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. allenbsmith
    Jan 8, 2014
    5
    This game is a disappointment for Total War fans, especially the ones who loved the original Rome: Total War game. The game could have been the best in the series, but it is buggy, unoptimized, and unpolished. However, if you're not a fan of the series, and you're new to the total war series, then you might find this to be a fun and interesting experience, especially if you enjoy RTSThis game is a disappointment for Total War fans, especially the ones who loved the original Rome: Total War game. The game could have been the best in the series, but it is buggy, unoptimized, and unpolished. However, if you're not a fan of the series, and you're new to the total war series, then you might find this to be a fun and interesting experience, especially if you enjoy RTS games.

    I believe this game should have had several more months if not an entire year of extra work, and I'll tell you why. Even on a high-end PC, this game runs poorly. Check for benchmarks and you'll see this game only getting 35 FPS average from systems with an Nvidia TITAN GPU. This has bad engineering written all over it. This game also suffers from a tremendous amount of bugs. The AI is really lacking when they can't even make basic decisions such as taking back a victory point from you less they lose in 50 seconds. To be honest, the AI always has been weak, but that's rather understandable. It's probably one of the hardest AIs to program, and being a programmer myself, I can say it would be a rather difficult logical challenge. Most people just don't understand this. Trust me, if it was easy, then the AI would be brilliant, but it's not. However, it does not excuse the AI's inability to perform actions such as climbing a ladder (no, they can't even do that sometimes). Lastly, the game itself just seems unpolished if not lacking a lot of content. The political system is not explained nor is comprehensible. It just seems useless. There are no extra content videos (except for a general death) to give the campaign life as there usually is, and a feature, previous in the Shogun 2 multiplayer, has been stripped from Rome 2. I could be wrong, but it just seemed like the game was rushed and incomplete. It was as though the development had to make some tough decision that would not only leave out content, but cheapen it just so the game could be released on time. This is probably due to an agreement CA made with SEGA. Mike Simpson even mentioned before with the release of Empire (another Total War game) that there biggest customer was SEGA, and that games have to be released on time at the expense of quality.

    On a side note, I am also having trouble understanding how this game got such positive scores from big name reviewers such as Gamespot and IGN. (Actually, if you read the Gamespot review, you'll notice that it is vague and without merit, the reviewer doesn't seem to mention and specifics, and uses "big" words to cover this up. They probably only played the game for a few hours, and called it quits. There are no screenshots or videos by Gamespot to be found post release for that game.) I have just lost faith in those companies.

    Anyway, I don't want to convey anger just disappointment. I was so excited for this game. In fact, I had never been so pumped for a game in my entire life. I pre-ordered without hesitation, and I haven't pre-ordered a game in several years. I'm just saddened by the state of this game. If you're enjoying Rome 2, then I'm happy for you. I just wish I could.    … Expand
  2. mosti
    Jan 8, 2014
    10
    08/01/2014
    Lots of bug fixes since the release of this game. You will find the majority of negative reviews were written before these major fixes.
    I was scpetical but purchased the game after the latest patch. Game is absolutely amazing and highly addictive. There are a few issues I have with camera panning etc which ticks me off and slight issues with micro management of units of the    08/01/2014
    Lots of bug fixes since the release of this game. You will find the majority of negative reviews were written before these major fixes.
    I was scpetical but purchased the game after the latest patch. Game is absolutely amazing and highly addictive. There are a few issues I have with camera panning etc which ticks me off and slight issues with micro management of units of the battlefield but overall quite a solid game.
    I'm new to the total war franchise so not sure if this is above of below their average.
    Would recommend this game    … Expand
  3. slimmyg
    Jan 7, 2014
    0
    I have played the total war series from Rome 1. This game is the least enjoyable of them all. A big step down from Shogun 2. Confusing, boring, and uninspired.
  4. claown
    Jan 6, 2014
    1
    So i tried this game again the last few days. Spent some new 25 hours trying out the attempts at fixing it, and installed some of the mods that fixes the worst dumb-downs. Technically, my game works PERFECT. Not a single crash, even using quite a few mods and ultra settings

    Still... This game is a complete and utter waste of time. Its pure grinding. This is the kind of game you watch    So i tried this game again the last few days. Spent some new 25 hours trying out the attempts at fixing it, and installed some of the mods that fixes the worst dumb-downs. Technically, my game works PERFECT. Not a single crash, even using quite a few mods and ultra settings

    Still...

