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. PaulPalski
    Sep 21, 2013
    8
    It is a great game that was unfortunately released in beta form. I'm still having a lot of fun playing. CA seems to be working on fixing major issues since the release.
  2. miyadaman
    Sep 4, 2013
    7
    There sure are a lot of whiners around on the internet. Look, I understand being frustrated about the game not playing correctly on your machine, but at least acknowledge that it's different for every machine and try to review the actual game after getting that out of the way. For the record, I run the game on Ultra settings and it runs perfectly fine. My friend has bad lag but stillThere sure are a lot of whiners around on the internet. Look, I understand being frustrated about the game not playing correctly on your machine, but at least acknowledge that it's different for every machine and try to review the actual game after getting that out of the way. For the record, I run the game on Ultra settings and it runs perfectly fine. My friend has bad lag but still enjoys it.

    There are many negative reviews with people saying things like "I don't know what authority does and it doesn't say ANYWHERE!" or "There is no 'fire at will' button for ranged troops". Rest assured, the game does tell you EXACTLY what all stats mean and there is a button for fire at will (among all others). The problem is the UI is pretty shoddy and people are too moronic to search for 3 seconds without throwing a hissy fit. You can find 90% of the information you need with the tool-tip pop ups on the campaign map.

    The UI is spectacularly bad. It has everything you need, but as others have said it's a bit un-intuitive. There are a lot of ambiguous terms and numbers thrown at you and you will have to do a little pointing around with the mouse to find out what they do. Or hit F1 for times that doesn't work and open up the in-game encyclopedia.

    The AI, as all Total War games, has bouts of good play and bouts of baffling play. Patches will help here and there's no reason to think the game won't be a standout game after a number of promised weekly patches. The AI is a problem at the moment but I have some confidence patches and mods will fix this. You will sometimes find the enemy overly aggressive and other times overly passive. There's no nice middle ground.

    The battles are better than ever (forgetting the AI for a second). The battle maps are huge and have a ton of things scattered around them for looks and strategy. When troops walk, they walk slowly unlike the Benny Hill motions from previous games. There's a lot to like here. Factor back in the AI and it can be frustrating at times.

    Some of the campaign ideas have poor implementation. Politics is supposed to play a big part but most people are still struggling to figure out exactly what it does. They took out family trees but they tried to expand the political part of things. It's a game of minor subtractions filled by minor additions. It's not worse, it's just different. Most people seem to be complaining because they can't figure out the new system. That doesn't mean the system sucks, just that you're an idiot. Rest assured, there is nothing that breaks the traditional way Total War games are played. In fact, if you've constantly felt like the campaign side of TW games felt a bit shallow and flat, Rome 2 might be your thing. There are many things added to add complexity.

    Overall, there's a great game here with technical issues. I would give this a 9/10 but one can't overlook the technical issues. Therefore, it should be around a 6-7 on what it currently is. Personally, I view the problems it has as completely fixable so I side closer to a 7. Ignore the children screaming bloody murder over a few bugs.    … Expand
  3. vcvc8
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    I opened an account just to post this review.

    First off, don't listen to the people complaining about bad graphics, it's just a bug and actually while playing it seemed to get a bit better. Second, the map is gigantic, I am lost in how complex this game is, in a good way. This game is just as good as my favorite, Medieval 2 Total War, maybe even better, because I didn't even get to    I opened an account just to post this review.

    First off, don't listen to the people complaining about bad graphics, it's just a bug and actually while playing it seemed to get a bit better.

    Second, the map is gigantic, I am lost in how complex this game is, in a good way. This game is just as good as my favorite, Medieval 2 Total War, maybe even better, because I didn't even get to discover much of it.

