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. MajorMilosh
    Sep 15, 2013
    8
    I'm really scared of the state of the gaming community.

    Quick Points for lazy readers: Pros: -Nice new features including overhauled city building, strategic overview and lot's of different options in almost every department -Nicely sized map -Loading times from game to main menu are crazy fast. If you want to quickly hop from single player to multi, it takes 10 seconds. -Unit    I'm really scared of the state of the gaming community.

    Quick Points for lazy readers:

    Pros:

    -Nice new features including overhauled city building, strategic overview and lot's of different options in almost every department
    -Nicely sized map
    -Loading times from game to main menu are crazy fast. If you want to quickly hop from single player to multi, it takes 10 seconds.
    -Unit cards are sleek and fitting; not confusing

    Cons:

    -frame rate....
    -AA on? just on or off... really?
    -Jesus Christ the faces. The lips flap like fish and the amount of distortion and lines make them looks stupid.
    -Dat blob fighting
    -AI... where are you?
    -multiplayer de-sync

    Whenever a game comes out, people expect day 1 polish when there is no initial open beta. Simply put it is impossible. Yes, the state of the game when it came out was awful, but I still played and enjoyed 30 hours of Rome before the first patch. Yes, like EVERY OTHER CA GAME SINCE EMPIRE they have proved that you beta test for a few months... maybe more. Sure, it isn't perfect but I have enjoyed almost every minute of this game.    … Expand
  2. NoseBagUK
    Sep 6, 2013
    9
    Excellent game, sure the AI could be better, and it could be a bit more optimized, but name one game with anything like the scope and ambition of Rome 2? Crusader kings and Europa Universalis maybe be solid and deep games but lets face it they are a pretty interface for a spreadsheet.

    Rome 2's battles are visually epic and the campaign map is fun to play.

    loving it!!
  3. THEWERESHEEP
    Sep 4, 2013
    8
    I don't understand why this game is receiving such hate, we all know CA releases games a tad too early but they always show strong post launch support for their products. I bet all the major kinks will be sorted out with in the coming weeks.

    As for game play it was exactly what I wanted. An improved version of the first Total War that I ever played with great visuals and increased    I don't understand why this game is receiving such hate, we all know CA releases games a tad too early but they always show strong post launch support for their products. I bet all the major kinks will be sorted out with in the coming weeks.

    As for game play it was exactly what I wanted. An improved version of the first Total War that I ever played with great visuals and increased historical accuracy. I don't have a problem adjusting to the new UI either. You just need to dig a little deeper and you'll learn it fairly quickly. The only issues that I have are short but brutal land battles and repetitive naval battles in which all that occurs is a massive ****ing ram fest.

    As for everyone having issues with their games crashing and horrible graphics and texture issues, I've got no idea what the hell is going on as my game has only crashed once in fifteen hours. I can also run it on extreme/ultra at a solid 40 fps.

    P.S Sega published this game not EA, the amount of idiots bashing the wrong people is astounding.    … Expand
  4. rudraksh
    Sep 5, 2013
    10
    Rome 2 was the most awaited game for me since probably Rome. I still play Rome, Shogun 2, and occasionally Empire and Napoleon. So in many ways I was expecting that in Rome 2 we will have the best aspects from all these other TW games. I am not disappointed at all. And, Rome 2 offers so much more.

    I did find the game a bit slow even on my extreme Alienware pc and the game probably still    Rome 2 was the most awaited game for me since probably Rome. I still play Rome, Shogun 2, and occasionally Empire and Napoleon. So in many ways I was expecting that in Rome 2 we will have the best aspects from all these other TW games. I am not disappointed at all. And, Rome 2 offers so much more.

    I did find the game a bit slow even on my extreme Alienware pc and the game probably still needs some fine tuning, which should be done with the first patch. However, this is the grandest TW experience till date.

    On the gameplay front, the game is again slower than usual with long wait time between turns, but if you can accept this and live with it, Rome 2 will be the best strategy game you can play. I would also recommend that the first few play through need to be all about understanding the interface as even while the design is elegant it can be a bit cryptic at first glance even for seasoned TW players. However, after 10 hours of play through, which is zilch compared to the time I have spent on TW, I am comfortable enough to know about the possible strategic choices and and how to make them at each turn.

