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. 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.
  2. manyacy
    Sep 13, 2013
    6
    Who is playing Rome II as his first Total War game, maybe this could be a 8/10 game. BUT who has played at least Rome 1, this is a boring sequence that brings nothing notable beside improved UI design (which is normal) and some upgraded mechanics of the campaign map. Worst part is that I don't know if I'm gonna like the game more after they patch it to perfection and eliminate all the bugs.
  3. laris
    Sep 19, 2013
    7
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. I have only one word to say: disappointment...
    After of ten years of being royal fun to total war franchise the reward i get is to be foolish and roober like a ten years kid! After a year of promotion and brainwash of all the great stuff this game has i realise that i will never going to buy a product of total war. You spend all your money on promoting and not to even finished the game! Where are the great cities? what's the point of having great cities without having a "show on battle map button" And what's the stupid idea of buying a DLC? What's wrong with you? Even rome 1 total war had more unique units than Rome 2! And where are the wonders? Where is the acropolis of Athens? And what an obelisk doing in the middle of a Greek city? Acropolis of Athens was built 200 years before the game start. IT SHOULD BE ALREADE BE BUILT, not wait 30 years!!! And what's wrong with all those battles? 2-3 MINUTES???????????? MINUTES!!! I think the other comments have cover me...
    TOTALLY DISAPPOINT...    … Expand
  4. Arturien
    Oct 3, 2013
    1
    Unlike the professional reviewers I cannot give this game anything more then a 1. The reason being simply that the game itself responds like an alpha test. It does to bare any indication of a finished streamlined product. The AI which was praised to the stars before release is actually the worst AI the series has ever seen hands down, without an excuse offered for this absolute failure.Unlike the professional reviewers I cannot give this game anything more then a 1. The reason being simply that the game itself responds like an alpha test. It does to bare any indication of a finished streamlined product. The AI which was praised to the stars before release is actually the worst AI the series has ever seen hands down, without an excuse offered for this absolute failure. Speaking of failure, there was yet another video offered where the narrator claimed: This is way way pre alpha footage. The end product will look much nicer. That is of course what we all wished to hear. Sadly that pre alpha footage was clearly a sham. Since I've not seen a single person play the game and have that level of detail or polish to it. Even some YouTube rookie reviewers, a small number of which have Titan graphics cards and of course the gear to match Have not managed to attain that level of graphical appeal. Now what does this tell us? Either, the video was intentionally manipulated to make the game look nicer. Or that they have in fact managed to downgrade the graphics to such an extreme without informing their customers that the game ended up graphically in the gutter on release. There are of course many other problems in this wonder of modern gaming One of which is the time per turn. Now anyone that has played this game knows, that it has an army of factions. But so did their previous. Granted, there were not as many, but the number was still quite high. Yet it seems somehow, that they've managed to slow down the AI. In fact it has slowed down the AI so much, that in some cases, it takes up to 5 minutes to end a turn. It becomes even worse when/if you decide to play the multiplayer campaign. Added to the already exuberant waiting time, is the danger of desynchronization. It seems that once it reaches the end of the faction listing that is the factions that you've discovered thus far the game decides to simply lock up due to the desynchronization. Which effectively makes the game completely unplayable as a multiplayer product.

    But the technical aspect of the game is simply half of what a good Total War game should provide us. Let's take a look at the game content. We start with political aspect. If we compare Rome 2 to Rome 1, we can clearly see that Rome 1 was far more interesting. In Rome 1 it became clear very quickly when you were either moving too quickly or too slowly. The Senate in Rome 1 was favorable to you if you did as they liked, or turned against you in the elections if you did things that they disapproved of. Their dislike for you could grow to such an extent, that they would send the appointed official to check your family's income. And if that official was not in your pocket a family member you would be fined a good amount of cash. It could further grow in scale until there was nothing left but all out war. Does Rome 2 offer such a political challenge? Sadly no. First of, the Roman senate has according to the game nothing to do with you at all. At times they are mentioned in a mission you receive as the source. But beyond that nothing. There is no extra gain or penalty if you choose to either complete the mission or downright ignore it. The family which you choose, also has no bonuses or individual traits past the bonuses written down when you are asked to choose one. It seems as though the Roman faction is a starved historically inaccurate, melting pot of bad ideas. It is starved of it's charm from the first Rome game, down to an awful anorexic visage. The family tree has been ripped out of the game completely. There is no sense of a family at all. Beforehand you could see who belonged to your family clearly in a traditionally designed tree. Choose an heir, or even focus on specific generals to be successful. For example, picking active generals from the direct descendants of their grandfather. Since we're on the topic of generals. These leaders of men die out far quicker then in any other Total War game to date. This of course, is undoubtedly due to the very unwise decision of turns. One turn equals one year now. Which directly leads to the generals dropping like flies from old age. Not offering you the opportunity to develop them properly in any sense of the word. The women that they marry are thrown in to oblivion. In Shogun 2, a good wife offered your general a great bonus, or could lead him astray even to his death with the decrease of personal security I could have easily written down another few hundred words to max out my 5000 word limit, but let's just leave it there. All in all, the game is filled with appalling bugs, crashes and unpolished material. A black sheep to put it as mildly as I possibly can in the Total War family that does it's best only when it comes to ruining the family name. Personally, it is the greatest gaming disappointment I've had in the last ten years.    … Expand
  5. Kristian
    Sep 24, 2013
    0
    lack of many important features present in previous titles
    - terrible UI
    - incompetent AI
    - poor unit balancing
    - lots of bugs

    In short: The worst TW game to date.
  6. apacheanthunder
    Sep 24, 2013
    0
    I will do a donation twice as the R2TW's price to anyone who take Rome TW and mod it to the graphics of Rome II; same units; same administration mode; same factions; i mean, if i actually want to learn the true history of Rome, there are a lot of history books, internet sources, or even to watch to history Channel
  7. Street_Ace
    Sep 25, 2013
    0
    The AI is worse then any Total war game released, Critics must have played 1 hour and slapped a rating on it and then f*** off, CA lied about how great the game AI is and the game-play,
    1.FREE Ships
    2.AI performance sucks
    3.No family tree
    4.No senate
    5.no city viewer
    6. 1 year turns
    7. final product filled with bugs
    8.still in beta
    9. Battle lagg
    10. Creative Assembly lied
  8. Tomasy
    Sep 25, 2013
    4
    This game at the date of release is in unplayable state. What's wrong with it?
    Well... basically everything in this product is unfinished and unpolished, that should be worked on for another 2 months. As a Total War series veteran this game is not fun to play at all. Even with AI difficulty on the highest level this game presents no challenge whatsoever.
    AI is braindead. Optimisation    This game at the date of release is in unplayable state. What's wrong with it?
    Well... basically everything in this product is unfinished and unpolished, that should be worked on for another 2 months. As a Total War series veteran this game is not fun to play at all. Even with AI difficulty on the highest level this game presents no challenge whatsoever.

    AI is braindead.
    Optimisation is a joke.
    Multiplayer is stripped from all features introduced in Shogun 2.
    UI is messy and hard to get information you are looking for.

    Creative Assembly is currently producing patches on weekly basis with questionable results. This game still got some potential left in it but if you though about acquiring Rome 2 you should wait for another month or two. After that time this game will be back on tracks hopefully.    … Expand
  9. mattgn
    Sep 29, 2013
    0
    This score is based on the following:
    Pay to Beta test the game, as CA are clearly incapable.
    If you buy this game, you will become the proud owner of Dreadful AI, battles that last 5-10 minutes, mosh pit style battles.
    AND as a SPECIAL bonus, you get to pay EXTRA for additional factions.

    All this can be yours !
    Buy now !
    Regret later
  10. mzbrx
    Sep 30, 2013
    1
    I played this game few hours. Historicity gone, Playability gone, Atmosphere gone, Logic Gone, AI is a joke no matter patches. I had same feelings from battles like playing old stupid Dune2, C&C like games. Rome I and even more Roma Surrectum II Mod is better game than this piece of crap. Maybe this game was crated by new generation creative assembly employees.
  11. Irishtotalwar
    Sep 30, 2013
    0
    First of all I am (was) a Huge fan of the total war series Especially Rome 1. However This newest edition to the franchise is a huge disappointment it feels much like a civilisation game and the winning elements of a Total War game are now gone.It has been stripped bare to the point where the list is too long to mention.Performance problems are possibly the worst part. I wonder is anyoneFirst of all I am (was) a Huge fan of the total war series Especially Rome 1. However This newest edition to the franchise is a huge disappointment it feels much like a civilisation game and the winning elements of a Total War game are now gone.It has been stripped bare to the point where the list is too long to mention.Performance problems are possibly the worst part. I wonder is anyone from the original Rome 1 Team still works there because it certainly doesn't feel like their work. This has been a step back for the total war series,Patches or no patches… Expand
  12. Alberto_impact
    Oct 4, 2013
    0
    DON'T BUY THIS ONE.
    This is the worst game I pre-ordered this year.
    Cappy AI and UI, Awful performance optimization, and bunch of bugs to make you angry.
    Give me my money back, you SEGA and CA.
  13. losten
    Oct 7, 2013
    0
    Buggy and not finished. Gameplay is made much more simple which in these series is a shortcoming.
    I believe the next instalment will be playable on consoles. Battles are a mess. Either dont work or there is an orgy in armour. Everyone is mixing with each other. Dont buy or wait for some crucial patches. But as we all know, crucial patch maybe will come with the expansion and you will be    Buggy and not finished. Gameplay is made much more simple which in these series is a shortcoming.
    I believe the next instalment will be playable on consoles. Battles are a mess. Either dont work or there is an orgy in armour. Everyone is mixing with each other. Dont buy or wait for some crucial patches. But as we all know, crucial patch maybe will come with the expansion and you will be forced to pay extra money for game which may be at last finished.    … Expand
  14. YunDog
    Oct 7, 2013
    0
    there is no AI, ergo there is no game
    your save games will become corrupted
    pancreatitis was more fun than this 'game'
    whatever you do do not waste your money like I did on this game

