate it base on your own gaming experience. But in my case, my gaming experience is 0.

    I would forgive them if they release this as a Beta, I would forgive them if my machine/system do not fit their spec, I would forgive them if those bugs is isolated and only happens to me. But no, the game is not ready and clearly they have not properly tested it before release. This is bad management and CA is trashing their name.    … Expand
  9. TWAddict
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    4 is probably a little unfair for the work that has gone into this game, as with previous TW games the history and research is very good HOWEVER the disappointment and genuine horror I am currently feeling at this moment makes me score this game so poorly. This coming from someone who has played over 900 hours on Empire, 800 hours on Napoleon and prior to steam probably 3 to 4 thousand4 is probably a little unfair for the work that has gone into this game, as with previous TW games the history and research is very good HOWEVER the disappointment and genuine horror I am currently feeling at this moment makes me score this game so poorly. This coming from someone who has played over 900 hours on Empire, 800 hours on Napoleon and prior to steam probably 3 to 4 thousand hours on Shogun1, Rome, Medieval 1 and 2 (plus all the add ons and many custom TW games). I should have waited, you see my playing time on Shogun 2 is only 44hrs, I tried to like it but grew to hate it. Unfortunately Rome 2 has some of the same stupid faults and traits, Shogun2 had warrior nuns, now we have Iceni onager ships please Hate the cartoony interface like shogun2, and the real time battle engine is just like shogun 2, far too fast to relish and enjoy like the set piece battles of its predecessors. Why spend all that time on detail and effects when your obviously pitching to the pre-adult txt-a-holic Michal Bay watching console playing demographic! What next Transformers Total War Wait let me plug three mice in and 2 keybards and I can click and smash them all together while watching the a whirling vortex of Ongager pirates and warrior nun spear laser cavalry.
    As for the AI, well AI has always been contentious in the TW series but at least in the older games such as Rome 1 and Medieval 2 while the AI sometimes sucked they were at least enjoyable and infinitely more playable. CA seem to be breaking what didn't need touching and making the bad bits even worse. Will have another crack at it soon now the patch seems to be out, although not today though, no not today, maybe tomorrow or next weekend, someday, anyway back to Napoleon or maybe Sid Meiers Gettysberg or Antietam, Xcom possibly, just something that doesn't make me feel like a moron.    … Expand
  10. Werg
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    A sad day for all TW fans. CA had rough releases before, but this tops it all. Their questionable design decisions threaten the very core that was TW.
  11. limonata
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    There are too many problems right now for this game to be considered playable.
    - The AI is absolutely terrible, every battle they simply bunch up together in the middle of your army. The siege AI is broken entirely and they often don't even move.
    - Naval battles are terrible. Ships become unresponsive and ignore orders, the boarding/ramming mechanism is bugged and often decides to do the    There are too many problems right now for this game to be considered playable.
    - The AI is absolutely terrible, every battle they simply bunch up together in the middle of your army. The siege AI is broken entirely and they often don't even move.
    - Naval battles are terrible. Ships become unresponsive and ignore orders, the boarding/ramming mechanism is bugged and often decides to do the wrong thing.
    - Ships become stuck and continue to attempt to row forward (they cannot row backwards), units become stuck walking into trees.
    - Capture points in the middle of field battles eliminate a lot of tactics and make it impossible to win with an inferior force.
    - Game is so badly optimized it makes me wonder if they even tested it on more than one computer, nVidia have even stated that they can do little with a new driver release and that the problems come from the terrible optimization.
    - Removal of the family tree it's not the end of the world but it is missed by a lot of people and it makes me wonder why they bothered to take it out? It means I have no attachment to my generals and means I don't care when they die.
    - Politics system is a complete waste of time, no one I know who plays the game even bothers to check the politics screen.
    - End turn time is abysmal and on a coop campaign it is much worse and has stopped all my friends from playing them.
    - Unit cards are terrible and the building cards are even worse what is wrong with a simple picture of the unit, like in every other total war game?
    - The UI is terrible and needs some serious work.