    The aspect that is most distinct about this game is that you have more and more strategic and tactical choices and more importantly you will be forced to use them on the campaign map and on the battlefield.

    Battles are so much more interesting and the amount of diversity in terms of units, tactics, terrain, action, and abilities is amazing. This is a far better battlefield experience than other TW titles.

    The art of total war is now more authentic and more diverse. Just need more factions to explore this fully.

    I believe I am going to enjoy this game for a long time.    … Expand
  5. pecks
    Sep 5, 2013
    10
    This is a great game and a step on from Shogun2 both for gameplay and graphics and also for probably the best historical setting for a total war game.

    There are a lot of low scores for tech/grphical issues with some grphics cards which i am sure will be patched soon. So this should not take away from a great game. PS. for balance not a fan of the new capture points in open battles    This is a great game and a step on from Shogun2 both for gameplay and graphics and also for probably the best historical setting for a total war game.

    There are a lot of low scores for tech/grphical issues with some grphics cards which i am sure will be patched soon. So this should not take away from a great game.

    PS. for balance not a fan of the new capture points in open battles (but its not a game breaker)    … Expand
  6. Dr_Fumbles_
    Sep 11, 2013
    10
    Positives
    Love the provincial system. It really lets you turn some cities into big factory or military production cities without it just causing constant riots. Edicts are awesome.
    I actually enjoy the UI a lot. It is different from other games and you will have to learn it, but it wasn't very difficult for me. Like the multiple victory goals. Kinda leans you towards where you want to    Positives
    Love the provincial system. It really lets you turn some cities into big factory or military production cities without it just causing constant riots. Edicts are awesome.
    I actually enjoy the UI a lot. It is different from other games and you will have to learn it, but it wasn't very difficult for me.
    Like the multiple victory goals. Kinda leans you towards where you want to go. Also love that client states and military allies are counted towards your overall territory. Allows you to have the best empire without just murdering everyone.
    Love the different modes armies can be in Raiding, Fortification, forced march. They were something I didn't use for a long time, but realized the use of them later.
    Agents are actually pretty useful, and all seem diverse in what they can do without being OP like in Shogun 2.

    Negatives
    Dumb AI. They aren't bad in most battles, but when they are having offensive siege battles they sometimes just stand outside the walls or run into a wall of pikes. Needs work.
    Turns take a while. Especially late game. When you have lots of trade partners and see most of the world. All the factions can take a while (usually some good diplomacy and battles in that time though)
    Sometimes enemy generals won't die and just try to besiege your city every turn with like 13 guys, but the unit never dies.
    Lots of people are having bug issues (I haven't really had any yet) One freeze during a lot of play.