    this company has gotten away with screwing its fans for far too long as gamers we need to show them this stops here
  15. Sarion
    Nov 26, 2013
    0
    a TOTAL disappointment, completely revised UI, hopeless designation units, and above all, completely broken and changed for the worse gameplay mechanics, the idea of the automatic creation of the garrison is so nonsense that I do not know what to say. I have no idea what an idiot came up with all these weird concepts, but what was good and beautiful is gone, the new title is hopelessly BAD
  16. MykeyMatters
    Dec 1, 2013
    0
    Long time Total War fan I was hooked after hearing my first riveting battle speech on the original Rome: Total War. I recently just got back from Afghanistan, and was surprised to see that Rome II was out! I immediately downloaded, so excited to play the sequel to this epic game from my Childhood.

    What a waste of my time and $60. And now? Now it's 50% off on Steam. I cannot believe CA    Long time Total War fan I was hooked after hearing my first riveting battle speech on the original Rome: Total War. I recently just got back from Afghanistan, and was surprised to see that Rome II was out! I immediately downloaded, so excited to play the sequel to this epic game from my Childhood.

    What a waste of my time and $60. And now? Now it's 50% off on Steam. I cannot believe CA stooped to this level, of pushing out this still After nearly a year beta product. And it's not even the fact that it's so Beta, but everything that made the Original Rome: Total War awesome, was completely missing.

    Rome II is laggy, ugly, and not engaging at all. And my biggest peeve? No Family Lines? WTF?

    If you have a $3,000 gaming rig like me, guess what, this is the only game that will make you feel like you're underpowered. But, you're not. It's the game. This is the most unstable game I have ever played on my rig. How is it that I can play 5 windows of Crysis II without a drop in FPS, yet Rome II literally slows me down to a crash within an hour. Memory leaks, anyone? Talk about great patching and coding.

    Don't bother with this garbage, and I cannot believe Reviewers made this game seem so good. They obviously didn't spend more than an hour on it. And CA? You want a hint? Take what made Medieval II and Rome: Total War great, and make it better. No fancy laggy map, no linear battles, no kindergarten gameplay. Just treat us like the hardcore strategy fans we are. Thanks.    … Expand
  17. dragonexiax25
    Dec 2, 2013
    0
    Absolutely horrible ruined my hope for total war. No family tree wtf. Also its Rome for god dammit it has families and such. Generals who cares which one dies or not. They seem to be replaceable chess pieces pieces. AI agreed horrible to play a 10 year old kid would have beaten the ai with some minor difficulties.
    Simple ui design made it look better but horribly more complex. They    Absolutely horrible ruined my hope for total war. No family tree wtf. Also its Rome for god dammit it has families and such. Generals who cares which one dies or not. They seem to be replaceable chess pieces pieces. AI agreed horrible to play a 10 year old kid would have beaten the ai with some minor difficulties.
    Simple ui design made it look better but horribly more complex. They removed the tool tips had to spend most of time reading instead of playing    … Expand
  18. thelostson
    Dec 3, 2013
    3
    Yes, the user interface is the worst of the series yet. Beautiful graphics are one thing, making the game enjoyable another.

    Someone fell clearly in love with the unit cards, and wasn't slapped out of it by her or his colleagues. They make unit types unrecognizable, the army movement on the map is dodgy and so on. I don't even mention naval combat, maybe less would have been more?    Yes, the user interface is the worst of the series yet. Beautiful graphics are one thing, making the game enjoyable another.

    Someone fell clearly in love with the unit cards, and wasn't slapped out of it by her or his colleagues. They make unit types unrecognizable, the army movement on the map is dodgy and so on. I don't even mention naval combat, maybe less would have been more?

    Historicity is unfortunately important when I buy a game like Rome II I am pretty sure I saw Germanic ballistae. Maybe it's time to install Europa Barbarorum again.

    To summarize disappointing on.quite a few levels.    … Expand
  19. nenaza
    Jan 10, 2014
    0
    It is Total War game: +10
    Still bugs and horrible AI in patch 8.1 : -3
    Headless chicken patching policy. (for example formation attack button is a joke): -2
    Steps in game mechanics in the WRONG direction and unfinished/unpolish features: -5

    Total Score: 0
  20. razael
    Dec 22, 2013
    1
    Horrible UI.
    Horrendously confusing unit cards.
    Poorly optimized.
    Fix the triremes.
    Where is my guard button.
    Make a unit card that covers half my screen.
  21. 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.
  22. 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
  23. 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.
  24. rubanzomi
    Mar 15, 2014
    2
    this game disgraces its predecessors in almost every way possible. I wouldn't recommend this game to anyone. If you want a good total war game try Rome 1 or shogun 2 but don't buy this game its a disgrace and a waste of time and money.
  25. Tkwz
    Dec 24, 2013
    0
    This is about the most frustrating, slow, bugged, random, stupid, idiotic, pathetic, moronic piece of garbage game I have even seen in my life. I've had more fun doing _nothing_, just after I threw this disk out of the window and wiped the hard drive of every single bit of this time wasting joke.
  26. Rufsian
    Sep 12, 2013
    3
    If you a Total War fan or love video games, this review is for you:

    This game was advertised with videos of supreme graphics and developers themselves from Creative Assembly talking about how Rome 2 is the biggest Total War they've ever made with 40% more budget than any other project they've done in the past. This is how they turned this AWESOME saga in a complete with NO A.I.    If you a Total War fan or love video games, this review is for you:

    This game was advertised with videos of supreme graphics and developers themselves from Creative Assembly talking about how Rome 2 is the biggest Total War they've ever made with 40% more budget than any other project they've done in the past.

    This is how they turned this AWESOME saga in a complete with NO A.I. WHATSOEVER (even when they fix it, the A.I. will use ATTACK RECKLESSLY TO THE FLAG-strategy.

    SEGA and Creative Assembly DECEIVED with lies but not WORDED LIES, VIDEO/IMAGES LIES HIDDEN AS DECEITFUL FEATURES.

    In Rome 2:

    - Sieges nowhere close the size of anything we saw in videos/panorama pictures

    - The A.I. which had more budget than ever for Rome 2, WAS NO DEVELOPED AT ALL. Just given simple path finding instructions to CAPTURE FLAGS which are bugged right now but even when fixed, it will be the worst A.I. in a TW to date.

    - They completely removed the Family Tree/Leader Figures. You get an infinite pool of worthless generals.

    - There is NO POLITICAL SYSTEM WHATSOEVER and it was advertised as a big feature along with a storyline driven campaign map.

    - Graphically wise, the colors of the armor in the soldiers are washed out, less quality and detail in the armor of soldiers gtx 770 lighting, all max, min fps 25 while on big battles even in high end rig.

    - The diplomacy is completely useless and confusing. There is no diplomacy whatsoever, just "attack here" for your allies. If you want to directly talk to a faction you have to transition into a small list that can only show 5 factions at a time and there are 110 in the game.

    - The detailed straightforward User Interface from Shogun 2 was completely ditched and redone a Java-type-game UI that demands annoying micromanaging for doing simple tasks.

    IF you want a real honest 40 minutes long review of Rome 2 total war done by a real fan of the series for more than 10 years, go search Angryjoe in youtube.

    Avoid this game like them peoples did in middle earth with black pest. Focus your hate on SEGA for pushing CA to meet the deadline so they could show over inflated annual reports.

    I can't believe it but SEGA has turned to be more greedy and worse in every other aspect than EA.