    This game is a complete and utter waste of time. Its pure grinding. This is the kind of game you watch a video while playing. You can have debates with your wife. Read a newspaper. Count your money. Make dinner. Then, after doing all that it will hit you:
    You dont give a eff about your nation, fraction, generals, agents, cash flow, political situation or anything else on the strategic map.. A clear symptom of this is you wont even bother to fight battles manually. You will save sessions, then never bother to open them again, knowing you will always easily win if only you bother to invest LODS of micromanaging time into the savegame. Its pure grinding. And no challenge.

    Also, please take note of all the super reviews here comes in clusters. My guess is that CA, instead of trying to save this mess, is trying to save their profit margin by faking user rewievs.Just like they bought pro reviews The reason i assume this is i cannot fathom how any strategy fan can find this game an interesting challenge.

    Here is an example of pure grind: While playing as egypt, i grew quite big. And when you grow big, a LOT of factions wants to be your pal. ALL the time. 11 turns in a row Axiom approached me, asking for a pact of some sort. WTf silly mechanics is thats? Pressing "x" to cancel proposal 11 times in a row is pure sillyness. And imagine, every gawd damned end turn i had 3-4-5-6 small single city factions asking me the same silly pacts all the time. I cant even go afk and expect the turn to end by itself, because the AI turn stops while waiting for feedback from me. So i have to sit there, answering the same nagging questions all the time during the AI turns too. do 10 turns, answer proposals from AI factions 4-5 times pr turn. Thats 50 times pressing X while waiting for your armies to reach libya after conquering ethiopia. 10 years of travel time^. Your generals, who grew in level fighting ethiopia, dies while travelling a few regions, and all CA wants you to do is press "no thanks, i dont want to have a defensive ally with your sized one region state somewhere in the balkans" 50 times...