    Overall this game is probably an 7-8 right now. It needs some work, but the work is being done, so as long as it gets done I'm still giving it a 10. The game has AWESOME potential, and is still very enjoyable to play. I'd suggest waiting like 6 months if you haven't gotten the game so some kinks are worked out. I'm just tired of seeing a million 0's from people who just don't like the AI or UI. Wait a while and get the game. I wouldn't want to miss this game just because of a crap buggy launch.    … Expand
  7. BaronVonSachsen
    Sep 8, 2013
    9
    Total War has been a long standing favorite of my mine. I've been with the franchise since the first Rome: Total War so this game is like coming full circle for me. While it's not a perfect homecoming by any means, it's a homecoming that any Total War fan will enjoy.
  8. MarcusManus
    Nov 12, 2013
    5
    I originally gave this game a 10 after 14 hours....
    I need to revisit that score and now give it a solid 5.
    Too many errors and design flaws to list here, please review the official forums for more information, or better yet, angryjoe. AI is the primary concern, along with stripped down features that make this game sad. Very sad. Breaks my heard. I uninstalled it until they do some    I originally gave this game a 10 after 14 hours....
    I need to revisit that score and now give it a solid 5.
    Too many errors and design flaws to list here, please review the official forums for more information, or better yet, angryjoe.
    AI is the primary concern, along with stripped down features that make this game sad. Very sad. Breaks my heard. I uninstalled it until they do some serious work on it.    … Expand
  9. johnmitto
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    good game, suffers from a bit of performance issues, but the gameplay still holds true, making this a fine installation into the total war series and a real gem once everything is ironed out
  10. drez
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Boy I was really excited for this one. I pre-ordered and avidly pursued all I could that was available to preview before its release. I'd say about a week or so before its scheduled release I became worried and then irritated at a load of negative perception on the TWC forums from folks who just seemed determined to be angry at CA for either the price, or the DLC or something relativelyBoy I was really excited for this one. I pre-ordered and avidly pursued all I could that was available to preview before its release. I'd say about a week or so before its scheduled release I became worried and then irritated at a load of negative perception on the TWC forums from folks who just seemed determined to be angry at CA for either the price, or the DLC or something relatively trivial in comparison to the scope and grandeur of the game. Some of the more serious complaints centered around the AI. Then the first reviews came out and they were mixed... with reviewers claiming something bad (like naval combat) while others claiming the same things was good. So here it is on release day and 10 hours later I am thrilled with this game. I've been playing TW games since MTW1 so I am no newcomer to the franchise and this is the best one yet. Hands down. I was so relieved that the AI was not terrible either in campaign mode or in battle mode. Especially considering it is release day and as history shows CA will improve the game immensely from now on and then mods will pick up the torch and in the end it will be one of the best games I've ever played. Graphics are superb, UI is superb, sound is superb, action is superb, immersion is superb. Except that the wait between turns is a tad lengthy. I highly recommend this game. It is worth buying now at a premium price and will be absolutely worth buying for less in the future.… Expand
  11. Shperax
    Sep 11, 2013
    10
    ver 1.1 Simply put. Anyone complaining about low FPS must just have a out dated PC. Please its time to upgrade. Do you wanna be stuck with console graphics forever. A i7 sandy ivy or haswell and a gtx770+ or 7970ghz+ run this game at 60+ on Ultra all day every day. Its like people expect their crap PC's to play the best graphical RTS with over 1000+ individual men on the battle fields. Itsver 1.1 Simply put. Anyone complaining about low FPS must just have a out dated PC. Please its time to upgrade. Do you wanna be stuck with console graphics forever. A i7 sandy ivy or haswell and a gtx770+ or 7970ghz+ run this game at 60+ on Ultra all day every day. Its like people expect their crap PC's to play the best graphical RTS with over 1000+ individual men on the battle fields. Its just not gonna happen. Most of the bugs people complained about were fixed very fast. There is so much that the devs put into this game most other games you pay $60 for don't have 1/4 of the content. The AI is great despite what people say. The enemy will "Lure" "Flank" "Double Flank" and even set up ambushes from the other side of hills or in trees. How is this bad AI? I guess people want to see a blitzkrieg every battle. Don't listen to the junky PC haters out there and do yourself a favor and buy this game. I pirated the game and loved it so much I bought it for $60. Not waiting for steam sale on this one. I usually never buy games unless i have to or the game is so good the devs deserve my money, so that says a lot. I still can't believe these user reviews. Its clear that only Critics and 500 users actually have good gaming rigs.… Expand
  12. Ukgamer
    Sep 5, 2013
    7
    The game is great but a lot of bugs and lag at the min that's the reason for a 7 maybe ill give it a 9 or 10 when they sort the game out i don't see why all the hate is on the game i think is not too bad the way it is now
  13. AGrrrr
    Sep 9, 2013
    8
    Many negative user reviews are coming out about this game and I would like to give a less emotional review. Rome 2 feels similar to Shogun 2 with more realistic battle engagements than in past total war games. Many elements of the original Rome have been updated to be more streamlined and easier to understand (which has been the source of many negative reviews). If you are a fan of theMany negative user reviews are coming out about this game and I would like to give a less emotional review. Rome 2 feels similar to Shogun 2 with more realistic battle engagements than in past total war games. Many elements of the original Rome have been updated to be more streamlined and easier to understand (which has been the source of many negative reviews). If you are a fan of the Total War series then you might not be happy with some of the changes they have made. However, if you are new to the series, you will be blown away by how good it is.