    SHAMEFUL DISPLAY     … Expand
  27. Wafflezsyrup
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    Well, what a surprise, obviously CA DID NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE ORIGINAL RTW! ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS KEEP WHAT THE ORIGINAL GAME HAD AND IMPROVE ON IT! THEY FAILED AS BAD AS THE OPRAH NETWORK ON IT, IT JUST BLOWS MY MIND HOW BAD THIS GAME IS. THE AI IS BRAINLESS AND SOME GENIUS WHO THOUGHT CAPTURE POINTS ON A BATTLEFIELD BATTLE WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA SHOULD GET FIRED DAMN! THE AI IS LIKEWell, what a surprise, obviously CA DID NOT LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE ORIGINAL RTW! ALL THEY HAD TO DO WAS KEEP WHAT THE ORIGINAL GAME HAD AND IMPROVE ON IT! THEY FAILED AS BAD AS THE OPRAH NETWORK ON IT, IT JUST BLOWS MY MIND HOW BAD THIS GAME IS. THE AI IS BRAINLESS AND SOME GENIUS WHO THOUGHT CAPTURE POINTS ON A BATTLEFIELD BATTLE WOULD BE A GOOD IDEA SHOULD GET FIRED DAMN! THE AI IS LIKE EMPIRE DUMB, IF ANYTHING THIS GAME SHOULD OF BEEN FREE TO MAKE UP FOR THE FAILURE THAT EMPIRE WAS BUT NO THEY US MORE BY TRYING TO SELL EVERYONE WHO DIDNT PREORDER DLC. ALL FIGHTS ARE MOB FIGHTS ITS NASTY, ROMANS FIGHT LIKE BARBARIANS U CANT STAND GUARD AND FIRE AT WILL WITH COHORTS LIKE ORIGINAL RTW BUT IN ORDER TO USE IT YOU GOT TO CHARGE WHICH IS HORRIBLE IF YOUR ON DEFENSE! WOW, ALL I KNOW IS THERE GETTING A 0 FOR EVEN THINKING ABOUT CHARGING DLC WHICH IS A RIP OFF, WHY DID I PAY $60 FOR 70% OF THE GAME FOR THEM TO SELL ME SECTIONS OF IT LATER IN THE DLC??????? BAD BAD BAD, THE ORIGINAL ROME TOTAL WAR HAD IT ALL AND STILL DOES WHICH IS SAD CONSIDERING ITS BEEN 10 YEARS AND THEY HAVENT LEARNED FROM WHAT MADE THAT GAME SO GREAT ITS JUST SAD AND SICKINING, DAMN IS CAMPAIGN BORING, HARD IS LIKE EASY ON THIS GAME AND EASY IS LIKE INVINCIBILITY. HELL THE EXPANSION BARBARIAN INVASION HAD A TON MORE CONTENT THEN THIS GAME SAD! DO NOT BUY… Expand
  28. Waclaw
    Sep 9, 2013
    3
    I don't really know where to start this... I'm about 20 hours into the game and I have to say that this game is decent, but is far from being a decent product.

    1) Poor optimization this will get fixed eventually, but it's strange that the game has set ittself to ultra on my machine which I upgraded for some upcoming releases and THEN I have to revert that manually to very high and    I don't really know where to start this... I'm about 20 hours into the game and I have to say that this game is decent, but is far from being a decent product.

    1) Poor optimization this will get fixed eventually, but it's strange that the game has set ittself to ultra on my machine which I upgraded for some upcoming releases and THEN I have to revert that manually to very high and still get the ocasional lags when fire efects come in. I try to ignore the fact that the game looks ugly atm...

    2) Naval battles are broken they just are. Remember all those fancy videos from the devs where 2 fleets clashed: raming, boarding and whatever else was there? Well, it's all on youtube but not in the game.

    3) UI very confusing and after my 20 sth hours of playing I still have problems with getting used to it. It actually looks like a port of a tablet made game too little and with a very unfriendly look.

    4) AI as much as it pains me to say this... the battle AI completely sucks. If the auto calculator tells you you will loose and be left with 20-30% of troops, it means that you can win with 75% of your mob alive. I mean, I do understand that training and morale play a huge role even in modern battlefields but beating 4 full armies (20 units each) of bronze/silver experience with one army of gold lvl units is absurd. Unless they fix this, it's a zerg game deploy as close to the enemy and start slaughtering them.

    5)Victory points an idea that is correct for multiplayer battles and forces the side that can be passive to actually move. But in singleplayer, their placement in many battles (especially sieges) is a misunderstanding and leads to the AI trying to rush them no matter the cost, and if they're defending they seem to ignore them until you start taking over...

    I could go on about little stuff like crappy looking unit cards (which still tend to confuse me at times...), quest glitches the fact that most "hero" characters that are now essential to having an army are ALWAYS 40 years old when you take them and few manage to live to see 65 which means that getting a commander to a decent lvl will usually result in a frustrating cinematic of his death "from natural causes".

    I'm disapointed, and recomend all fans who still haven't gotten it to stay away untill all major issues are patched. Newcomers can add a point to my score, but should stay away as well. Just wait for a Christmas when it's sold 30% cheaper.    … Expand
  29. dougal83
    Sep 25, 2018
    0
    DON'T BUY IT before it's on budget as gold edition. The game is not complete and was released before it was complete. It has potential to be good if the huge number of OBVIOUS bugs are sorted. They never tested the game and pushed it out the door. Great play by SEGA to kill fan base and stop people buying future games.

    UPDATE: Cannot recommend any Sega game now, there is a political    DON'T BUY IT before it's on budget as gold edition. The game is not complete and was released before it was complete. It has potential to be good if the huge number of OBVIOUS bugs are sorted. They never tested the game and pushed it out the door. Great play by SEGA to kill fan base and stop people buying future games.

    UPDATE: Cannot recommend any Sega game now, there is a political agenda being exercised in historical titles to introduce female characters unrealistically. On noticing the issue that appeared to be a bug, have had my bug report post deleted and told I've broken the rules of the forum. For something so evidently inaccurate for historical titles, to have a bug report removed for a suprious breach of forum rules it is clear it is time to stop buying from Sega. Shame, I do like the historical titles as they used to be accurate. Now apparently women are worthless and can be thrown away in battle like cattle. If I wanted a fantasy title I would buy one and would not have any problems. My money will never purchase from Sega again.

    Word for Sega, if a large part of your community raises an issue, listen and adapt. Don't pretend the problem that is noticed by many is a giant conspiracy and remove posts.    … Expand
  30. Southern_Hunter
    Sep 6, 2013
    2
    CA have produced a compelling and interesting strategic game, with a completely broken tactical battle engine. Until modders are given the tools to do the work that CA should have done to produce a workable battle system, this is best avoided.
  31. Yoshi1
    Sep 5, 2013
    2
    This game feels unfinished and very buggy. This is my first total war game and I expected a whole lot better then this. The overall graphics are not great even on the highest setting. I saw many graphical glitches and awful textures especial for the landscape looks like it was made in 2005. The A.I. Is pretty awful and the battles between enemies is almost hard to watch its so bad. ManyThis game feels unfinished and very buggy. This is my first total war game and I expected a whole lot better then this. The overall graphics are not great even on the highest setting. I saw many graphical glitches and awful textures especial for the landscape looks like it was made in 2005. The A.I. Is pretty awful and the battles between enemies is almost hard to watch its so bad. Many A.I that are not on the front line will just stand there and wait until the soldier in front has died instead of actually fighting. The tutorial is awful and doesn't really teach the player how to play correctly. The U.I. is poorly executed and the game doesn't give the player a sense of accomplishment or reward for good strategies and tactics, The game play is sub par and after completing a tutorial it doesn't tell you what you could have corrected or what kinds of mistakes you made. Overall the game still feels like its in alpha or beta and really has some potential but its very poorly executed.… Expand
  32. Manshack
    Sep 5, 2013
    0
    The stupid AI, loading times, graphical errors, poor performance, unreasonable diplomacy, only being able to recruit with generals, having a limit to your amount of military forces, having to read a small wiki page each time you want to know what a unit does because why not have that on the tool tip?. The unit cards not giving you enough information and whatever else I am forgetting makesThe stupid AI, loading times, graphical errors, poor performance, unreasonable diplomacy, only being able to recruit with generals, having a limit to your amount of military forces, having to read a small wiki page each time you want to know what a unit does because why not have that on the tool tip?. The unit cards not giving you enough information and whatever else I am forgetting makes this a very poor total war game.

    Avoid until fixed.    … Expand
  33. mody
    Sep 6, 2013
    3
    Its a must not buy game...broken,full of bugs, awfull performance and a dull A.I...13 hours of gameplay and the only thing i can say its that C.A has tottaly failed its a shame for the company... the patch haven't changed anything significant...very dissapointing and a waste of hard earned money...
  34. Yougotowned
    Sep 7, 2013
    3
    Worst UI made by CA
    - Horrible and ugly looking unit cards
    - Graphical issues all over the place - The Turn in campaign takes forever (2 min, even with decent Hardware) - Poorly optimized engine - Graphics is`nt so good as supposed to be - Rushed release of the game - Land-battles are too fast no strategy at all ) -Even my grandma can command better than this trash AI - AI     Worst UI made by CA
    - Horrible and ugly looking unit cards
    - Graphical issues all over the place
    - The Turn in campaign takes forever (2 min, even with decent Hardware)
    - Poorly optimized engine
    - Graphics is`nt so good as supposed to be
    - Rushed release of the game
    - Land-battles are too fast no strategy at all )
    -Even my grandma can command better than this trash AI
    - AI Path-finding is insane
    - 1-day DLC

    Outcome Biggest over-hyped game of 2013. Cant believe my eyes this game made out of beta.
    Worst total war even made by CA.    … Expand
  35. mangothecat
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    The worst total war to date! Even ignoring the huge number of bugs and performance issues the game play is terrible. No units in the game hold cohesion in battle so all battles quickly degenerate into a mass brall. The ai in battles is worse than in previous versions of the games so in general the battles are simply not fun to play.

    The single player campaign takes so long to carry    The worst total war to date! Even ignoring the huge number of bugs and performance issues the game play is terrible. No units in the game hold cohesion in battle so all battles quickly degenerate into a mass brall. The ai in battles is worse than in previous versions of the games so in general the battles are simply not fun to play.