    If all they had done was take the first Rome and improve the graphics it would have been far better than what we have in Rome II. There are some good things about the game but they are overshadowed by everything that is wrong. It's possible that patches could save this game but it will be months and even then there is so much to be fixed I think it is doubtful.    … Expand
  12. Kratocokkos
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Horrible don't bother to buy it, bad optimisation bad graphics and ridiculous UI, i could run shogun 2 on max settings at high fps, this doesn't work on all low
  13. Pike22
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    They released it without even testing it properly, assuming no one would notice the uncomplete features, mechanics and even graphics engine which is poorly optimized. The reason I give this a 0 is so that they would stop living on pre-orders and on big expectations which are created by ads, but don't deliver.
  14. CaptianCron
    Sep 7, 2013
    10
    Pretty great game, the campaign is quite solid I like the objective driven game play giving you the option guidance and rewards for developing Rome historically accurately. Graphics run great, the AI could use some tweaks but I don’t know a total war game that hasn't been seriously patched in that department after release. The UI takes some getting used to for old total war fans.Pretty great game, the campaign is quite solid I like the objective driven game play giving you the option guidance and rewards for developing Rome historically accurately. Graphics run great, the AI could use some tweaks but I don’t know a total war game that hasn't been seriously patched in that department after release. The UI takes some getting used to for old total war fans. Everything is there just streamlined with very different but still functional UI. In all loving it 12 hrs in.… Expand
  15. ADABUD
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Wow, looking at the critics reviews you would think they were playing a COMPLETELY DIFFERENT version of Rome, meaning that there version has had a years worth of updates ahead of the present time, Why do you with us CA SEGA?, Why do I have a BETA/DEMO version of Rome 2, I PAID for the FINAL Release, i'd like to see my moneys worth delivered when I pay for it, NOT after a years time
  16. danceswithfools
    Sep 7, 2013
    2
    Cash cow pure and simple.

    Total war shogun 2 is far better.

    dumb down UI and campaign.

    No mmo multiplayer mode.

    no campaign combat multiplayer mode.

    Bad graphics.

    THE STUPIDEST AI EVER at high speed u can see it just randomly moving in any direction to look like its alive.
  17. BloodRaven199
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    I have a gtx 660 ti 2gb), i5 3450, 8 gb ram and I thought this would be enough to play the game on high settings. I was wrong...~20 fps on the campain map...that's ridiculous!! When I zoom in during a battle the fps drops down to 15 or less. So I have to play it on low/medium settings. And even then the fps aren't stable. I waited for the patch, which released on Friday, but it changedI have a gtx 660 ti 2gb), i5 3450, 8 gb ram and I thought this would be enough to play the game on high settings. I was wrong...~20 fps on the campain map...that's ridiculous!! When I zoom in during a battle the fps drops down to 15 or less. So I have to play it on low/medium settings. And even then the fps aren't stable. I waited for the patch, which released on Friday, but it changed nothing...
    The AI is just as as the performance. It happens very often, that one unit (sometimes even hurt) want to occupy one of my cities, which are well defended. On the battlefield the AI is a disappointment, too! 5 hours of playing and i have concluded...there is no fun playing this!    … Expand
  18. tux
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    worst game in the Total War series. nothing alive and warm remains of the first part. wacky icons, no clips, unrealistic morality, bad management, and more more
  19. D4v1d
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    This is the most horrible game i have ever played in my life. How can they sell this garbage for 60 dlls?
    Horrible AI
    Horrible UI
    Horrible Gameplay
    Horrible Graphics
    Horrible Optimization
    Horrible Support
    Horrible Presentation.
  20. Romanium54
    Sep 7, 2013
    1
    Developers need to remember that gameplay is the most important thing in a game. The graphics are only cool if they improve an already fun game. They don't make a game fun by themselves. No one will care about the graphics if they are too bored to ever star the game. Get it?
  21. ashmurphy89
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Just started to play this game this morning and the first thing that came to mind was the graphics. I thought they must have been on low but no, they were set to very high and they looked terrible. Path finding is grim. AI is poor and the optimisation is rubbish. As a software developer it's hardly surprising such a bodge-it-and-scarper job was even released as this seems to be a trend inJust started to play this game this morning and the first thing that came to mind was the graphics. I thought they must have been on low but no, they were set to very high and they looked terrible. Path finding is grim. AI is poor and the optimisation is rubbish. As a software developer it's hardly surprising such a bodge-it-and-scarper job was even released as this seems to be a trend in the dev world. Hopefully this game will be patched and the devs will listen to the fans complaints.