    Creative Assembly had set the bar really high with the original release of Rome. They don't quite live up to the expectations but Rome 2 is still a great game.    … Expand
  14. TheOnlineGamer
    Sep 17, 2013
    6
    For what it's worth, it's a decent game. It does however, have a fantastic foundation and one I hope gets expanded upon in the future.

    Full of dull moments and gameplay mechanics really brings this otherwise good game down. Some of the pop-ins and lags also drag things out and the execution for the game is EXTREMELY lazy! Hope things get better in Rome 3.....
  15. Ayestes
    Sep 30, 2013
    6
    Given mod and patch support I see the game turning out very well, but at the moment just like with most Total War games you pretty much need to wait out the initial period of issues. That said, I did enjoy a full campaign already so it's not horrible by any means it's just a disappointment compared to Shogun. This game does carry a bunch of improved features though which removed a lot ofGiven mod and patch support I see the game turning out very well, but at the moment just like with most Total War games you pretty much need to wait out the initial period of issues. That said, I did enjoy a full campaign already so it's not horrible by any means it's just a disappointment compared to Shogun. This game does carry a bunch of improved features though which removed a lot of the tedium, which I liked. Just wait a few months if you are interested and I'm sure the game will be fine.… Expand
  16. Jayras
    Oct 5, 2013
    8
    this game may not be the best TW game, but this is certainly an extremely good one but with bugs. Alot of the bugs others are getting I'm not getting so I had a good experience. Everytime I go into a siege battle where I'm the attacker the game always crashes so that was a let down
  17. XenoVirus
    Dec 5, 2013
    10
    Game is great. Patches help. Mods help more. I have played every TW game and this is the one I have gotten most into. Over 140 hours into it so far. As Suebia literally at war with all of Spain, Greece, and Rome and its never a dull moment. Never had a crash or any tech issues. They have auto guard now btw, that's why there is no guard button. Probably takes a long time to adjust to theGame is great. Patches help. Mods help more. I have played every TW game and this is the one I have gotten most into. Over 140 hours into it so far. As Suebia literally at war with all of Spain, Greece, and Rome and its never a dull moment. Never had a crash or any tech issues. They have auto guard now btw, that's why there is no guard button. Probably takes a long time to adjust to the changes but they are all for the best. AI still needs work, but mods make that irrelevant.… Expand
  18. saraLP
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    O jogo sensacional, grandioso em todos os aspectos. CA tem feito um grande trabalho em manter viva e sólida a franquia. Quanto aos problemas comumente citados, provavelmente serão corrigidos, talvez com exceção da AI, mas a otimização do jogo, a correção de pequenas imperfeições e uma diminuição no tempo de carregamento entre turnos levará esse jogo ao pedestal do melhor já feito sobreO jogo sensacional, grandioso em todos os aspectos. CA tem feito um grande trabalho em manter viva e sólida a franquia. Quanto aos problemas comumente citados, provavelmente serão corrigidos, talvez com exceção da AI, mas a otimização do jogo, a correção de pequenas imperfeições e uma diminuição no tempo de carregamento entre turnos levará esse jogo ao pedestal do melhor já feito sobre esse período histórico, rivalizando apenas com seu antecessor.… Expand
  19. Beastski
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    It might not be the best total war game yet, but they will patch it soon and fix everything wrong with the game. They should have been more prepared for the release, but giving it a score as low such as a straight up 0 is jumping the gun.
  20. BlackJackTomato
    Sep 5, 2013
    9
    Best TW ever. Period
    TW are always a game about create a giant army and fight against giant armies. Rome II was the first step to be less TOTAL WAR and litte more Grand Strategy, and I love it.
    The game have bugs, yes, but my PC runs the game well, the IA is bad, like all TW. "OH THE GAME IS A CRAP BAD OPTIMIZATION, BAD GAME, CA IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER" CA is fixing it, and you    Best TW ever. Period
    TW are always a game about create a giant army and fight against giant armies. Rome II was the first step to be less TOTAL WAR and litte more Grand Strategy, and I love it.

    The game have bugs, yes, but my PC runs the game well, the IA is bad, like all TW.