    The single player campaign takes so long to carry out the processing at the end of a turn that is almost unplayable. The provinces system in the game has potential but the necessary information is not easily available and in some cases unavailable. The result is the player is forced to micromanage in order to survive in the later campaign. The result is that playing the game becomes a chore and not fun to play at all.    … Expand
  36. Mattyboo69
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    I wrote a five thousand word essay of complaint. It just died so I'll keep it short. Awful game, this coming from a loyal customer. Lack of hellenic and other unit diversity, recycle of same unit of hoplites and pikes, without ethnic looks or statistics or aesthetic changes. All recycled for each faction. Sounds correct. Compare this to Rome 1: Alexander expansion, there you know howI wrote a five thousand word essay of complaint. It just died so I'll keep it short. Awful game, this coming from a loyal customer. Lack of hellenic and other unit diversity, recycle of same unit of hoplites and pikes, without ethnic looks or statistics or aesthetic changes. All recycled for each faction. Sounds correct. Compare this to Rome 1: Alexander expansion, there you know how diverse the eastern and hellenic armies were.

    Want a funny Joke? Watch Rally point episode 14 on youtube, 8 minutes of the AI lead programmer lying about his extensive AI advances. It's so funny and makes one maddeningly angry. The second funny joke is Rome 2. Can we have the real one please, and not this obvious piss take?    … Expand
  37. rcrothman
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    NEVER AGAIN will I be sucked into your flashy ads and trailers for a game that is absolute crap!! I have paid ONCE AGAIN for a lackluster game in the hope and belief your company would learn from its mistakes and give the consumer what it wants in a historical strategy game. I have played every single game you have put out from Shogun to Napoleon and now this last entry into your line upNEVER AGAIN will I be sucked into your flashy ads and trailers for a game that is absolute crap!! I have paid ONCE AGAIN for a lackluster game in the hope and belief your company would learn from its mistakes and give the consumer what it wants in a historical strategy game. I have played every single game you have put out from Shogun to Napoleon and now this last entry into your line up of games is the last straw. This is NOT, I repeat NOT a game. It is a beta and no more, for which we paid a ridiculous amount of money and even more so because I promised not to allow myself to be ripped off by Creative Assembly/ EA games anymore. You need to learn that we are NOT your donkeys for testing. You pay people to do that and need to be much more selective in your hiring process for those who develop the AI in the game. The AI is atrocious. You can beat any army within minutes and the graphics are terrible for a game for a game being put out in 2013. Give us our money back and get it together. I will never again buy one of your products. Rome Total War 2 is a farce!! DON'T buy into it. Let them do their research and development properly at their own expense NOT ours!!!… Expand
  38. Roger77777
    Sep 10, 2013
    4
    Total War: Rome II has potential, but to use that it would have needed 1 or 2 month more development time. Sadly, at the moment (Patch 1) the game is not playable. It crashes ever ~5th turn, calculating the next turn takes 2 to 5 minutes and the game has really poor graphics (where Total War: Shogun 2 was running fine). And then there is the horrendous AI...
  39. blasb
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    Very bad game compared to the other total war titles. Ai is Junk, UI is junk, Graphics are horrible and the campaign is just plain bad and isn't even needed since it doesn't bring anything to the game except bad experiences. The game runs slow and even my friend with the latest specs only get 15 fps. I think its time for CA to sit down and really re-evaluate how to make games... CustomersVery bad game compared to the other total war titles. Ai is Junk, UI is junk, Graphics are horrible and the campaign is just plain bad and isn't even needed since it doesn't bring anything to the game except bad experiences. The game runs slow and even my friend with the latest specs only get 15 fps. I think its time for CA to sit down and really re-evaluate how to make games... Customers wont pay you 50 euros for the next total war title if u make a joke of us like u did with this game, promising us a great experience(worst total war game ever).… Expand
  40. dominionator
    Sep 25, 2013
    1
    This game is broken beyond belief. So much lag with the lowest settings so its obviously not the computer its the game. ITS BROKEN. To legally be able to release a game and charge $60 for something broken just makes me wonder what this world is coming to. Stay far away from this game, you will be less frustrated doing so. Wish I did
  41. Klarum
    Sep 11, 2013
    3
    As usual the Critic reviews were bought, and as any other TW release it is a pile of code crap. The AI is even worse than previous games! Just wait a year for the modders to fix the game and buy it on discount from Steam. Unfortunately that is the standard procedure for any TW games. God bless the modders.
  42. Omaeka
    Sep 17, 2013
    0
    The most disappointing iteration of Total War yet. The game suffers from horrific graphics, terrible performance, idiotic A.I. and is a bug filled mess. There are now capture the flags which appear in EVERY type of battle, completely taking strategy out of the game, tons of features have been removed with nothing at all added.

    SEGA and Creative Assembly are planning on porting this to    The most disappointing iteration of Total War yet. The game suffers from horrific graphics, terrible performance, idiotic A.I. and is a bug filled mess. There are now capture the flags which appear in EVERY type of battle, completely taking strategy out of the game, tons of features have been removed with nothing at all added.

    SEGA and Creative Assembly are planning on porting this to the consoles, which is why the game has been dumbed down so horrifically. It is a streamlined, broken, pathetic shadow of it's former self. Avoid this at all costs, even if/when they fix it. Vote with your wallet and show the money grabbing corporations that we will not stand for this kind of treatment.    … Expand
  43. legoman775
    Sep 11, 2013
    3
    i have been a fan of total war games from creative assembly for a while now but this is just a slap in the face first of all the f***ing flags WHY next AI is broken completely broken clearly Sega is just pushing Creative Assembly to hard like they did with Gearbox I AM SICK OF THIS SEGA GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER OR I AM DONE BUYING GAMES FROM YOU....

    anyways i give this game a 3/10 just to    i have been a fan of total war games from creative assembly for a while now but this is just a slap in the face first of all the f***ing flags WHY next AI is broken completely broken clearly Sega is just pushing Creative Assembly to hard like they did with Gearbox I AM SICK OF THIS SEGA GET YOUR ACT TOGETHER OR I AM DONE BUYING GAMES FROM YOU....

    anyways i give this game a 3/10 just to be forgiving to CA but this better not happen again Sega i mean it don't let this ever happen again to one of my fav game titles out there since Aliens CM was already butchered and thrown to the curve don't do that again EVER    … Expand
  44. zionis24
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Bugs, I can handle, I can wait for the patches... But what I can't stand are some ridiculous fantasies presented in this game. If you have any knowledge of history--or dare I say, commonsense?--you would find some things represented in this game immature and disturbingly retarded.

    When I see half-naked men on steroids marching toward me in drilled line formations I start to wonder if    Bugs, I can handle, I can wait for the patches... But what I can't stand are some ridiculous fantasies presented in this game. If you have any knowledge of history--or dare I say, commonsense?--you would find some things represented in this game immature and disturbingly retarded.

    When I see half-naked men on steroids marching toward me in drilled line formations I start to wonder if CA is insulting my intelligence or if they were just trying to out do Hollywood.

    Campaign map is very innacurate. Embarrassing.    … Expand
  45. cableguy221
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    This game still sucks even if you take out all of the bugs. Everything is oversimplified, the politics make zero sense, public sentiment is the AI sucks, you can have magical navies via your army.... the list goes on.
  46. ravineh
    Sep 5, 2013
    1
    This game is in a BETA state. Might be worth purchasing in a half year after a lot of patches and modding for half the price. DONT buy it now, if you can- get a refund. It's time developers learned thier lesson.
  47. Adventure_Pal
    Sep 5, 2013
    1
    I bought every Total War game and expansion, starting with the formidable original Shogun TW. I pre-ordered Rome II, though I had my doubts, remembering Empire, for that matter. Rome II is, unfortunately, worse than I imagined, buggy and impossible to play on a machine that should not have any problem.

    This is very, very disappointing. Sorry, CA, but somebody should really take    I bought every Total War game and expansion, starting with the formidable original Shogun TW. I pre-ordered Rome II, though I had my doubts, remembering Empire, for that matter. Rome II is, unfortunately, worse than I imagined, buggy and impossible to play on a machine that should not have any problem.

    This is very, very disappointing. Sorry, CA, but somebody should really take responsibility for this crappy release.    … Expand
  48. Numahr
    Sep 5, 2013
    2
    Key features from previous games scrapped, notably regarding tactical usage of units (no guard mode, impossible to throw javelins on a skirmish mode...)
    - Super quick battles leaving no time to think
    - Messy behavior of units - AI stupidity All these make the tactical battles irrelevant.at a game-play level, beyond the nice showcase. The strategic map is nice but as the strategic     Key features from previous games scrapped, notably regarding tactical usage of units (no guard mode, impossible to throw javelins on a skirmish mode...)
    - Super quick battles leaving no time to think
    - Messy behavior of units
    - AI stupidity

    All these make the tactical battles irrelevant.at a game-play level, beyond the nice showcase. The strategic map is nice but as the strategic layer of the game is only a pretext for hopefully interesting battles, I don't see the point.    … Expand
  49. RingoPrime
    Sep 6, 2013
    4
    I was so excited about this game and it is my first big disappointment of 2013. I have a GTX 690 with 4gb VRAM yet the game only detects 2gb as it has no multi GPU support! A PC game in 2013! Really?! Add my 32gb RAM and i7 3770k quad core running at 4.3ghz to the mix and you would think this game would run fast on all the max settings? Wrong, benchmarking puts it at around 30fps! I setI was so excited about this game and it is my first big disappointment of 2013. I have a GTX 690 with 4gb VRAM yet the game only detects 2gb as it has no multi GPU support! A PC game in 2013! Really?! Add my 32gb RAM and i7 3770k quad core running at 4.3ghz to the mix and you would think this game would run fast on all the max settings? Wrong, benchmarking puts it at around 30fps! I set all the graphics to low and the fps appears to be locked at 66....why? Turns take forever, random graphics glitches, terrible AI that makes the game boring, stupid capture the flag in land battles that essentially throws any terrain based tactics out the window, did I mention the AI? Oh yes, but it's that bad it needs mentioning twice! Creative Assembly needs to fix this broken game....and quickly, the first Beta patch has made no improvements and if anything my fps dropped by 1-2! Patches are supposed to make things better, not worse!!! CA need to get their whole development team and probably a very good external QA team to fix the following:

    - Hardware optimization (especially multi GPU and cards with large VRAM)
    - AI
    - Campaign turn times
    - Remove capture the flag from land battles, it is not welcome and has ruined the primary attraction of the TW franchise.....you know....the war part.
    - Improve unit textures, Shogun 2's were better
    - Overhaul character avatars.....they look....terrible, seriously just replace them with concept art, CA's art department are the only ones who come out of this launch with their reputations intact!