    Playing minesweeper involves more strategy. I HATE this game. Its all eye candy and no real playability. Dont buy it, please.    … Expand
  5. jaunetajabe
    Jan 6, 2014
    2
    Thousands of minor bugs that makes this game unplayable, every map every turn are lots of things that are not cleary defined and makes the game boring and untactical.
    After 9 patches all is a big mess, nobody knows if politics works or how it works!
  6. Jackoftales
    Jan 6, 2014
    1
    I was really looking forward to this game and unfortunately relied on the official reviews, not user reviews. The game itself is fine in my opinion. Its a fun game, although the graphics are pretty terrible during battles. The thing that kills this game is the AI and the bugs. There are just SO MANY bugs even after the game came out months ago. I can't even run the game from it crashing toI was really looking forward to this game and unfortunately relied on the official reviews, not user reviews. The game itself is fine in my opinion. Its a fun game, although the graphics are pretty terrible during battles. The thing that kills this game is the AI and the bugs. There are just SO MANY bugs even after the game came out months ago. I can't even run the game from it crashing to desktop randomly. Even after working with their support over several days to fix the problem, the crashes are still occurring. AI refuses to fight in a way that's even slightly logical. They'll let you lure individual units away and watch as your entire army eats them. During sieges, they'll sit and watch as you send troops out to engage and then destroy their siege towers without even moving forward to shoot or attack any of your troops--even when outnumbering you ten to one.… Expand
  7. Driftic
    Jan 6, 2014
    7
    At launch, it was more enjoyable to electrocute your eyeball with a stun gun than play this game. But now there have been a lot of patches that have semi-fixed the ai and performance. I have found the game fun after these patches, and with mods that make the textures better and enhance the campaign Rome 2 is very addicting if you are a fan of the genre.
  8. janlans
    Jan 4, 2014
    0
    I love the total war saga so much that I cant describe it with words. I have wanted to play this game for a very long time now and when it finaly released it was completely unplayable, lots of bugs and horrible ai. I have waited 4 months now for them to patch it, but it is still unplayable. I cant even play campaign, custom match or the prologue. I would say this game is completelyI love the total war saga so much that I cant describe it with words. I have wanted to play this game for a very long time now and when it finaly released it was completely unplayable, lots of bugs and horrible ai. I have waited 4 months now for them to patch it, but it is still unplayable. I cant even play campaign, custom match or the prologue. I would say this game is completely unplayable even with 4 moths of patching.… Expand
  9. WayT101
    Jan 4, 2014
    0
    Everything that needs to be said about the state of this game at release and as of now even with all the patches has been said, I can tell you from my own experience that the vast majority of issues listed in the negative reviews for this game on this site I have experienced for myself. This game gets a 0 from me for being worthless to play at release and for still being unfinished evenEverything that needs to be said about the state of this game at release and as of now even with all the patches has been said, I can tell you from my own experience that the vast majority of issues listed in the negative reviews for this game on this site I have experienced for myself. This game gets a 0 from me for being worthless to play at release and for still being unfinished even with all of the patching and for the disgusting business practices, examples being the pre-order bonus, blatant false advertising and paid-off professional critics. Don't waste your money on this if you want a good Total War or strategy game for that matter; buy Shogun 2 the entire package has been in on steam sales for less than £10 which is great value for money and even scales well with your PC capabilities. In my opinion Companies like The Creative Assembly and especially scum like Sega should be boycotted into bankruptcy.… Expand
  10. HauntedDonut
    Jan 4, 2014
    10
    I personally have had ZERO issues with this game. I've pumped in over 200 hours so far and still loving it. I have to admit, the learning curve was a bit too big from Shogun 2. But once handled, this game deserves all the praise it gets. Not the strongest title in TOTAL WAR, but most certainly a fantastic game.
  11. simonpd38
    Jan 3, 2014
    10
    it's simply fantastic! people whining need to learn patients! I am sure all glitches and bugs will be fixed over time! And you say shogun 2 is good? In shogun 2, u get instant and constast attacks from every freaking side. Rome 2 actually gives you allot of breathing, to develop your city, unit's, as well as your researching!! i love this game!
  12. Renevilfortune
    Jan 3, 2014
    9
    Never played any games in the series. I tried to play the Fall of the Samurai, but it was too difficult to pick up on. Anyway, so was this game, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'll give this game 9/10 because in all honesty that's where it seems to be heading with all the patches. I was crashing left and right last week, but have not experienced a single crash for almost a week. I loveNever played any games in the series. I tried to play the Fall of the Samurai, but it was too difficult to pick up on. Anyway, so was this game, but I'm getting the hang of it. I'll give this game 9/10 because in all honesty that's where it seems to be heading with all the patches. I was crashing left and right last week, but have not experienced a single crash for almost a week. I love the game, except I'm playing on normal... lol. It's difficult for me still, but this game is enjoyable as hell. I just love the warfare.

    This game does have its cons, but when I bought it for $23 on GMG, then I thought it was a deal. This game is worth my money. I'm pretty sure by the end of the year I'll raise it to 10/10 when it's optimized better. Anyway, I'm running this game on 4 year computer, but still looks beautiful. I don't experience that much frame rate drops during warfare, just for custom games to which I customized ridiculously.

    Personally, I love this game and I don't even play these type of games. I think it's a well made game, but I'm curious to know what things they left out from previous games. Still, awesome game and will continue to get better.