    "OH THE GAME IS A CRAP BAD OPTIMIZATION, BAD GAME, CA IS THE WORST COMPANY EVER"
    CA is fixing it, and you play Rome II in December and say, Oh, the game is... cool.

    Rome II patches 10/10

    Contragulations CA!    … Expand
  21. Disconnection
    Sep 11, 2013
    9
    Does the game beat the good old classic Rome: Total War? In some areas it does, in some it does not.

    The Creative Assembly did a good job in creating this sequel. Rome 2 Total War has very good gameplay and shows nice visuals. Also the game is more historical correct to the timeperiod than the previous Rome game. Diplomacy is now very clear and shows great details of their opinions of    Does the game beat the good old classic Rome: Total War? In some areas it does, in some it does not.

    The Creative Assembly did a good job in creating this sequel. Rome 2 Total War has very good gameplay and shows nice visuals. Also the game is more historical correct to the timeperiod than the previous Rome game. Diplomacy is now very clear and shows great details of their opinions of your faction of choice.

    The visuals of the game a very nice. The game features a cinematic camera which places your view right into the action. However, the game is said to be optimised for low end computers. But many crashes and bugs have been reported already. With high settings, the game can be played at 25-30 fps on a mediocre computer. But the lower end computers will really suffer from big armies marching on screen.

    The UI of the game can be confusing when you just start the game. And takes too much from the screen. But some elements of the UI can be collapsed. But a new played will not be able to play sufficient without these elements, which takes away the point of having the ability to collapse.

    The AI of the game seems to deploy their troops in the same locations over and over agian. And does not really seem to use any tactics. Compared to the previous Rome Total War game, this game however has better diplomacy. Allies will not suddenly attack without a reason and you can clearly see the reasons why factions like or hate you.

    City management has changed very much. In this sequal, the player can capture regions/provinces. By only selecting one of the minor towns or by selecting the major city of a region, one can build in all towns and cities of that region. So the player does not have to go through all the cities to see if there is anything to be done or to check public order. Because public order is managed in a region, not per city or town. Also the role of towns and cities have changed. The major town/city of a region is ment to focus on military and entertainment, while the minor towns focus on production. But the player has the freedom of choice to build any building in any town. Capturing an intire province/region gives the player the option to boost their region.

    The multiplayer works similar to that of Shogun 2 Total War, but without a random match maker. The player can now set up a match or join a match.

    Overall the game has its flaws but those can be, and I am sure they will be fixed by The Creative Assembly in the future.    … Expand
  22. svendaviking
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    People complaining about performance and graphical issues has clearly not been with the series from the start. This is a massive game and it's hard to have it fully optimized on release. Previous games has had the same issues, but the bugs and fps drops will solved be solved within 1-2 weeks. But we'll probably have to wait about 4 months until it's fully optimized.
    The gameplay is    People complaining about performance and graphical issues has clearly not been with the series from the start. This is a massive game and it's hard to have it fully optimized on release. Previous games has had the same issues, but the bugs and fps drops will solved be solved within 1-2 weeks. But we'll probably have to wait about 4 months until it's fully optimized.
    The gameplay is amazing! I really got that feel that ruled an empire. Loved the combat and all the new features!    … Expand
  23. Maiser
    Sep 5, 2013
    7
    This is not a rage review, i can play it without any lag. I will omit all rage critics because of crashes(even tough they are several atm), because i expect they will solve it. I will just review it as a "non-poluted" game.

    -Worse graphics than shogun 2 total war. -AI, as bad as always. -Commerce destroyed. You can only commerce from your capital, if you have not sea near(or even    This is not a rage review, i can play it without any lag. I will omit all rage critics because of crashes(even tough they are several atm), because i expect they will solve it. I will just review it as a "non-poluted" game.

    -Worse graphics than shogun 2 total war.

    -AI, as bad as always.

    -Commerce destroyed. You can only commerce from your capital, if you have not sea near(or even if you have it and can not build a port for god´s know why) forget it.

    -City improvement system destroyed. How is this that the avarage of buildings for a city are 4 fully improved and can never be more? Ridiculous.