    There are probably many other things that need addressing, but CA need to accept that the game is broken and needs fixing quickly.....I would also like to see some kind of special offer for people like myself who pre-ordered this game in the hope CA had learned from previous mistakes. I certainly won't be buying another TW game at launch, that is for sure.    … Expand
  50. luise7001
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Game is a absolute, utter, disappointment. The gameplay it self is horrible, dumbed down, and hand holding. The optimization is terrible, not only graphics look worse than 3 year old Shogun 2, but the game is buggy as hell with constant CTDs.

    DONT BUY THIS GAME
  51. Jgarza2754
    Sep 7, 2013
    3
    Started the total war series with Shogun long ago. Have bought every game and watched the progression. This game was a disappointment for me. It is playable to a degree but the AI is seriously the worst I have seen yet. I spent the last 30 minutes in fast forward while a huge enemy army ran in a circle blob thing outside of my city. The naval combat is meh. The graphics are relatively okStarted the total war series with Shogun long ago. Have bought every game and watched the progression. This game was a disappointment for me. It is playable to a degree but the AI is seriously the worst I have seen yet. I spent the last 30 minutes in fast forward while a huge enemy army ran in a circle blob thing outside of my city. The naval combat is meh. The graphics are relatively ok but the optimization is horrible. Even with a kick ass gaming comp, it is going to be clunky for you. The UI is invasive, but at least you have the option to turn it off. Sadly this game is a perfect example of what is wrong with the game industry nowadays. Even the critics push games for the dollar sign. The metascore for this game is an 81 and the user score is 4.2 Really goes to show you. The solution to the problem is this: Don't buy anymore of these games, and don't buy this one. This company is no longer focused on making excellent games, this company is focused on making more money, and form a game designers standpoint, there is not a whole lot that was done to the game. Certainly not enough to take as long as it did to come out. EA and CA can officially suck it from here on out....… Expand
  52. tommyboss
    Sep 8, 2013
    1
    A beta game.
    Broken AI.
    Horrible Ui.
    Poorly optimized.
    Confusing unit cards.
    One year per turn.
    One season.
    NO ITALIAN LANGUAGE.
    50 euros wasted! ridiculous
  53. TheAtomicTofu
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    This game is expect the series to get better with sequels from Shogun and not worst! The AI is horrible,the script for the characters is abysmal.Much less there are deformed faces on the characters,and whatever you saw in the trailer,is NOT THERE. The graphics is horrendous,its like a 2005 PC game,also there is major desync problems. Whatever you saw on youtube about people saying theThis game is expect the series to get better with sequels from Shogun and not worst! The AI is horrible,the script for the characters is abysmal.Much less there are deformed faces on the characters,and whatever you saw in the trailer,is NOT THERE. The graphics is horrendous,its like a 2005 PC game,also there is major desync problems. Whatever you saw on youtube about people saying the game is awesome,is a LIE by the company probably paying reviewers to smack a high rating in turn for cash.DO NOT SPEND 50 BUCKS ON THIS GAME. YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED… Expand
  54. Vichard
    Sep 11, 2013
    0
    In its current state this game is a pile of junk, don't waste your money unless you are lucky enough to have a system that can run it (apparently only 2% are affected by the performance issues-ya right CA) that aside it's taken content out like no guard button, no family trees.

    What the hell, a lot of waiting and a lot of hype for a pile of crap
  55. baby_bot
    Sep 11, 2013
    0
    Close game in a rage, after first water battle.
    But i am big fan of medieval total war...so sad.
    Ground battle too casual, very slow, any fun...
    I am upset.
  56. Spartan_swe
    Sep 14, 2013
    0
    This is a game in the same meaning a car is a car with a very good looking chassis, but nothing in it.
    This game is a product of marketing and profit making.
    Maybe in a year, this will be a finished product and worth buying, but as of this time, buy Total War Rome 1, a game that came out in 2004 and still have better gameplay, immersion and strategy. I have a hard time rating this    This is a game in the same meaning a car is a car with a very good looking chassis, but nothing in it.
    This game is a product of marketing and profit making.
    Maybe in a year, this will be a finished product and worth buying, but as of this time, buy Total War Rome 1, a game that came out in 2004 and still have better gameplay, immersion and strategy.

    I have a hard time rating this "product" because it feels like the same way it would feel rating a film sitting in the editing room watching the first rough cut, without sound, cgi and music.

    Absolute garbage!    … Expand
  57. ObjectivePlayer
    Sep 24, 2013
    3
    It is really hard to be objective with this release considering I have played since the first medieval came out, and I have many many hours in Rome 1. With that said, this is the most disappointing game I have ever purchased in my gaming history. Not just because it didn't live up to the hype, it was simply bad. And there are many features that have been taken away from the other gamesIt is really hard to be objective with this release considering I have played since the first medieval came out, and I have many many hours in Rome 1. With that said, this is the most disappointing game I have ever purchased in my gaming history. Not just because it didn't live up to the hype, it was simply bad. And there are many features that have been taken away from the other games which were good, and instead have been replaced by gimmicky crap. Balancing in this game is the worst I have ever seen in a total war game as far as units go. Bugs, horrendous graphics on high end computers. Passive AI and dull battles. I could go on... but at this point it is useless. Just look at the score I have given and that should be enough to go on from here.… Expand
  58. Yyrkroon
    Sep 9, 2013
    5
    Long time TW fan going back to Shogun (original). Rome II is apparently a bridge too far. Redeveloped AI is incredibly passive in the campaign I suspect it isn't able to cope with the new campaign features. Battle AI is incredibly easy. Just isn't fun.
  59. MrJade
    Sep 16, 2013
    4
    This game looked to be a new era in the Creative Assembly's star studded history. The pre-release hype, coupled with the amazing screen shots, and stunning CGI footage certainly seemed to reinforce this belief.
    Then the game was released. Not only did the single player campaign have bugs, but it had bugs that rendered the game nearly unplayable (minutes of wait time between turns, massive    This game looked to be a new era in the Creative Assembly's star studded history. The pre-release hype, coupled with the amazing screen shots, and stunning CGI footage certainly seemed to reinforce this belief.
    Then the game was released. Not only did the single player campaign have bugs, but it had bugs that rendered the game nearly unplayable (minutes of wait time between turns, massive frame rate issues, and more). The game's AI is equally crippled. The enemy will hardly ever build a large army, and even when it does the army is comprised entirely of early game units, even 100's of turns into the game. The major factions, Carthage, Sparta, Egypt, Rome, Macedon, are all swallowed up by smaller factions because of the ignorance and idiocy of the game's AI.
    Battles rarely present a challenge, and this reflects poorly on the Creative Assembly.
    All in all, this game is a bust. Hardly worth your time, and you should only pick it up out of the bargain bin.    … Expand
  60. gunnergoz
    Sep 10, 2013
    5
    CA's Rome 2 is a disappointing step down from what we were led to expect. It has the feel of an unfinished product released months too soon. TW Shogun 2 was better thought out and reflected some passion for the subject matter. This game gives the impression of a harried design team that was impacted more by budgetary constraints and corporate micro-management than by it's own creativityCA's Rome 2 is a disappointing step down from what we were led to expect. It has the feel of an unfinished product released months too soon. TW Shogun 2 was better thought out and reflected some passion for the subject matter. This game gives the impression of a harried design team that was impacted more by budgetary constraints and corporate micro-management than by it's own creativity and passion for the subject matter. Too much was sacrificed for too little gain, and what gain there is supposedly in tactical graphics is flawed in execution by poor optimization. The strategic map is so large as to make simulating the actual Roman Empire all but impossible, given the rates of movement on the strategic map. I was very much looking forward to this but now have serious doubts about the future of the TW franchise, given how it was handled with this opportunity.… Expand
  61. macishiryu
    Oct 7, 2013
    0
    After hundreds of hours playing the wonderful Shogun 2, this was my bigger expectation this year.

    And became the deception of the year.

    After 3 updates, I still barely can play it. No crossfire support, horrible textures, bad optimisation, AI ridiculous.

    I will forget this game and now returning to Shogun 2.
  62. thecoon
    Nov 10, 2013
    0
    I'm giving this game zero because I think anyone would be disappointed playing it. This is especially true due to how the game was portrayed by its creators vs. how it actually plays on your computer.