    I've never written review before... but these reviews of less 4 are ridiculous.    … Expand
  13. Buzzerker
    Jan 3, 2014
    8
    Why would anyone rate this game so low? As if you are all armchair generals with Westpoint backgrounds LOL! If you bought the game through Steam you have access to the Workshop, and for this reason this game is highly customizable. Thank you Steam just for being you. without that workshop full of mods this game would take forever to be fixed to my liking the unit cards are a glaringWhy would anyone rate this game so low? As if you are all armchair generals with Westpoint backgrounds LOL! If you bought the game through Steam you have access to the Workshop, and for this reason this game is highly customizable. Thank you Steam just for being you. without that workshop full of mods this game would take forever to be fixed to my liking the unit cards are a glaring mistake which I modded immediately and it seems those tribes really beat the hell out of Ancient Rome in a free for all the first time I played as Rome before I modded the game extensively I lost entire legions to barbarian forces less than a forth the size and the 2 turns a year. what the were they thinking? A year is 12 months divided into 4 seasons so why do it any other way? unforgiveable CA developers. Anyway it is not a bad game.… Expand
  14. Pannon
    Jan 2, 2014
    0
    Gamers please, do not listen to paid off "reviewers!"
    Notice the latest trend of "big name" reviewers (gamespot, gamefront,pcgamer,IGN etc) are LYING right into your face with their bought and paid game reviews. They are corrupt and they are not telling the truth. It seem to become a trend now, forcing thousands off their websites who doesn't agree and keep lying! They are paid off by    Gamers please, do not listen to paid off "reviewers!"
    Notice the latest trend of "big name" reviewers (gamespot, gamefront,pcgamer,IGN etc) are LYING right into your face with their bought and paid game reviews. They are corrupt and they are not telling the truth. It seem to become a trend now, forcing thousands off their websites who doesn't agree and keep lying! They are paid off by the companies, who release a mess of codes and call it a game! You are buying trash! You are buying unplayable trash! It's time to punish these companies and their paid off reviewers by not going to their sites and not buying the games! One of the sites just about the name Rome Total War Rome 2 as "Game of the Year" while 4 patches ahead, the game is still unplayable!    … Expand
  15. SlayerK4
    Jan 2, 2014
    1
    It's just a waste of money and time like spent on pre alpha version. For 4 months since the release I have failed to finish any of the cooperative games to the end. Game crushing, solid bugs, problems with optimization, error saves, stupid AI. And in addition they buried all the strengths of the previous parts of the game. It's just unplayable in any form, totally failed, unfortunately.It's just a waste of money and time like spent on pre alpha version. For 4 months since the release I have failed to finish any of the cooperative games to the end. Game crushing, solid bugs, problems with optimization, error saves, stupid AI. And in addition they buried all the strengths of the previous parts of the game. It's just unplayable in any form, totally failed, unfortunately.

    "Privet sem'e createvi assembly" (c)    … Expand
  16. Dwarfjo
    Jan 2, 2014
    0
    Too many missing features missing in this piece of ****.
    The AI is even more stupid compared to other titels. If thats possible...
    Poorly optimized.
    Confusing unit cards.
  17. mitchell_83
    Jan 2, 2014
    10
    Now that it has been fix whit patches so it work fine, its a really great game.
    The strong side it also all of the mods so you can play whit new things all the time.
    Do not listen to all the haters, this is a great game.
  18. natefifield24
    Jan 1, 2014
    9
    I recently made an account just to review this game due to the high number of rubbish reviews.
    I have always been a huge fan the Total War series with Medieval 2: Total War as my favorite game of all time. Now back to this game.
    First off, as with every game there are always bugs when a game is first launched, what happened with this game was that they launched a game with a massive    I recently made an account just to review this game due to the high number of rubbish reviews.
    I have always been a huge fan the Total War series with Medieval 2: Total War as my favorite game of all time. Now back to this game.

    First off, as with every game there are always bugs when a game is first launched, what happened with this game was that they launched a game with a massive number of unresolved bugs, on a colossal scale, rivaling the number of bugs of Battlefield games. I played it on a friend's steam account and it wasn't as terrible as people say it was, it was bad, but definitely playable.