    -Battle system destroyed. The longes battle you will play will last 10 minutes. Units just route in about 20 seconds at most. No blood or nothing, you do not realise if units have fought or not. Also the "epicness" of cities you expected, forget it.

    You are paying for "the popularity" of the franchise, not for the game itself. Did not expect this from CA taking in account it has been the most financed game of all the franchise. They must have spend it in publicity or something, as otherwhise i do not understand how did they got up with this.

    Neither the UI neither the battles makes you feel like "yes, finally i managed to capture this! It is just so arcade and feeling less.

    To sum up i would say a mediocre-good game, but a bad game to be from total war saga. Entertaining but without getting you enthusiastic on it.

    P.D: I have played all total war games since rome total war.    … Expand
  24. baojin
    Sep 5, 2013
    8
    This game is quite good even if there have been a lot of changes compared to every other total war. They might be confusing at first but might prove interesting in the long run.

    Graphics are good except the characters (generals, agents...) portraits in the campaign map which look low quality somehow. Battles are very dynamic and interesting, much deadlier than before which reflects the    This game is quite good even if there have been a lot of changes compared to every other total war. They might be confusing at first but might prove interesting in the long run.

    Graphics are good except the characters (generals, agents...) portraits in the campaign map which look low quality somehow. Battles are very dynamic and interesting, much deadlier than before which reflects the savage times.

    The sea+land battles aren't really great but maybe it gets better with higher technology tier.

    The AI is still more or less the same, a darthmod will probably make the game much better... but so far it's quite good.

    Performance wise, i guess people who complain got hamster-powered PCs, everything's on extreme here and i just have an i5 3570k a GTX 660 TI and it's smooth like hell so a decent rig but nowhere near high end. Just some textures look kinda bad sometimes, i guess some DLC will fix it. Also, loading times are much, much, much better than shogun II which took aeons to load.

    The only thing that still didn't change and still doesn't make one bit of a sense is that if u defeat a faction, along with ur allies and that u turn this faction as ur "client state", your allies are still at war with it. It's absurd. It was the same in Shogun...

    I don't know about all the crying on the family tree. U guys played 2 minutes or what Or u don't understand the whole new concept they created for senate control It's not about a dynasty anymore, it's about a whole family that has to rule Rome.

    Idem for generals, they are generals a set number of years, then they change job, so you have to renew them.

    Stop crying everytime someone is innovating or go develop yourself a total war game.    … Expand
  25. fuzzayd
    Oct 4, 2013
    9
    This is a great game that had an awful release. I had issues with the game, but now, with Patch 4 out, my concerns are addressed and I truly enjoy the whole game. That being said, I already put in 100 hours in its imperfect state!

    What Rome 2 has in bounds, and shares this with the best other TW titles, is atmosphere. And I'd argue that Rome 2 surpasses them on the campaign map    This is a great game that had an awful release. I had issues with the game, but now, with Patch 4 out, my concerns are addressed and I truly enjoy the whole game. That being said, I already put in 100 hours in its imperfect state!

    What Rome 2 has in bounds, and shares this with the best other TW titles, is atmosphere. And I'd argue that Rome 2 surpasses them on the campaign map alone. The map is massive and well designed. The forests of Germania have paths that can allow for chokepoints every so often, while the northern steppes are vast, hard to cross, and frustrating to fight in. The same can be said for the deserts in Arabia and Gedrosia.

    Diplomacy is the best in any TW. Your ally's territory now counts towards your victory goals, so the days of backstabbing allies are over (unless you want to). I cultivated an alliance with Media Atropane and watched happily as they took care of the nomads that were bothering me.

    Battles are fun as well especially with the recent patches. Playing as Parthia, running circles around phalanx troops and crushing then has never been more fun. My strategies had to change for each faction type I faced (Eastern, Greek, etc).

    The role playing aspect has shifted somewhat. If you go slowly, you can sort of get into generals themselves, but the real aspect that makes you attached is the ability to name and level up armies. It's very fun to have specialized armies I had one used for hard siege battles, and another that was more mobile and fast.

    Overall, the games has some flaws I don't feel attached to my generals (just like I didn't in Shogun 2: FotS or ETW/Nap), and the earlier flaws in gameplay were awful.