    The biggest drawback is that its graphic engine is highly inefficient and runs badly at low settings while looking bad.
  63. jseph1234
    Sep 4, 2013
    5
    This game was not ready for release and requires a lot of changes to make it worth playing:
    I gave it a score 5/10 due to the following:
    1. Capture point concept in general: Causes the A.I. to sit back and just guard those points and not properly reinforce their beleaguered troops that are under fire. Plus, sometimes you get the A.I. just camping those points, very frustrating. 2.    This game was not ready for release and requires a lot of changes to make it worth playing:
    I gave it a score 5/10 due to the following:

    1. Capture point concept in general: Causes the A.I. to sit back and just guard those points and not properly reinforce their beleaguered troops that are under fire. Plus, sometimes you get the A.I. just camping those points, very frustrating.

    2. Battle Animation Speed/Length of battles: The animations are moving WAY too fast and the units are dying WAY WAY WAY too quick. The length of the battles are absurd.
    3. Blobbing and lack of cohesion of unit lines (A.I. and Player): Perhaps this is due to animation/battle speed but this is not ancient warfare, particularly when you have enemy troops able to push through a phalanx; that is not going to happen without someone dying.

    4. User Interface Cards for Battle are ridiculously obstructive, hard to read and don't provide nearly enough information    … Expand
  64. alQamar
    Sep 5, 2013
    5
    Hello everyone,

    after I noticed that we have a very biased official review from magazines, and most comments here let down a certain part of the game, I felt the need to write my own review here: The classical multiplayer I've waited for is a completely desaster at the moment. If you are a player that loved Rome 1 multiplayer, the still active community and their clans and their    Hello everyone,

    after I noticed that we have a very biased official review from magazines, and most comments here let down a certain part of the game, I felt the need to write my own review here:

    The classical multiplayer I've waited for is a completely desaster at the moment.

    If you are a player that loved Rome 1 multiplayer, the still active community and their clans and their world wide hosted tournaments, you instantly wish to rename this Rome 2 into

    "Total Unplayable: Rome 2".

    But there are GOOD things to tell aswell, and I may start with them:

    PROS:
    - Rome 1 fans wished to get rid of avatar, retainers and skilling units there are pro and cons of these. I am with the conservative party here

    - The new deployment is great for clans and teamplayers as you have only one big deployment zone.

    - very good multicore support, and hyperthreading support and freaking fast loading times

    refer: http://www.twcenter.net/forums/showthread.php?549498-Multiple-core-CPU-utilisation&p=13205394#post13205394

    - Classical skilling of veterans, no messing and 60 secs hurry to pick your army anymore.

    - A lot of new game modes
    http://imageshack.us/f/850/zg8d.jpg/

    - you can pick a map location to host a game on the whole campaign map. This may sound new but it was there in Rome 1 aswell but hidden. Now it is easier to make maps, you can even "favorite" your locations. The map preview are now detailed and replaced the fancy pictures of Shogun 2.

    - if your computer can handle it you can set double amount of stack, so 40 units stack per player instead of 20. Currently the performance is that bad that you cannot use it on ultra extreme preset
    GTX Titan does 44 fps on maxed out settings :P

    - The units are sorted by their means and strengh however in the game

    - The alternate attack mode is back again. Pressing ALT key you can force a unit to attack in melee (swords) even cav with pikes, slingers and archers

    - CA spend the chat some great new features like cut & paste (stating or explaining rulesets like CWB or others are not a pain anymore), also better blocking features, reziseable windows, and is for some reason disabled by default. You need to press the Z Y key to enable or hide it.

    - you can pick one of three general presets which all have pro cons in special abilities. In a team match, well applied together they are decisive.

    - all units are very responsive on command, especially when in fight, you can withdraw them much better than in all other TW games

    - many taunts on enemies and accents

    MIXED:
    - Assault siege weapons are on a seperate unit tab ingame. Cost time and micro.

    - We have a variety of units, though the unit cards are not easy to learn and recognize.

    - all units have special abilities which makes fun but also there may be lack of sense on some of the abilities

    - no sword shield skilling anymore only chevrons but compared to Rome 1 you can see the impact of skilling on a seperate unit stats tab. - CA stated there is no mulitmonitor support, but with some tweaks, I've seen it working. So no support seems to be they do not support it on issues, but basically it works. NEGATIVE: - new tactical map (tab key) and unit grouping modes but units do not keep formation like in Rome 1 when advancing. This is a basic warscape issue, that won't be solved. - Eventough you can pick a free location for the battle, you cannot enlarge the terrain thumbnails and they are very dark, low res. You cannot see much details of the terrain esp. hills and obstacles. - I am not a fan of ladders, as I am oldschool player and better stick to tourneys, but the ladders are really too plain now. - no "free for all mode (FFA)" anymore poor Prince of Macedon - no unit or avatar customisation anymore, not even colors or skins - only basic MLAA antialiasing - no DX 11 tesselation support anymore - no HDR light support anymore - the chat lobby and common chat is still not working globally like in Rome 1. You cannot see players online in the global window, rooms are limited to 100 players, and rooms are limited to your setup download region in Steam preferences. So only "local" chat partners. No community this way! - the performance of the game is a -3 10 bummer: while a AMD X3 with a 5870 runs with 40 FPS avg. on high settings, a i7-4770K with a GTX Titan does only have 44 fps on maxed out settings. Both running at 1920x1080 - the game is lagging even on high framerates (about 40) and occasionally you get FPS drops to 9 or 10 with no clear reason. The FPS are not very stable going up and down all the time. - The included "forest" benchmark is not intense enough to give you a good feeling if the graphics settings are choosen well or too high. - The pilae trails are HORRIBLE. Romans throwing them alltogether and it looks like lasers from certain point of views. They throw them while running not stopping like Rome 1 for that, which was more realistic, trails just pop up over their head. Sil    … Expand
  65. jimjamesjim
    Sep 5, 2013
    5
    I have loved this game from the start, but as I played (completed a campaign now) I took note of many problems.

    First, prologue campaign is bugged. I beat it and it stayed "locked" on chapter 3. Had to replay the final siege again to get it to finally work. A guy from work had the same problem so it isn't just my system. There are a lot of problems with the tactical battles. The    I have loved this game from the start, but as I played (completed a campaign now) I took note of many problems.

    First, prologue campaign is bugged. I beat it and it stayed "locked" on chapter 3. Had to replay the final siege again to get it to finally work. A guy from work had the same problem so it isn't just my system.

    There are a lot of problems with the tactical battles. The flag system is garbage. I didn't mind it at first but have grown to hate it. It takes away the use of terrain for defensive battles as you have to defend the flag.

    Battle speed is also far to fast. The longest battle I have had was 7 minutes, and that was because I was seiging a city and my naval artillery would not fire on the walls/towers (a huge bug, tried in a few battles and it doesn't work for me), on average my battles are about 3 min tops, making it too fast to enjoy the visuals of the battle.

    It took awhile for me to start getting into naval battles, and was disappointed in them. Ships would get stuck in open water at times.

    Diplomacy isn't as good as they advertised, but not as bad as most non-critic reviews I have read. To get anything you have to bribe them with money usually. I have even been asked to join a war and they demanded I pay them to join their war.

    There are a bunch more bugs that I know they will eventually fix. But I hope they re work some of the game mechanics in the future as well. I am having fun but the game could be much better, and should be. It feels like they wanted to reach a bigger crowd so added in "popular" game mechanics from other games. Which just don't really fit in a Total War games (like the flag capturing and the micro abilities of units).    … Expand
  66. dihnekis
    Oct 3, 2013
    1
    This game is so insulting. I cannot believe that I spent $34 on this, luckily getting it on sale. Seriously, one of the worst financial decisions of my life. I was broke, but loved the first RTW and hadn't played much from CA since then, so I went ahead and bought it. The game is just broken. Technical glitches are not even half of the problem. The AI is so unbelievably terrible, there isThis game is so insulting. I cannot believe that I spent $34 on this, luckily getting it on sale. Seriously, one of the worst financial decisions of my life. I was broke, but loved the first RTW and hadn't played much from CA since then, so I went ahead and bought it. The game is just broken. Technical glitches are not even half of the problem. The AI is so unbelievably terrible, there is no challenge, etc. I'm done with this piece of trash.… Expand
  67. uizueite
    Sep 11, 2013
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Its a nice beta test! Has tons of bugs. I feel disapointed with this game, its almos like a fraud.
    Good thing is the producers are working hard to solve its issues, they say so...    … Expand
  68. Frej524
    Sep 24, 2013
    0
    This is sadly the worst game in the series.
    The unit cards are confusing.
    no family tree
    no skill tree
    Horrible release, too many performance and optimization bugs, greatest disappointment of the year.
  69. Vicentum
    Sep 25, 2013
    4
    Creative Assembly it up. If you are interested in this game you must know that you are paying a full priced game for a beta version with mant different and exotic bugs.

    The IA is one of the most stupid ones I have seen, failing in so many different things that its predecesors could do properly. I have no word. As an example I will write about the siege battles. In Medieval 2 Total War    Creative Assembly it up. If you are interested in this game you must know that you are paying a full priced game for a beta version with mant different and exotic bugs.

    The IA is one of the most stupid ones I have seen, failing in so many different things that its predecesors could do properly. I have no word. As an example I will write about the siege battles. In Medieval 2 Total War the IA could use siege engines properly while in Rome II the army just smashes into the door in a huge moshpit.