    I recently bought the game in the steam winter sale for myself, as I am incredibly cheap and didn't want to play full price at launch. I LOVE the game, there are still a few minor bugs. I haven't encountered anything game breaking and I am 26 hours in. The game looks fantastic, it runs very well on a decently built computer packing anything at or above a GT630 or equivalent.

    The unit design and abilities is what I see as their greatest triumph, in the past special abilities for units have been patchy at best. Now however, the unit special abilities such as Testudo for Rome and Stampede for Elephant units, are in short, sublime. The abilities have incredibly fast response times and noticeable affects on unit performance, all while not being buggy.

    I think what angered and disappointed most people who got this game were the changes they made to how armies work in the grand campaign. Here's how it works: groups of soldiers can only be led by generals, which have to be picked, then there is a maximum of another 19 cards of units to go along with the general. there is also a set number of generals you can have based upon how many settlements and provinces you can have, aka imperium. So it takes a fair bit of intelligence and planning as well as a strategic mind to properly place your generals across the campaign map so you can both expand and keep your people happy, this took me a solid 2 hours to get used to this new mechanic. It makes for a properly challenging strategy experience.

    I think that Creative Assembly (game designers) wanted us to think of armies not just as groups of units in which whoever has the highest number of armies wins but whoever has the most efficient and most well trained army wins. There is also a new mechanic of "stances," an army takes a certain stance which affects: defensive bonuses, upkeep costs, movement ranges, attacking bonuses, etc. They also made it so you do not need a fleet to transport unit across water features they can just move across the water as if they were a fleet and engage in naval battles. The devs made it so the general leading your army has a profound effect on how you army performs with each battle increasing his rank and allowing special bonuses for your troops based upon which options you choose.

    The game devs also added new battle types: ambush, port assault, and coastal. I love all of these game modes as the integration of naval combat is very smooth and well done. I play a game with my friend where I attack the city by sea and he does by land, it is great fun.

    The AI isn't half as bad as people say it is, sometimes they do stupid things or not exactly what you tell them to do. Instances where it is bad are few and far between to the point where saying the AI is bad as a reason to rate this game low, is totally irrelevant.

    I think this is a solid game well worth a buy, it may not have been a finished game when it was released, but it is a truly proper game that adds a tremendous amount of content to an already great series that never disappoints me.    … Expand
  19. Mastokk
    Jan 1, 2014
    0
    Impossible to play this game. I've "played" 3 hours. Just the time to understand this game wasn't good. Crashes, bad gameplay, no optimization... This game is a waste of time and money. I won't pre order anymore.
  20. zlamaj
    Dec 31, 2013
    1
    A shallow ill-fated attempt at making total war games more accessible to the masses. Sadly the developer/publisher didn't realise that total war games are very accessible and easy to get into without making things dumber.

    AI is confused, both on the battlefield and campaign. Campaign mechanics are strange and illogical. They threw away things that worked in Shogun 2 for example, and    A shallow ill-fated attempt at making total war games more accessible to the masses. Sadly the developer/publisher didn't realise that total war games are very accessible and easy to get into without making things dumber.

    AI is confused, both on the battlefield and campaign. Campaign mechanics are strange and illogical. They threw away things that worked in Shogun 2 for example, and replaced them with unwanted rubbish "features"! Politics system is a laugh. They promised to release a guide for the politics (i.e. explain how it works) late January 2014! 5 months from release to explain a feature they created? You got to know something is not right when you read this.

    And after 8 patches, and 4 months, we still don't have the game performing well on high end PCs! This is simply unacceptable!