    I enjoy the new building system. Gone are the days of building everything in each settlement as Rome I had three different coastal cities with three different port types. This adds to the strategic value of settlements, since if the AI takes my military port, my navies will struggle if they take losses. Same goes for the trading port I'll lose a lot of money.

    Non-coastal settlements are the same way. I had an industry and trade-heavy settlement, fed by a few settlements of farms and temples for happiness. The AI took my farming settlement, and suddenly I had a food shortage and less happiness. The ability to have groups of settlements in larger territories, and to issue edicts that benefit multiple provinces is a great way to push for strategic conquests and boost things like trade, food, happiness, and recruitment.

    As it stands, Rome II is a fantastic game and well worth playing. I'm looking forward to taking my best legion and marching off into Thrace now, fighting many unique factions and in diverse landscapes. Love it!    … Expand
  26. Steve24959
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    This is the Total War game so many have been waiting for. People complaining about performance issues and lack of multi-card support really need to relax until drivers and profiles have been released. Have you ever bought a new game before? The load times in this are excellent compared to Shogun 2, if you think otherwise... get a SSD. Load times have been a couple seconds at the most. ThisThis is the Total War game so many have been waiting for. People complaining about performance issues and lack of multi-card support really need to relax until drivers and profiles have been released. Have you ever bought a new game before? The load times in this are excellent compared to Shogun 2, if you think otherwise... get a SSD. Load times have been a couple seconds at the most. This game will provide hundreds and hundreds of great hours of epic scaled gaming. I can easily say best game I've bought all year, not to mention the only game I've bothered to pre-order. Any Total War fan knew what they in for when they pre-ordered this. To those who didn't know what they were getting into, just be patient; this is the price you pay for greatness. A required addition to the collection for any Total War fan, and a highly recommended addition for anyone that has hours to burn on another CA masterpiece.… Expand
  27. Fir
    Sep 4, 2013
    9
    Compared to the original Rome, almost everything has noticeably changed aside from the setting and the staples of Total War games (Real time battles, turn based empire management, controlling regions, etc.). However, compared to the more recent TW games like Empire and Shogun 2, there's a lot of similarities, so if you've played those than a lot of this should sound familiar. Here's aCompared to the original Rome, almost everything has noticeably changed aside from the setting and the staples of Total War games (Real time battles, turn based empire management, controlling regions, etc.). However, compared to the more recent TW games like Empire and Shogun 2, there's a lot of similarities, so if you've played those than a lot of this should sound familiar. Here's a rundown of the differences I've found from Rome 1:
    -Cities are very different. In Rome 1 each region had its own settlement that you could build on and upgrade to infinite, in Rome 2 settlements are combined into provinces, where there is one major capital of the region that gets walls, and the rest are smaller towns without walls. As an example, the province of Italia has 4 settlements that make up northern Italy, with Rome as the capital of the province. Many of the main capital cities like Carthage, Alexandria, Rome, etc. have unique layouts. Cities now have a certain number of building slots, that can be filled with certain buildings, meaning cities have to be specialized (cities focused on army production, trade, culture, etc.), instead of building anything and everything you wanted. Empire and Shogun 2 had similar setups.
    Prepare to think hard about what buildings to build and be ready for a lot more small town wall-less battles, seeing as the vast majority of settlements don't have walls, which was almost unheard of in the original Rome. Personally I really like the city-slot system, as its got much more depth than the "build whatever you want wherever you can afford it" of the original, though I wish more cities had walls because siege weapons are fun.
    The overall game map is also noticeably bigger, stretching all the way from Spain to western India, covering more of Northern/Eastern Europe as well as the entire Arabian Peninsula. The map is a little more streamlined, since armies are fewer and far between (see below).
    There's also a research tree (similar to Civ), that means there's progression in buildings and units as you play, instead of Rome 1 where everyone except Rome had the same buildings/units available in turn 1 as they did in turn 200. The system is simple, with a tree focused on military stuff and a tree focused on economic/empire management (very similar to Shogun 2).
    -Army management has some major differences. Cities now have their own, free defenders based on the level of defenses for the city, meaning every settlement, big or small, has some level of inherent defense. The number of actual armies you can control is based on the number of regions you control and they have to be led by named generals, meaning you have to move and manage your armies with purpose and intent and you can't just throw some units together on a whim when you see an enemy army coming. Also, naval combat is in this one and its freaking awesome, along with the ability to land naval units/transports during battle, meaning armies and navies can co-exist in a single fight.
    -Armies and generals get upgrades as they fight (very similar to Shogun 2), meaning you get to specialize your armies and generals to your liking. The system of traits and retainers for generals is still there, but you have a lot more control over how your generals progress and what retainers they take along, though much like Rome 1 many of the traits feel pretty negligible (+3% skirmisher attack speed, +5% morale, etc). Agents are very different from Rome 1 (no more diplomats thank god), and have a similar upgrade tree to generals. Families play a much less important role in Rome 2 than Rome 1, though each faction has a political "senate-esque" system they have to deal with, which is cool.
    -Unit and faction diversity is comparable to Rome 1, with more of a focus on historical accuracy in this one, IMO. Each faction has different traits, and then there families within each faction that vary the traits and abilities even more, meaning there's a lot of differences in each of the factions (the complete opposite of Shogun 2 or Empire).
    -The battles themselves are excellent, the amount of detail on each soldier's armor and the way they interact with the world is freaking awesome, whether its watching soldiers jump through marketplaces and break things or put up their shields during missile attacks and talk about the enemy's aim. The battles aren't as "flashy" as Rome 1 could be, but the feel and the atmosphere is far superior. The AI is challenging on higher difficulties, but every now and again it totally screws up and that can break a lot of the immersion. The UI is hit or miss, I like the aesthetic but the overall lack of numbers and extended tooltips means it's hard to catch stuff at a glance and is clunky until you memorize what all the buttons and symbols mean. Some people don't like the "faded" color-scheme and overall hue of the game, but it doesn't bother me.    … Expand
  28. Leonardoamarelo
    Sep 3, 2013
    10
    Ganhou meu 10! item indispensável àqueles que gostam de história e jogos de estratégia que desafiam o intelecto. E jogadores novatos, não se preocupem, o simples fato de ver milhares de soldados combatendo uns aos outros e o prazer sádico de observar tapetes de corpos inimigos espalhado pelo campo de batalha já valem a compra.
  29. toredevir
    Sep 8, 2013
    7
    Lets play statistic: 1285 ratings vs 93k people playing the game right now not caring about metacritic
    753 say it sucks, but only 433 show they like it.. LETS BANISH THIS GAME
  30. echo_whiskey
    Sep 10, 2013
    8
    20130910 I really don't understand the negative reviews at all. I've played the game daily since it was released and I'm still enjoying the heck out of it. I played STW, MTW, RTW, MTWII, ETW, NTW, STW2. This game really isn't any different from those games, just updated.