    Third, why complain about the DLC? it's meant for people who didn't pre-order and might want the Greek States. They have to make some sort of profit, and also, if this DLC wasn't made at all the staff would have to be laid off because in the pre-release phase they're doing nothing and not getting paid, so this so called "horrible" day one DLC actually saves them. Plus, you don't have to buy the DLC, if you think it's so meaningless there's no reason for you to get it at all, so you shouldn't give the game a 0 because of that, especially if you didn't even buy it.    … Expand
  4. chillbrah
    Sep 4, 2013
    8
    The game is amazing, but not finished. I have played 5-6 hours as the Iceni tribe and honestly have not run into a single bug. People are crying over how over hyped and terrible this game is even though its only the 2nd day since its release. Give it some time before you give it such a bad rating. Yes, CA should of released a alpha or beta testing to the community and maybe that wouldThe game is amazing, but not finished. I have played 5-6 hours as the Iceni tribe and honestly have not run into a single bug. People are crying over how over hyped and terrible this game is even though its only the 2nd day since its release. Give it some time before you give it such a bad rating. Yes, CA should of released a alpha or beta testing to the community and maybe that would reduce the amount of problems but they didn't so quit crying. the game is not as broke as many of you say it to be.… Expand
  5. Paylot
    Sep 4, 2013
    8
    Terrible UI, confusing unit cards, the graphics are... well, weird. NEVERTHELESS, the game itself is very good. Lets just wait for some patches and hope they will do something with the UI, unit cards and they kick in some anti-aliasing. Meanwhile, it is still a fun game to play, although you get lost in the UI.
  6. Sholman
    Feb 18, 2014
    9
    I am a pretty big fan of the Total War series, and I do not see why so many people are giving this game less than a five. I have personally experienced only a few glitches and some minor lag. Besides the minor technical problems, the actual game itself is very entertaining and expansive. The map is huge, there are dozens of different, unique faction, including several you can play as, andI am a pretty big fan of the Total War series, and I do not see why so many people are giving this game less than a five. I have personally experienced only a few glitches and some minor lag. Besides the minor technical problems, the actual game itself is very entertaining and expansive. The map is huge, there are dozens of different, unique faction, including several you can play as, and the battles are detailed and fun. I understand if it is not worth in the $50-60 range for some people, but it is definitely a quality game.… Expand
  7. Vythica
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    I will get right to the point. If you enjoy Grand Strategy games, or a fan of the Total War series....Rome 2 is a must. CA have improved on every aspect, from Campaign map depth....Land, Siege to Naval Battles....It does have it's bugs however, as with every TW Title on release, it is not enough to pull you away from playing though.

    The only big issue i have with Rome 2 is the    I will get right to the point. If you enjoy Grand Strategy games, or a fan of the Total War series....Rome 2 is a must. CA have improved on every aspect, from Campaign map depth....Land, Siege to Naval Battles....It does have it's bugs however, as with every TW Title on release, it is not enough to pull you away from playing though.

    The only big issue i have with Rome 2 is the performance....On a PC that could play Shogun 2 with all settings maxed and getting high frame rates. (70 fps Rome 2 can look worse at times...and achieve really bad Fps with the same settings (30-40fps)

    Hopefully, CA Will fix these issues soon.    … Expand
  8. Sarik
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    This game has some bad bugs and graphics optimalizatons, but that is no reason to rate this otherwise awesome game so low. It will get better, and you know it
  9. Relian
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Great game so far, I love all the new features in Rome II. Haven't had any crashes or issues so far, just some minor glitches which are to be expected of a new release with so many changes from previous Total War titles. I don't know yet if this game is as good as Shogun II but time will tell, so far it's been great and very addicting.

    If you like Total War type of games, you'll almost    Great game so far, I love all the new features in Rome II. Haven't had any crashes or issues so far, just some minor glitches which are to be expected of a new release with so many changes from previous Total War titles. I don't know yet if this game is as good as Shogun II but time will tell, so far it's been great and very addicting.