    Unfortunately, this is the end for this particular fan's love story with this franchise. Paradox games care way more about their games, and deserve my support. As for this developer and publisher rubbish tag team, I have nothing but pity for them.    … Expand
  21. evancv2011
    Dec 31, 2013
    1
    Wow. Kudos on this one CA.....this is the reason I choose not to pre-order games anymore. Even with the "patches" I wont be able to play it, leaves too much of a bad after taste.
  22. Jethro777
    Dec 30, 2013
    1
    Horrific train wreck. Betrayal, and even more anger as CA release a DLC without having seriously even attempted to put a heart back into the tin man. This empty, soul less, AI impaired, stripped back, no family tree, no point to feeling attached to your general (he will die of old age in just a few turns), diplomatically impaired game does not deserve the bear the name of CA. What aHorrific train wreck. Betrayal, and even more anger as CA release a DLC without having seriously even attempted to put a heart back into the tin man. This empty, soul less, AI impaired, stripped back, no family tree, no point to feeling attached to your general (he will die of old age in just a few turns), diplomatically impaired game does not deserve the bear the name of CA. What a very sad, sad end to this otherwise brilliant gaming franchise. The political system is completely pointless, creating a civil war is pointless, in fact, after about 30 hours, it hits you what a train wreck this actually is. Spare yourself the experience. CA is still in denial, despite even massive player surveys which tell them just how bad the game is and how to fix it. AVOID.… Expand
  23. draculdracul
    Dec 30, 2013
    10
    Now its a masterpiece.. I waited for a few months afther all the comotion about the pre beta release. But it was wurth waiting for. I love the game, always loved total war games. But this one is the best by far.
  24. agapito37
    Dec 30, 2013
    0
    I have just played this game and its extremely bad. Nothing is properly done. Diplomacy is useless as nobody accepts any trade no matter what. AI is exactly the same as in medieval total war, more stupid than a donkey. Difficulty in campaign is based on giving factions ridiculous amounts of money to waste it. Battle AI is based con ridiculous stats buffs to enemies. Capturing settlementsI have just played this game and its extremely bad. Nothing is properly done. Diplomacy is useless as nobody accepts any trade no matter what. AI is exactly the same as in medieval total war, more stupid than a donkey. Difficulty in campaign is based on giving factions ridiculous amounts of money to waste it. Battle AI is based con ridiculous stats buffs to enemies. Capturing settlements is a pain in the ass due to ridiculous mechanics that do not work properly, attacking a city and slaughtering all enemies do not lead to capturing the city WTF. Also during battle units are unresponsive no matter what you do and performance is extremely bad even in low graphics with an extremely powerful computer. This is unacceptable for a saga with so many years.

    DLC leeching for normal features and units that should be in-game.