    If you are reading this, don't bother to buy the game right now, wait a few months when hopefully the patches will have fixed the game.    … Expand
  70. wozmir
    Sep 25, 2013
    4
    I feel deceived by CA's marketing. What was meant to be the greatest TW game to date is nothing more than a beta version of something big. They're frantically trying to patch this up, to no avail. The AI's passive, the optimisation is lame, only modders are trying to save this game. I just wonder how could the reviewers give the game around 80%. It's not that it's bad it couldn't ever beI feel deceived by CA's marketing. What was meant to be the greatest TW game to date is nothing more than a beta version of something big. They're frantically trying to patch this up, to no avail. The AI's passive, the optimisation is lame, only modders are trying to save this game. I just wonder how could the reviewers give the game around 80%. It's not that it's bad it couldn't ever be good because it's unfinished.… Expand
  71. sturmstorm
    Sep 25, 2013
    3
    OMG.... Big, Big Total War fan.....

    This game lacks Depth Lacks Strategy Lacks the feel of a Total War Franchise as they threw away the core of the game to make it more arcady. I like the region management and the graphics but that's as far as i go. The Campaigns are Boring, the diplomacy and 'in-house turmoil' doesn't effect the game or even matter. False Advertising and the fact    OMG.... Big, Big Total War fan.....

    This game lacks Depth
    Lacks Strategy
    Lacks the feel of a Total War Franchise as they threw away the core of the game to make it more arcady. I like the region management and the graphics but that's as far as i go. The Campaigns are Boring, the diplomacy and 'in-house turmoil' doesn't effect the game or even matter.

    False Advertising and the fact that i spent 60 Euros on a Beta version of the game CA can wave goodbye to this customer... even though i'm sure it has attracted the new group of fanboys along the way. This is my last ever buy of TW or CA games....

    At least when sim city had difficulties they actually gave money vouchers to buy a new game as an apology here CA said this is what is to be expected from now on "oh yeah and sorry for not warning you this was out strategy"     … Expand
  72. Arthalion
    Sep 25, 2013
    3
    without talking about bad otpimisation, this game is not a good strategy game. Just for 1 reason, there is no IA, just few orders repeated in every situation. So no AI, no strategy, no game. Actually total war rome 2 is just a bugged graphical benchmark.
  73. tmajarov
    Sep 25, 2013
    3
    Rome II is missing many of the features that have made the previous Total War titles immersive strategy games. The game was released with a slew of minor bugs that should have easily identified and addressed in basic Beta testing. Really looks like CA forewent Beta testing to sell preorders and then have purchasers Beta test so they can work out bugs before christmas holiday sales.
  74. Lucker61
    Sep 28, 2013
    1
    1 for the try. Almost everything in this game is a failure. Original RTW is still playable, and this remake is unplayable after 2 campaigns for different countries. Perhaps because they are not different. It's just an illusion. Gameplay is totally screwed.
    And AI is just ubelievably stupid. Even newbie can win the siege in offence against high difficulty AI with double time lesser army.    1 for the try. Almost everything in this game is a failure. Original RTW is still playable, and this remake is unplayable after 2 campaigns for different countries. Perhaps because they are not different. It's just an illusion. Gameplay is totally screwed.
    And AI is just ubelievably stupid. Even newbie can win the siege in offence against high difficulty AI with double time lesser army.
    Those flags are just ridiculous.
    There are a lot of other fails in that game.

    And I'm not talking about all those bugs, that this game is filled.    … Expand
  75. MarcusAntonius
    Sep 28, 2013
    0
    Sega And CA released this game too early. It shows it is a mess and the A.I. is dreadful. Whats worse though is all the blatant lies CA shoved down our throats, this will be the last CA game i will ever buy.
  76. mrdeceptive
    Sep 29, 2013
    0
    Do not buy this game!

    This game is in shambles. A complete piece of garbage with no redeeming factors at all.

    This is not a total war game. It feels like i am beta testing this broken, half put together mess.
  77. Hardcharge
    Sep 29, 2013
    0
    This game gets a 0 out of 10 for being the most shallow, and uninspiring release in the total war series. It's a dumbed down arcade version of Napoleon and Shogun 2 with little immersion, and dozens of features cut out and replaced with gimmicky stuff like magic unit abilities that you must repeatedly click in order to win battles (as opposed to understanding your troops, the terrain, andThis game gets a 0 out of 10 for being the most shallow, and uninspiring release in the total war series. It's a dumbed down arcade version of Napoleon and Shogun 2 with little immersion, and dozens of features cut out and replaced with gimmicky stuff like magic unit abilities that you must repeatedly click in order to win battles (as opposed to understanding your troops, the terrain, and formations), glowing shiny effects all over the place, "streamlined" stupid Ipad OS looking User Interface where you can barely even see nevertheless read about the units and buildings and technologies you're getting, and a map that is basically a giant maze of pathways as opposed to an open world sandbox.

    Combine this with the fact that the AI is so inept and broken that legendary difficulty can't even offer a challenge, and you've got a game that falls well below the Total War Standard due to cut features and rushed/careless production.

    We should have seen this coming, since studio direct Tim Heaton bragged in 2012 about designing games specifically in order to get a high metacritic score and cutting features that they decided wouldn't contribute to that. For this reason this game gets a 0 from me, and hopefully that dude either gets his head screwed on straight or gets canned and replaced by a director that makes games for the players and longtime fans, not reviewers who will sit down with it for 10-20 hours and then never touch it again.    … Expand
  78. solitarybeam
    Oct 7, 2013
    0
    Purchased this game on the 23rd of September and still having major issues with the game. 4 patches in and I feel like Creative ASSemblies should be paying me for beta testing for them and reporting bug after bug.

    I CONTACTED STEAM FOR A REFUND. HIGHLY ENCOURAGE OTHERS TO DO THE SAME.
  79. BigMac849
    Oct 26, 2013
    8
    After the patches CA has been rolling out, I must say this is my favourite of the series. If we continue to get these great patches, I can see this game becoming a solid 9.
  80. avangelice
    Nov 2, 2013
    0
    How on Earth did some people provide a score of near 100 when it is obvious this game was not ready to be shipped to us? I am sorry CA you just killed one of your long standing customer here.
  81. Thedipwad
    Nov 7, 2013
    0
    It won't even let me play it all it does is just crash it's a pice of that's what it is shhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiitttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttttt let me reframe that it is major shiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiit what the sega
  82. Fyeris
    Nov 17, 2013
    4
    I REALLY wanted to like this game. The trailers made it look exciting and action packed, but a lot of the game mechanics seem wrong or broken. Most of the factions seem to play the exact same, and the game focuses more on simply smashing your troops head long into those of the enemy, as opposed to previous games focusing on flanking and positioning. Overall, while I wanted this game to beI REALLY wanted to like this game. The trailers made it look exciting and action packed, but a lot of the game mechanics seem wrong or broken. Most of the factions seem to play the exact same, and the game focuses more on simply smashing your troops head long into those of the enemy, as opposed to previous games focusing on flanking and positioning. Overall, while I wanted this game to be great, it landed somewhere in the "meh" range. Not worth the $45. Would buy again for $10.… Expand
  83. Scrivser
    Dec 2, 2013
    1
    I can't give this game any more than a 1. Why is that?

    Yes, it's got great battles! Yes, it's got great civilization development. Yes, it looks great, yadda yadda yadda... all the things I'd hoped and dreamed for. But all of this is completely and utterly pointless in light of the fact that there are game-breaking bugs everywhere. No, not some places, *EVERYWHERE*. There's the bug    I can't give this game any more than a 1. Why is that?

    Yes, it's got great battles!
    Yes, it's got great civilization development.
    Yes, it looks great, yadda yadda yadda... all the things I'd hoped and dreamed for.

    But all of this is completely and utterly pointless in light of the fact that there are game-breaking bugs everywhere. No, not some places, *EVERYWHERE*. There's the bug that causes you no longer to be able to control the campaign map, the bug that causes AI to freeze on their turns, preventing you from progressing, the bug that causes FPS to drop to LESS THAN ONE (even on a high-end gaming setup like mine!) if it simply loads the right weather combination, the bug that desyncs multiplayer battles so two players see completely different things happening at once, the bug that desyncs entire CAMPAIGNS so co-op players see ENTIRELY different turns being taken each round... and more!

    The number of bugs is just OUT of CONTROL. And this is only what I've experienced myself in my literal two days of having had this game other people have many other problems. And it has been out for 3 months now. 3 months of patch time is still not enough to fix this broken and burning shambles that was pushed out the door eons before it was ready. I cannot progress and regret ever buying this broken software.

    Please do not make the mistake I did. Please stay away from this game.    … Expand
  84. 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.
  85. 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
  86. 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
  87. Binbag
    Jan 11, 2014
    1
    Yet another company thinking they can sell incomplete games, and everyone will just hang in there and wait 6 months until they get it right.

    Played the original, what 10 years ago I think, which was brilliant. Expected much more than this. It looks, feels and plays the same to me. I'm sure there's something there that's actually improved. Just b******d if I can see it. Save your    Yet another company thinking they can sell incomplete games, and everyone will just hang in there and wait 6 months until they get it right.

    Played the original, what 10 years ago I think, which was brilliant.
    Expected much more than this. It looks, feels and plays the same to me.
    I'm sure there's something there that's actually improved. Just b******d if I can see it.