    All in all a massive disappointment, I don't often pre order games and this is the final straw. Back to playing a finished game like Tomb Raider until patch number 15.    … Expand
  22. ozozio
    Sep 7, 2013
    5
    I Wanted to like this game.. I wanted to,, so Bad. But it has been a letdown. The problem with Rome 2 has less to do with the fact that it feels like a title from over ten years ago and more to do with the fact that it is full of poor design decisions, simplified game mechanics, and horrible UI. Overall, the game suffers from a lack optimization and tones of bugs.
  23. asc_one
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Even though CA had a 40% bigger budget than shogun 2 they proved their incompetence the last time for me. I won't fall for their garbage ever again. And that says a Total War Veteran since Rome 1 I bought every game of their franchise.

    And every time to release there were problems but this time those are unmatched. This game is broken and a total failure from my perspective.Nothing that    Even though CA had a 40% bigger budget than shogun 2 they proved their incompetence the last time for me. I won't fall for their garbage ever again. And that says a Total War Veteran since Rome 1 I bought every game of their franchise.

    And every time to release there were problems but this time those are unmatched. This game is broken and a total failure from my perspective.Nothing that is important works really. The Battle AI is completely broken it's worse than the AI of any TW game i've seen yet. The campaign AI is also a catastrophe diplomacy doesn't work at all and the ai keeps attacking with armies that are obviously inferior.
    The UI looks consolized,I HATE IT. You cannot have unlimited armies anymore nor can you have smaller units without a general. The family tree is GONE When a general dies you don't care a Guard button is missing ,loose formation is missing instead you have magic buttons like "whip" that buff your unit for a short time. Phalanx does not work, units just can't hold their goddamn formation you can say that to pretty much every formation in the game.

    I could go on ...

    I mean I have waited for a sequel for about 10 years to see this pile of This really has broken my heart Maybe it's a C&C 4 moment for the series. Anyway with a 40% bigger budget and CA just can't ´make a functioning game. I MEAN THEY DID IT 10 YEARS AGO BETTER WTF!
    And all of you apologists that say they can fix the game with patches i mean come on even you don't believe what you are talking about!And after all we paid already!

    THIS GAME IS CASUALIZED/STREAMLINED ****!

    I will never preorder a CA game ever They messed up hard and my confidence in this company is gone.    … Expand
  24. ekatonpl
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Disappointing stupid AI, horrible UI, disgusting and confusing unit cards, no optimalazion, lots of bugs this game is surely unfinished, propably also cut a lot to get money on new DLCs. It's a shame that CA published something like this and also kind of an insult.

    Paid way too much to be a beta tester now.
  25. Captain_Solo
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Ok let's rate this game At first about game graphics AWFUL Game looks like 6 year old (even more). Absolutely dumb AI and ugly small menus. It's not fun there's no gameplay Even On maximum graphics still the same sh*t Don't waste your money There are too much good games to play. Yeah there is music but they can't hold you longer
  26. rikasan
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    They actually killed the series for its simplifications for youngsters and casual players. Want to play real Total War? Play Shogun 2, Medieval 2, Rome 1.