    If you like Total War type of games, you'll almost certainly love this one.    … Expand
  10. snipe3pt0
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    This game is great. There seems to be an issue with optimization for some. I have been lucky enough to only have some fps issues and that's all. The new features and diplomatic systems are really an improvement to me. My major complaint with the game itself not the bugs that will be ironed out in time. Is that the battles are over too quickly. Despite that I love the game and see at leastThis game is great. There seems to be an issue with optimization for some. I have been lucky enough to only have some fps issues and that's all. The new features and diplomatic systems are really an improvement to me. My major complaint with the game itself not the bugs that will be ironed out in time. Is that the battles are over too quickly. Despite that I love the game and see at least 100 plus hours of my life slipping away its glory!… Expand
  11. Ohanka
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Best yet! Ignore the complainers about performance issues. They just can't accept their underpowered PC can't play this game on ultra settings. Played it for 12 hours since release.
  12. Dangoesforth
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Whilst there is a higher barrier of entry than past Total War games (Except Empire), the player is thoroughly rewarded with a rich and highly varied strategy game, which demonstrates Creative Assembly's continual ability to innovate upon its basic formula which has grown for over a decade.
    Presentation- It is quite clear that authenticity has become a clear objective for CA, as Rome II is by far the best of the series and also any other series in presenting you with a realistic world. Be it either with the now astonishing cities with specific landmarks and factional/demographic traits, to the detail on every soldiers face and gear, all of which you can zoom in to see in all its splendor. The only issue that has become apparent is some launch graphical problems and FPS losses which many have encountered, these are highly likely easy to fix, but with a powerful rig most of these problems will not occur, those with less powerful machines will see a drastic loss of performance, more than you would expect anyway.
    Gameplay- With a satisfying prologue featuring strong voice action (Mark Strong) Rome II comfortably introduces a new player to the series and demonstrates the changes to Total War Veterans. One of the biggest changes made is the recruitment of armies, no longer are armies queued within a city, but requested from organised armies. This may cause problems for veterans as it makes a huge difference of the way one goes about attacking and defending provinces; however this is a welcome change as it streamlines the process of recruitment of requesting troops to exactly where you want without a rally point being needed from multiple cities. Other changes from the province system allowing the player to macro-manage multiple cities, avoids the complexities faced with past Total war games; to the new diplomatic options which have become much more intuitive in striking deals and easier to deal with, though it still has some faults, with unrealistic AI demands which just have no justification.
    Another major change from a gameplay aspect is the ability to embark upon Land & Sea battles simultaneously, this adds a huge variety to any battle and allows for spectacular siege battles, one of which has already been demonstrated with the Carthage historical battle, a welcome change.
    Along with other niche changes the battle system has been refined to produce by far the best Total War game of the series, with the only negatives coming from the high barrier of entry and launch graphical issues. Though it may not become a cult hit like its prequel Rome: Total War CA have created a spectacular game which will entice newcomers with its polish and grandeur and also highly satisfy Total War veterans with new refinements and updates. A true Total War game if ever I saw one. I would give this game 9.6 if I could but I will settle for a 9.    … Expand
  13. JoeBolbie
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Runs perfectly on my computer with no lag and lives up to my expectations. The province system is a very cool addition to the series.
    Specs: intel i7, 16gb ram, 670 gtx
  14. someguy8896
    Sep 4, 2013
    7
    this game is buggy and imperfect but it's amazing anyway. the long load times and UI I keep seeing people complain about aren't a problem for me. the UI is great and simple to use when you get used to it. and if you have a powerful enough processor the load time and AI turns aren't a problem. it runs fine on high with my Nvidia gtx 550TI and Intel core I7 3930K. like I said it's buggy butthis game is buggy and imperfect but it's amazing anyway. the long load times and UI I keep seeing people complain about aren't a problem for me. the UI is great and simple to use when you get used to it. and if you have a powerful enough processor the load time and AI turns aren't a problem. it runs fine on high with my Nvidia gtx 550TI and Intel core I7 3930K. like I said it's buggy but I found nothing game breaking and it has yet to crash on me. It was worth my money and I expect that like most total war titles most of these problems will be fixed at some point with patches. 7/10 as it is. I'm not disappointed.… Expand
  15. Nemo94
    Sep 15, 2013
    9
    The game was released with some minor glitches. None of these glitches prevent you from playing/enjoying the game. That being said, I am disappointed that the game doesn't live up to the hype. The Creative assembly are currently releasing weekly patches, so most of the problems will be taken care of in the coming weeks.