    And the worst thing is that we don't have DarthVader anymore to fix CA games. I really hope he makes a new saga of games that makes CA go bankrupt.    … Expand
  25. numerouno7
    Dec 28, 2013
    2
    like most game franchises, when the creators either A sell the rights to the series or B) decide it's time to focus more on graphics and focus less on gameplay, it usually takes a dump, and this once mighty series did just that.
  26. chrisr2112
    Dec 28, 2013
    9
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I really feel that the user reviews for Total War: Rome 2 don't give the game justice. Before receiving the game, i was well aware of many of the "game breaking bugs" and "horrible user interface" that people claimed the game had. I was also aware of the painfully low score on metacritic. None the less, i wanted to give CA the benefit of the doubt because i have not played a Total War game to date that i did not enjoy. I started playing and the first thing i noticed was the steep learning curve that came with managing your faction. There is far more detail in dealing with settlements (which are now divided into many provinces with settlements inside of them). Once I got the hang of it however, it wasn't too difficult to figure out basic functions that allow you to run your settlements efficiently. As for the actual battles, the game is absolutely stunning if you have a system capable of running it. Unless you play on lower settings, clone armies are no longer an issue with most soldiers having some form of variation from the others (this is particularly noticeable with the barbarian factions). The battle AI is not always the smartest, but still provides somewhat of a challenge. Overall, its not my favorite Total War game, but it is a worthy addition to a great series. I honestly cannot understand how people are giving the game 1's and 2's.… Expand
  27. pfhbarros
    Dec 27, 2013
    2
    this doesnt have a single significant inovation and the AI is a disaster some times it is ridiculously dumb and other times its impossible to beat and its poorly optimized 2/10
  28. MileHigh
    Dec 25, 2013
    1
    Well.... This game seemed to have a few great ideas. They added naval combat into land battles, they divided each region up into three and added bonuses for controlling the entire region, they gave Carthage a bigger role than punching bag (as it was in Rome I). But ultimately this game turned out to be a complete farce. They promised that you could play it with the same graphics as ShogunWell.... This game seemed to have a few great ideas. They added naval combat into land battles, they divided each region up into three and added bonuses for controlling the entire region, they gave Carthage a bigger role than punching bag (as it was in Rome I). But ultimately this game turned out to be a complete farce. They promised that you could play it with the same graphics as Shogun 2, but clearly lied. I can't seem to run it in a way in which half the screen isn't covered in grey. The AI seems to have taken a massive step back from Shogun 2, I'll even say it is worse than the original Rome. They continue with the infuriating policy of having to pay twice the value of the game just to get all of the factions. It is undoubtedly the worst purchase I have ever made of a game, and I'm incredulous with myself for having bought it on pre-order. If you are prospective about buying this game, FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, DON'T.… Expand
  29. locksly77
    Dec 25, 2013
    9
    True this game had multiple issues upon release that made it virtually unplayable even on a high end system. However, many of those issues have been addressed including the AI. On occasion the AI can still act incredibly dumb but on other occasions I have seen it act very intelligently (it seems to be somewhat hit or miss). The graphics are on par with shogun 2 if not a slight improvement,True this game had multiple issues upon release that made it virtually unplayable even on a high end system. However, many of those issues have been addressed including the AI. On occasion the AI can still act incredibly dumb but on other occasions I have seen it act very intelligently (it seems to be somewhat hit or miss). The graphics are on par with shogun 2 if not a slight improvement, but trying to run this game on a lower end system would be a fps nightmare I'm sure. Nevertheless, this is not the disappointment many have made it out to be. With the recent patches and updates the game now runs much smoother and the game play is very enjoyable. Despite what many have said you cannot just fling your army at the enemy and win a battle, I have tried this and it will get you beat every time (unless of course your playing on easy) if you employ counter strategy and flanking maneuvers then yes you can win even if your outnumbered on legendary BUT if the enemy has enough or acts intelligently you can still lose. The new political system IS somewhat pointless because civil war is going to break out anyhow, you can pretty much just ignore it, but this doesn't really take away from anything it just doesn't really need to be there. Overall the graphics, unit diversity, good strategy by the AI in SOME battles (I still haven't figured out why sometimes it acts smart then incredibly stupid in the very next battle), and just the basic turn based/real time combat setup of a total war game is all there. Basically I enjoy this game a lot and have already put over 300 hours into it, of course I have put about 500 hours into every TW game since the original Medieval TW. This one didn't give a whole lot of new innovative features but it is still a solid game (now with the patches) and as enjoyable as any other TW game.… Expand
  30. dblois
    Dec 25, 2013
    9
    I really liked the game. Being a long time fan of total war franchise, i was really hopping for a big improvement on this one. Since i have only played the patched version of the game, haven't seen the bulk of the problems people had reported. It is a perfect game? No it isn't. But still given the scope of the project, and after you use the patches released so far, it is a solid andI really liked the game. Being a long time fan of total war franchise, i was really hopping for a big improvement on this one. Since i have only played the patched version of the game, haven't seen the bulk of the problems people had reported. It is a perfect game? No it isn't. But still given the scope of the project, and after you use the patches released so far, it is a solid and enjoyable experience. Plus, total war modding community is really active, so is a game that only tend to get better and better. If you like strategy games, this one is a good choice. As far as the game difficulty, none of the total war games is very difficult, or have a particularly smart AI. Mods usually tend to that problem. I have a fairly mid range rig, and haven't got the fps problems reported by other users. The same for the very long end turns, mine are all acceptable. I recommend.… 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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