    This game is a huge fail. Capture points and lack of family tree are worst decisions possible. UI is very dull. I feel disapointed.
  27. Agriphal
    Sep 7, 2013
    5
    I prior ordered the game in expectation of the kind of visuals likely to knock my socks off. The hype was very effective and I was suckered in, like the fool I am. I checked my computer specifications against the list provided by Creative Assembly and to my joy I found that I met the recommended specifications. Wonderful, I thought, I'm going to get the close to the top graphics. On MondayI prior ordered the game in expectation of the kind of visuals likely to knock my socks off. The hype was very effective and I was suckered in, like the fool I am. I checked my computer specifications against the list provided by Creative Assembly and to my joy I found that I met the recommended specifications. Wonderful, I thought, I'm going to get the close to the top graphics. On Monday I started playing. Well, tried to play. Strained my eyes trying to look at the screen that looked more like a slideshow than a computer game (frames for each second at ten or less). It turns out that you need the very best computer on the market to get anywhere near attractive graphics. Sad of heart I turned down the graphics and unit size to the lowest settings. Visually it looked worse than the first Rome game. Then I encountered the worst part. The units had almost zero weight. So, this game still carries on the tradition of floaty combat established by Empire Total War and perfected by Shogun Two. Back in Medieval Two time units felt like they actually had mass. They clashed with a crunch. It was the most satisfying part of the game. That is now ancient history (ironically). Overall this game is both unfinished and underwhelming. Even when all the patches are out, this game wont be worth the effort it takes to click "purchase". Or the time wasted downloading it. If you're a fan of this franchise, and you want more, get Medieval two Total War, and download one of the many excellent modifications out there.… Expand
  28. Raven76
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    I have been a fan of this series for very long time. I played all the original and in each you felt apart of SOmETHING. It captivated you in the feel and era especially the originally Rome and Medievals both. You felt your empire grow, your cities build you started from nothing until a golden age reigned or you died in that attempt. The thing is it was fun and you couldn't wait to do itI have been a fan of this series for very long time. I played all the original and in each you felt apart of SOmETHING. It captivated you in the feel and era especially the originally Rome and Medievals both. You felt your empire grow, your cities build you started from nothing until a golden age reigned or you died in that attempt. The thing is it was fun and you couldn't wait to do it again and again.
    This game is a piece of garbage when it come to obtaining that. If CA attempt was to create something dynamic and different they didn't even achieve this a two year old could have done better with their imagination and toys!!.
    Sadly Sega's acquisition of CA has again turned another beloved title into A MONEY MAKING VENTURE in which the original fans and those who could be, have been have been left in some perpetual zombie filled spectacle. The thing is any new people to this title would have to be kidding themselves into delirious stupidity in forking out money for this terrible product when such titles as Civ and others are out there- the only thing in CIV is the RTS battles then there would be no need for this garbage!!

    "CA" WE BESEECH you before you put out any other product SPEAK TO THE FANS, ASK THE FANS and tell SEGA to quit with the deadlines. The problem is when there are fools who will fork out cash me included but I make an oath now I will never buy another CA game until I feel you understand what the fans truly want) and there are no refunds it makes little SEGA is a huge company and if CA falls onto itself it means nothing in the long run of profits and profit making they'll just find something else that is beloved and was unique and fresh and RUIN IT only until they have milked it with subsequent sequels until they have totally dumbed it down
    WTF were you thinking of getting rid of Patricians Family TREE HUH??? what??? not to mention the kindgergarten drawings akin to shogun which shows me u use the same templates it was a quick shortcut I know and as for CITY MANAGEMENT it was one of the things that truly made the system so beloved so unique I give four because there is an occasional glimpse of what it meant to once play these games.....

    DISGUSTING    … Expand
  29. tbird1979
    Sep 7, 2013
    3
    Rome 2 Total Mess. This is the first game that I ever pre-purchased; it is now the last game that I will ever pre-purchase.

    To the Creative Assembly, I will say this; gamers know a poor game when they see it. The average score on metacritic and other review sites is going to continue to plummet, until you sort out the substance of this game. How could you forget that substance    Rome 2 Total Mess. This is the first game that I ever pre-purchased; it is now the last game that I will ever pre-purchase.

    To the Creative Assembly, I will say this; gamers know a poor game when they see it. The average score on metacritic and other review sites is going to continue to plummet, until you sort out the substance of this game. How could you forget that substance always beats style? I am off to play Napoleon or Shogun 2 once I've written this. Remember them? Two games which, although they certainly look good, both manage to place the emphasis on substance and usability for the gamer above style. Consequently, they manage to beat seven bells out of this badly put-together, un-enjoyable, cynical, money-gouge of a game.

    To anyone reading this who is considering buying Rome 2, I would strongly advise you not to, at least until the Creative Assembly fix it properly. Even then, exercise caution. The feel of this game is nothing like previous entries in the Total War series. If you didn't enjoy them, then you may be the kind of person who would like this. If like the rest of us, you thought the first Rome, Empire/Napoleon and Shogun 2 were masterpieces, then don't do it to yourself don't buy this game!    … Expand
  30. iamymr
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    This review spoils the prologue:

    I am depressed. From the moment this game was announced, I was so excited. The Carthage footage, checking the forum every week for a year to see the new factions. I love Shogun 2, and this was looking to be S2 and then some. Rome Total War is my second favorite TW game. Conquering northern Africa as my Scipio family, managing my family, doing cool    This review spoils the prologue:

    I am depressed. From the moment this game was announced, I was so excited. The Carthage footage, checking the forum every week for a year to see the new factions.