    SEGA have clearly pushed CA (Creative assembly) to release this    The game was released with some minor glitches. None of these glitches prevent you from playing/enjoying the game. That being said, I am disappointed that the game doesn't live up to the hype. The Creative assembly are currently releasing weekly patches, so most of the problems will be taken care of in the coming weeks.

    SEGA have clearly pushed CA (Creative assembly) to release this game before it was ready. So all the hate toward the developers is quite unfair. They have a record for making amazing games and I'm sure this one will be no different. It might take a few weeks for the game to reach it's full potential, but at present it's still a very good addition to the franchise.    … Expand
  16. majoortje
    Sep 15, 2013
    10
    10/10, 85 hours in and even though there are numerous bugs and balancing issues, it is AWESOME. The battles are huge and the animations are supreme, dozens of units with huge variety and thousands of directions to go in. Combined assaults and the other new features make this the best TW ever!
  17. Dairko
    Sep 4, 2013
    7
    I have to say... I don't really understand the crap-storm that this game is getting.

    Past that I will say this: Despite poor optimization, and some strange and seemingly confusing and somewhat unfinished features and AI, this game is anything but terrible. Get past its problems that others can't seem climb over, and you will still have massive fun on a (slightly less) massive scale.    I have to say... I don't really understand the crap-storm that this game is getting.

    Past that I will say this:
    Despite poor optimization, and some strange and seemingly confusing and somewhat unfinished features and AI, this game is anything but terrible. Get past its problems that others can't seem climb over, and you will still have massive fun on a (slightly less) massive scale. The new army and agent features are great, however generals die very fast compared to the other games, unfortunately due to the 1 year turns. While the interfaces are rather shuffled, learning them doesn't necessarily take that much time. Also the diplomacy is a bit more usefully equipped compared to its original.

    As far as Skirmishes are concerned, the AI does seem rather off in terms of ability to coordinate its army properly. While it does seem like its trying to do something sometimes, it seems rather mindless. Obviously the AI programmer was either lazy, not given enough time to finish it, or simply did not have enough to work with. The enemy AI seems to only attack head on, trying to end the battle as soon as possible, no flanking maneuvers or anything really to out maneuver the player. However, it does seem to keep them in formation rather well, but because of the fast style of game-play compared to the previous games, battles are rather short, all units seem to lack proper armor ratings, or they simply rout when they suffer a few casualties, same with stronger units as well. Difficulty doesnt seem to change this very much, if at all. On top of that... there seems to be a lack of single faction unit diversity. Though I must say, when the highest graphics settings do work, the battlefield looks astonishing. Arrows and stones are bouncing off shields, and armor design look fantastic. Textures seem to not work properly though (a fairly quick fix is hopefully incoming... and for all these problems).

    Even with the poor AI, and poor optimization, the game does offer a lot for your purchase. The online/LAN coop works nearly as good as the single player campaign. There are plenty of factions to fight and trade with, though most of them are small and and only seem to be there to fill up empty spaces. The map is absolutely enormous, but it will take a rather long time to conquer all of it. I do feel though that CA was lying about a "more epic scale," as the game no longer offers a "Campeign Unit Multiplier." And the voice acting seems a bit silly, and sort of out of place.