    I notice that people keep whining about the lack of a family tree; frankly I don't need a family full of halfwit    20130910 I really don't understand the negative reviews at all. I've played the game daily since it was released and I'm still enjoying the heck out of it. I played STW, MTW, RTW, MTWII, ETW, NTW, STW2. This game really isn't any different from those games, just updated.

    I notice that people keep whining about the lack of a family tree; frankly I don't need a family full of halfwit generals that get shunted to backwater posts where they can accumulate even more negative traits and breed an even larger army of halfwit children. Other people gripe about a lack of guard mode learn the controls, you can assign an AI behavior to duplicate that.

    The only gameplay thing that really bothers me is that a blockade by some other faction on a port city will keep me from invading the port city with my army. I read somewhere that this will be fixed, so I'm not terribly worried about it. Most of my actual complaints are so minor that I can't even think of them right now.

    All that said, you do need a pretty awesome computer to play this with a lot of maxed out eye-candy. I'm running an amd fx4 with 8gb and a gtx 470 and I'm playing with most features on low. I'm upgrading to an hd 7950 this week so I'll see if a little more video card grunt helps significantly or not and will see about updating my review with that information.

    One thing I hate about the internet is the expansion of the entitlement mentality regarding trivial stuff like games. It's difficult to believe that so many people are whining so loudly about this. Almost makes me wish that the internet could be rolled back.    … 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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