    I love Shogun 2, and this was looking to be S2 and then some. Rome Total War is my second favorite TW game. Conquering northern Africa as my Scipio family, managing my family, doing cool events, building up epic armies, managing settlements .
    R2 was going to be all this and more.
    So they led us to believe.

    The game's development was very tightly kept secret. There were only about 10 gameplay footage videos or so, with various CA/Rally Point "presentation" ones being the most prominent.
    With what I did see, the UI looked a little meh. I wasn't in love with the unit cards or the city management, but I would reserve judgment until it came out.

    3AM EST, September 3rd. My body is ready. The 9.9 gig download is ready to be unpacked and be played immediately.
    4am EST. Apparently it takes an hour for me to unpack this thing. Okay. I'm still going strong.

    I boot up the game, I watch the epic intro. Awesome. First thing I do is go to settings. I have an old Macbook pro with a 330m graphics card (bare minimum.) The game had me in Very High settings. That can't be right. I'll do medium.
    And then I start the prologue. My first impression. Why am I playing an N64 game? Why are Rome 1's graphics better? Oh well, let's actually play!
    I beat up some Samnites or whatever, I kill some catapults. My allies are yapping. Yada yada yada, I'll get there eventually, let me cross this river.
    "Sir, we are overrun!" DEFEAT!
    Uh what? It was timed? Hurm. Okay.
    So I replay the prologue, this time rushing to past that stupid river. Cutscene here cutscene there, and I beat it. Cool.

    Prologue 2 starts. City Management. All right. I learn about buildings and stances and reinforcements cool.
    I expand all my land to see what I can build. This is a mistake. If you expand your land and not build anything, you get punished via slums that appear. But you have to expand first to see what you can build. But you have no idea how much the buildings cost. This is stupid.
    I have to attack a port or something. I put my army in the water, and some boats magically appear (and count towards my unit upkeep, thanks, so now I'm making negative money.)
    "Merge with the navy." All right. Hold on I'm getting attacked by these boats, I'll wait a turn. Nope. Since I didn't merge then and there, I have some annoying checkbox that won't go away. So I reload. And the screen gets stuck. I can't move, I can't click on anything, I can't interact This is not a good first impression.
    I am barely making enough money, I sort of stop caring. I eventually have to siege some capital city or something. I build what looks like the Rams from the first game. BIG MISTAKE. They are just wooden shields or something. I reload realizing my mistake. But the game FORCES you to attack that turn. If you move away, you can't do anything. Crap. So I reload again earlier (glad I saved often.) I build stupid ladders this time. And I beat the prologue. Yay. (Irony: I can apparently take out gates with units. Thanks for telling me this game.)
    I did not get an achievement. It's called like Quaestor or something. So I reload and do it AGAIN. No achievement. And I view the prologue screen and it says Prologue 3, which I just beat, is still locked.

    Aye aye aye.

    I do an actual game. It's pretty cool. I choose Cornelia Rome. I get a negative penalty to Latin Culture. All right. I won't spread any culture.
    Food problems. Public order problems. I have 2 armies. If I want to move back and upgrade/buy units from Rome, I have to move the whole army. I do that, I get attacked by a two stack army from the north. Okay. I have to WASTE a general to act as a courier to move troops around. Sheesh.
    No family system. No sons, no daughters. There was some random thing about an adopted son. I said, sure he's mine. And nothing happened. It said "General" in green as a reward, but I didn't get a new son. Okay that's bugged.
    I was looking at some traits. The tooltip didn't show up. Bugged.
    I was doing a naval battle. I have a ship with like 40 dudes. Let's board this enemy. He gets stuck, and I lose all my units. Bugged.
    Province screen? Don't like it. You have client allies in the other three? Sorry you can't issue an edict.
    Cities have limited slots. And all the buildings are boring and lame. And there are like 60 of them. Let's have 4 different docks with barely any change in stats.
    Can't do 1v1 custom battles. Generals have to be present. Custom battles have limited slots for some units.
    Units are just reskins of each other. Iberian Swordsman! Cool! Nope, just reskinned Hastati. :(
    And the turn times! 2-5 minutes waiting for these other factions that I don't care about.

    So depressed. I am going to go play the older games. Oh Shogun 2. My dear love. You never let me down.    … 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

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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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