    While its got its many problems, the game is not quite broken. All ports checked, this game is a must buy for total war fans. But it may be best for others to wait until a few of the weekly patches are made. This game deserves a bit less than it got from critics, but deserves much more than a bunch of quickly thrown out 0/10s from mindless drivel when the game hasn't been fully experienced. As a release, this game gets from me: 68/100    … Expand
  18. Pc_Retro
    Nov 26, 2013
    10
    Amazing game, all bags are patched, and it is just awesome, one of, if not the best total war game. This is a must buy for total war fans, all though it did have a rocky launch, it has been fixed!
  19. bantad87
    Sep 24, 2013
    7
    As a Total War addict, I give the game a 7/10. The core design is solid; a strong gaming engine, good environment art, character art is fairly decent given the scale of the game, and the UI is pretty solid. The campaign has been streamlined to focus less on micromanagement, and more on macro in order to allow the player to focus more on battles and strategy. Unfortunately, Rome 2 suffersAs a Total War addict, I give the game a 7/10. The core design is solid; a strong gaming engine, good environment art, character art is fairly decent given the scale of the game, and the UI is pretty solid. The campaign has been streamlined to focus less on micromanagement, and more on macro in order to allow the player to focus more on battles and strategy. Unfortunately, Rome 2 suffers from bugs, glitches, and laziness in design. The battle and campaign maps suffer from transparency overdraw which results in massive FPS losses unless you lower grass, trees, and particle effects to low, The AI (at least for me) generally performs acceptably, but occasionally will glitch, fail, or make dumb decisions. Diplomacy towards the player is acceptable, but there is little-to-no diplomacy between AI factions. The AI factions are extremely intimidated by the player, and almost never declare war or assault the player. The result is a campaign AI that is easier to defeat when compared to Shogun 2's launch AI. Overall, given the scope of the game I recognize that Creative Assembly attempted a large overhaul of the series, but they failed to successfully implement the new features. Not being a pessimist, I rate the game as "average" at launch, and hope that CA will continue to patch and improve the game over the coming year. Lastly, I'd like to add that Creative Assembly has never successfully implemented a "good" AI. If we as total war fans expect good AI, we should turn to the modding community, which has always been the case with Total War games. Should all the "issues" be ironed out, I think this game would be well deserving of a rating between 8.5 and 8.8.… Expand
  20. GregWhite
    Oct 12, 2013
    10
    Ok, so this game has bugs. So what; bugs can be fixed! I don't think we should downgrade the game based on just easily fixable, albeit extremely annoying bugs. I'm rating this game based on its potential to be an amazing total war game. I cannot wait for all the dlc that will undeniably make the game a hell of a lot better. I also like how the Creative Assembly is releasing new patchesOk, so this game has bugs. So what; bugs can be fixed! I don't think we should downgrade the game based on just easily fixable, albeit extremely annoying bugs. I'm rating this game based on its potential to be an amazing total war game. I cannot wait for all the dlc that will undeniably make the game a hell of a lot better. I also like how the Creative Assembly is releasing new patches every week, with this past one (Patch 4) being the biggest yet. Yea yea a game that had such a huge marketing effort as this one shouldn't have so many bugs, especially from a game studio with such a high reputation as the Creative Assembly, but still, the potential of this game is very far reaching. I'm excited to see what becomes of it in the future.… Expand
  21. armo62
    Nov 18, 2013
    8
    I have waited 2 months for this game to reach its potential and it has. I was extremely disappointed in CA's rush to output this game and have lost a lot of respect for the Total war franchise. That being said they did stick to their word of patching and continuing to path until this game is golden. Finally after two months we are about there. AI still needs some work. IF rome 2 hadI have waited 2 months for this game to reach its potential and it has. I was extremely disappointed in CA's rush to output this game and have lost a lot of respect for the Total war franchise. That being said they did stick to their word of patching and continuing to path until this game is golden. Finally after two months we are about there. AI still needs some work. IF rome 2 had released in the current state it is now I would give this game a 9/10 but since im a patient fellow I waited to see what the devs would do with the broken game until giving it a fair review.… Expand
  22. eieio
    Feb 17, 2014
    10
    The game is worth every penny i spent on it. I love it. i PreOrderd it and i did not have any of the problems others where having so i have never had a negative feeling towards it.
  23. Aedrone12
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    Although the AI is still pretty bad, I can't complain since I've been waiting years for this game to finally release. If you're a Total War fan, I'd highly recommend this game to you.
  24. MrDeath
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    I'm gonna go ahead and give this a 10, just because of the lot of trolling crybabies on here smacking a 0. "Drr, give it a 0 so they don't release another game that needs a patch". Riiight.
    Let me know hot that logic works out for you pal.
    How about you stop whinning about how the game is over-valued and then you turn right around and vastly under-value it by smacking a score of 0 on a    I'm gonna go ahead and give this a 10, just because of the lot of trolling crybabies on here smacking a 0. "Drr, give it a 0 so they don't release another game that needs a patch". Riiight.
    Let me know hot that logic works out for you pal.
    How about you stop whinning about how the game is over-valued and then you turn right around and vastly under-value it by smacking a score of 0 on a Total War game? Hypocritical bull.

    The game has graphic settings ranging from low to high to very high to extreme, and it is obvious there are some graphic issues with the particle effects on the extreme/very high setting during water battles. Easy fix.
    Don't use the extreme/very high particle effects settings. Magic!

    All-in-all the game is a weaker 8 higher 7. Professional review average is closer to the mark than the trolled user score. Rome II doesn't add anything ground-breaking. It keeps the same old gameplay formulas used in many previous titles and adapts them to a modernized Rome Total War.
    Which is EXACLTY what so many people wanted to begin with. If it aint broke, don't fix it.

    It is polarizing experience. One end being any players waiting for a modern Rome Total War & any players that have been happy since Medieval 2 Total War players that know how to resolve simple graphic driver issues, in which case you will be happy & fine.
    Or on the other end: player that wants new groundbreaking RTS/player that has been unhappy since Medieval 2 Total War/player that wants ultimate graphic experience & can't handle playing on high instead of 10!@#120EXTREME!@!, in which case you will be PM-Sing all over Metacritic.    … Expand
  25. littlemonster
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    Total war franchise is my favorite cup of tea since 10 years ago. Over time, I see improvement and nearer and nearer achievement to real battle simulating. The new games still fall short of some expectation from a fan like me. However, this is the game I will play countless hours, wait for mods and patches, and play again and again, until the new one come out, or even the one after.Total war franchise is my favorite cup of tea since 10 years ago. Over time, I see improvement and nearer and nearer achievement to real battle simulating. The new games still fall short of some expectation from a fan like me. However, this is the game I will play countless hours, wait for mods and patches, and play again and again, until the new one come out, or even the one after.

    First of all, let talk on the bad side. The game GUI seems to be a lot more confusing. It is very different from earlier games. I took half an hour to realize that different between provinces and towns, and that you may control many towns but did not hold control of one province completely because 1 province may have many towns. I also had a bit difficulty with merging army. Once you created a maximum unit in an army, you cannot simple take out a unit and create a legion of itself to put in another unit to the old legion. I find a unit cards, building cards looking less appealing and confusing. HOWEVER, it is a DIFFERENT GAME, and I WELCOME THE CHANGES. I look forward to mod though.

    Second bad things about the game is the difficulty with diplomacy and finance. No one seems to want trading with you, even in good term. Every agent action costs money, yet I don't see much benefit it seems to me an agent action cost a unit for a gamble.

    Third bad thing: unit camera is great, but I have to move the mouse to click a button instead of double clicking on it. Still trying to figure out how to change that.

    Forth bad things: now sure why, but unit sizes seems to be very small in my book. And I think it is hard to mod it now.

    GOOD THINGS: the games brings in steep learning curve, new challenges, breathing in new feeling into the franchise, BRINGING REALISM AND ESCAPISM TO GAMERS I LOVE SIEGE GAME, AND COMBINE NAVY AND LAND BATTLES. I LOVE TO JUMPING UNITS TO HEAR THE OFFICER'S SPEECH !

    In all: I feel being a real general     … Expand
  26. VaeVictis
    Sep 3, 2013
    9
    Don't listen to the trolls. This is a worthy successor to both Shogun II and Rome I, with all of the good qualities of both (Excellent, cinematic battle scenes, large, varied maps, naval combat for the former; varied faction and units, huge world map, and more in-depth characters for the latter) while improving some of the faults that have haunted the Total War series since its inception.Don't listen to the trolls. This is a worthy successor to both Shogun II and Rome I, with all of the good qualities of both (Excellent, cinematic battle scenes, large, varied maps, naval combat for the former; varied faction and units, huge world map, and more in-depth characters for the latter) while improving some of the faults that have haunted the Total War series since its inception. The AI still makes blunders, but on the harder difficulties, they're less frequent and rarely as bad as Shogun II's, or, God forbid, Empire's. Some of the new mechanics I like, while some I'm more on the fence about, but on the whole, I feel like the changes they made were for the better, especially the region/province/settlement system. If you're a fan of the previous games, there should be no question as to whether Rome II is right for you. If you weren't a fan before, this probably won't win you over.… Expand
  27. Doconicus
    Sep 10, 2013
    10
    Amazing. This game will be recognized as a classic. But what is more amazing is the 900+ 0-1 rating scores by people who signed up here on the same day the game was released, gave it a 0 or 1, said something about the AI (which they have no idea what they're talking about) and then left. Kind of like a 'seagull review' that is, fly in, make a racket, crap all over everything then takeAmazing. This game will be recognized as a classic. But what is more amazing is the 900+ 0-1 rating scores by people who signed up here on the same day the game was released, gave it a 0 or 1, said something about the AI (which they have no idea what they're talking about) and then left. Kind of like a 'seagull review' that is, fly in, make a racket, crap all over everything then take off.

    These people are clearly ringers sent here to stir up trouble. Rome II isn't a bad game, it's not a good game, it's a great game.    … Expand
  28. bud389
    Sep 6, 2013
    8
    So far, my experience with Rome 2 is of disappointment, but not at the AI (Which for me is working quite fine), instead it is at the horrendous optimization which Creative Assembly promised would be widely scaleable. I can't even pump out decent FPS at Very High (Which is essentially the "Normal" of the graphics options), and any changes I do make to the graphics settings seems to haveSo far, my experience with Rome 2 is of disappointment, but not at the AI (Which for me is working quite fine), instead it is at the horrendous optimization which Creative Assembly promised would be widely scaleable. I can't even pump out decent FPS at Very High (Which is essentially the "Normal" of the graphics options), and any changes I do make to the graphics settings seems to have absolutely no effect on the outcome of how it looks. Just awful. I could go on and on about the optimization, but I think I made that clear. My other disappointment was how slow-paced it's become, with turns taking well over a minute long to resolve once you get to your 25-30th turn, which means that around 10-15% of your gameplay experience (depending on how long you take to end each turn), will end up being just the resolve action of clicking the "End Turn" button.

    Those problems aside, I have encountered next to no AI or gameplay glitches, and when it works, it works perfectly fine. The campaign AI is unreasonably aggressive and hard to diplomatically communicate with though, rarely if ever coming to a "moderate" or "high" chance of success, and even then if it's only a moderate chance, you'll still more than likely fail in your diplomacy.

    But, there is a silver lining here; CONTENT. Rome 2 has literally HUNDREDS of unique units, and the units that are shared between factions, are designed to fit around the factions themselves, so no simple color-swaps here like in Rome 1, Empire, or Shogun 2. There's also numerous types of agents at your disposal this time, each with unique abilities, such as poisoning garrisoned enemy units with your spy, quelling public dissent with your hero, or causing political intrigue with a diplomatic agent.

    On top of all this, they've given increased options in easy-to-access, pre-made battle formations to put your troops into, organized by type and rank. There have also been some improvements to the economic aspect, as it's been streamlined, but the depth of how it can be affected, or how you can affect it, has been increased.

    Combat based gameplay has reached its pinnacle, as you can now have a truly combined Naval/Land assault on armies or cities, leading to some very grand-scale battles. Great strides have also been made to make simply attacking a factions city as quickly as possible something NOT to focus on at first, instead, drawing out their forces and fighting them in pitched battle, which removes the very arcadey feel of the previous installments where you simply went from base to base, fighting siege to siege. They've also added depth to the auto-resolve function, where you can focus on different styles of combat to insure a higher chance of victory, or a higher percentage of troops left.

    With a few patches, I'm sure this game could reach the 9 or 10 out of 10 it deserves.    … Expand
  29. v1ctor
    Sep 4, 2013
    10
    First off, let me say that you don't need a high end computer to enjoy Rome II. If your machine can handle Shogun II, it can also handle Rome II. That being said, you will have to play around with the settings a little bit to make sure the game runs at 30-40fps average in large battles. The new UI can take some time getting used to, especially if you're a long time Shogun II player, butFirst off, let me say that you don't need a high end computer to enjoy Rome II. If your machine can handle Shogun II, it can also handle Rome II. That being said, you will have to play around with the settings a little bit to make sure the game runs at 30-40fps average in large battles. The new UI can take some time getting used to, especially if you're a long time Shogun II player, but once you get the hang of it, it's very intuitive and easy to use.

    Graphics are absolutely amazing even on mid range computers. Like I said, if your computer can run Shogun II you shouldn't have any problems. [Word of advice: Lower Unit Details and Unit Size (CPU bound) as well as Shadows and Water Quality (GPU bound) if you're experiencing low FPS in large battles].

    If you've never played a Total War game before, because you thought that they were too difficult and tedious too learn, give this game a try.

    As for the technical issues some people have mentioned, I can only speak for myself but in 20h of gameplay I've experienced only a single crash. Pretty amazing for a brand new PC release if you ask me.

    Last but not least, I'd like to add that the game certainly isn't a 10 out of 10. But due to the large amount of unfair and braindead troll comments, I deceided to rate it 10/10 anyway. It's easily a 8 out of 10 maybe even a 9 out of 10 if you're a hardcore RTS player.    … Expand
  30. Schmidte
    Oct 3, 2013
    5
    Okay, I originally thought the game was an 8.5 but reviewed this game as a 10 to offset the 0's...but after having it for a full month, I can't honestly say it is even an 8.5. I'm simply NOT enjoying the game like Shogun 2. I've played every single total war game there has been. All the way since the original shogun. This one currently feels like a chore to play though. The turn times getOkay, I originally thought the game was an 8.5 but reviewed this game as a 10 to offset the 0's...but after having it for a full month, I can't honestly say it is even an 8.5. I'm simply NOT enjoying the game like Shogun 2. I've played every single total war game there has been. All the way since the original shogun. This one currently feels like a chore to play though. The turn times get sooooo long. Which makes things very tedious. Generals die too quickly because it is only 1 turn per year. 30 turns and your general is dead. So many UI failures that make things way harder than they need to be.

    IT'S LIKE THEY DIDN'T PLAY THEIR OWN GAME! There are seriously features (like not easily being able to go to characters that need leveling up which was a feature in Shogun 2 but not here) that you couldn't POSSIBLY not notice or want.

    If what they said it true and Tim Heaton designed this game for metacritic it is a shame and horrifying. I honestly I can't rate this game higher than a 5 right now. I hope they can release large patches and really overhaul this game, but that's all on them. I'll edit my score up if they do and I won't if they don't.    … 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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