    Save your money and get the original on fleabay for a couple of quid.    … Expand
  88. fredgwatkin
    Jan 11, 2014
    0
    I was so frustrated with this addition to the franchise, that I set up my own independent survey which 4,000 people have responded to. Just to check that I wasn't alone. And NO I WASN'T. 72% of people rated the game between average and abysmal, with a majority rating it towards the negative end of the scale. What does that tell you?

    It is an utter abomination when compared to its    I was so frustrated with this addition to the franchise, that I set up my own independent survey which 4,000 people have responded to. Just to check that I wasn't alone. And NO I WASN'T. 72% of people rated the game between average and abysmal, with a majority rating it towards the negative end of the scale. What does that tell you?

    It is an utter abomination when compared to its predecessors. All they had to do was reskin Rome I. Instead they have sucked the life out of it and released it with the majority of features either broken or just so poorly designed they're not even worth paying attention to.

    The worst part is, we're 9 patches in after 4 months and there's no sign it going to get anything near the radical overhaul it needs. CA and Sega have frankly just insulted their fans with this game and there's little chance they've won many new ones.

    A disgraceful shambles of a game that should have been an epic. So atrocious that people deserve to lose their jobs over it. CA have really dropped the ball badly with this one. The Total War franchise is a dead as the dodo and that's a crying shame.    … Expand
  89. VerriusLucius
    Feb 11, 2014
    1
    This game has left me vastly disappointed. I was a long time fan of the series, and eagerly awaited this release - even going as far as buying a new GFX card to enjoy it.

    It was a waste of a GFX card, and a waste of considerable time. My multiplayer campaigns were/still are barely playable, with desyncs and bugs stopping myself and friends from 'enjoying' the game. When we can play    This game has left me vastly disappointed. I was a long time fan of the series, and eagerly awaited this release - even going as far as buying a new GFX card to enjoy it.

    It was a waste of a GFX card, and a waste of considerable time.

    My multiplayer campaigns were/still are barely playable, with desyncs and bugs stopping myself and friends from 'enjoying' the game.
    When we can play the game, the Campaign AI (CAI) is passive, even on legendary difficulty, with very little in the way of challenge beyond simply refusing any trade agreements.
    The Battle AI (BAI) is a joke. We can capture cities by sneaking around, fights are not tactical or immersive, but simply short, arcade style battles that offer little in the way of challenge of fulfilment. That is when the AI acts as it is supposed to, without just simply failing to attack or just retreating.

    The graphics and stability of the game are horrendous compared with what was initially marketed. Even on the best graphic settings, it looked nothing like was original advertised.
    The marketing campaign involving the AI was simply peddling fallacies, and I feel deeply betrayed as a loyal customer. Seeing the AI developer talk about how complex and astounding his AI creation was, yet being left with a twitching mess after release leads me to feel nothing but contempt for the developers.

    It feels evident that there was little to no testing before release and the number of subsequent patches simply confirm this - not confirming the developer's 'dedication', but their sheer unwillingness/inability to provide pre-release quality controls.

    There have been improvements after the patching process, this is true - but they are improvements that should have already been within the game, that was marketed as a wholly finished, polished & accomplished product, which this was not.

    Compared to the previous release, Total War: Shogun 2, this has been shown wanting.
    Many popular features found within the previous titles have been removed, much to the detriment of the overall game. Some, have been added, yet they provide little relief when confronted with a game that is, to borrow a term, an omnishambles.

    Factional politics has little relevance to a game, and it has taken the developers 5 months to write a simple, two page guide explaining this feature - something that had been promised for some time. There is no connection or investment in generals or agents, as they are too short lived.
    The attributes they have are confusing, badly explained/laid out and add very, very little to overall gameplay.
    Unit cards are confusing and all very similar. I understand they were attempting to keep to an artistic style, but seem to have forgotten that the ancient world was also home to coloured paints, beyond the red/black figure vases from Classical Hellas.
    Battle deployment controls lack the fluidity and accuracy of previous titles.
    Naval combats offer little fun or diversity, and are simply unplayable for the most part, or utterly excruciating to try to control.

    The DLC is simply a slap in the face. Many of the 'factions' released, were already within the game, and unlockable through modding - they even had the voice overs, in many cases. All it is, is simple gating of content already in the game, for those whom would pay for it. Aside from the 'Caesar in Gaul' "expansion", they add very little into the game beyond opening factions that should have already been a part of the £30 price of the game. Whether they were initially free or not is of no issue - they are now charged for, and this is a horrible marketing tactic in my view.

    The game in itself, I would rate a 3/10. The overall score, given the actions of the developers, the sheer inaccuracies thrown up by the pre-release marketing and the gameplay compared to earlier releases, stands for me at a meagre 1/10.

    I feel I've wasted time and a considerable amount of money on this game. And simply, have been left with a sour taste by the developers.

    No amount of apologies will grant me my money returned, or my time back.    … Expand
  90. Sukvirus
    Jan 21, 2014
    0
    Where should i start? The huge overrated price? 55 f**** EUROS???? for a piece of s*** i can't even play??? my freaking computer crashed and needed to get FIXED 2 TIMES because os this stupid game! i just played 2 times and my computer need to be repaired because of THIS?? you need a badass computer to actually enjoy the graphics! and i have a really good computer, i can run far cry 3 inWhere should i start? The huge overrated price? 55 f**** EUROS???? for a piece of s*** i can't even play??? my freaking computer crashed and needed to get FIXED 2 TIMES because os this stupid game! i just played 2 times and my computer need to be repaired because of THIS?? you need a badass computer to actually enjoy the graphics! and i have a really good computer, i can run far cry 3 in the maximum graphics! and the performance is still awful! But thats not the worst! Oh no, that's not the f**** worst. The only 3 battles i manage to fight were Rome VS Etruscan League. Their soldiers just standed there while i pepper them with javelins!!!! the lag, THE F*** LAG!!!!! oh right and i didn't preorder. so basically "F*** you! give me 8€ so that you can play as SPARTA. i freaking wanted to play as Sparta. they cutted the game and selled it to pieces! F*** you!!! dont buy this piece of crap! dont do the same mistake as i did! BAD AI. FREAKING MOSH PITS (you can't see the fighting animations) BADLY OPTIMISED. and to add insult to injury:the DLC whoring. oh my god. the game was cutted to pieces and selled. dont buy this just yet. wait 1 year and THEN buy it.on a steam sale.… Expand
  91. mark4ca
    Jan 25, 2014
    3
    This game is a dilution of what other Total War titles established. The campaign game is quite confusing, with a User Interface that looks right out of the Civ III ... 10 years ago! ... Faction leaders keep their "faces" on the UI, similar to the Civ's ones - which is basically the same face no matter which of your own generals you pick. No character development, no family trees. Even theThis game is a dilution of what other Total War titles established. The campaign game is quite confusing, with a User Interface that looks right out of the Civ III ... 10 years ago! ... Faction leaders keep their "faces" on the UI, similar to the Civ's ones - which is basically the same face no matter which of your own generals you pick. No character development, no family trees. Even the voice acting was cheapened. Whereas Rome I has some epic discourses from the Roman Generals, now it's so ridiculous - a weak voice and lame lines - that you feel sorry for the pixelated soldiers waiting to enter battle. And battle ... lol ... what a joke it is! ... With a battle engine seemingly rehashed from Empire TW ... the most powerful units on the battlefield are the ranged units! ... You can destroy lines of hastati with javelin throwers, and because the range of the units are different ... the hastati just stand there under the sun ... awkwardly realigning their ranks. Troops movement are downright retarded ... with whole armies chasing a group of slingers throughout the city ... like a crazy police cruiser chasing a car in GTA. I was pissed ... because the game looks like nothing from the videos that had been shown before. Pretty pissed that I shelled fifty bucks for this game. Shame on CA and Sega ... :( .… Expand
  92. MyStore
    Jan 28, 2014
    2
    I find myself surprised that I'm giving this a '2', I'm not sure it even deserves that. Off the top of my head the only contribution it has made to the franchise is the legion system. That is it. And that isn't that big a contribution. NOTHING else that it did was a worthy step forward in the franchise's history; the province system was horrendously executed, the politics system was bothI find myself surprised that I'm giving this a '2', I'm not sure it even deserves that. Off the top of my head the only contribution it has made to the franchise is the legion system. That is it. And that isn't that big a contribution. NOTHING else that it did was a worthy step forward in the franchise's history; the province system was horrendously executed, the politics system was both pointless and unsatisfying, the AI is even worse than usual, the combat mechanics are AWFUL, there is NO unit collision and combat just looks disgusting, though the units fighting do not.

    I could have forgiven bugs and patchable problems. But the problems with Rome II aren't patchable; they're problems the designers created with their poor decision-making and insistence on using an engine for a task it wasn't designed for; Warscape simply wasn't designed for the 'meat grinder' hand-to-hand combat CA themselves said they were aiming for. In the words of one YouTube reviewer; if you've played Total War since the first Shogun, Medieval or Rome, then this game will only disappoint you.    … Expand
  93. mmclaug
    Feb 14, 2014
    3
    I was really excited to get this game with all the hype (of course), but soon found it to be lacking a lot of the qualities that the former Total War series games had. I didn't like the campaign map graphics at all; in fact, even without all of the latest graphics, the former games had more of an appeal. The one good thing is the gameplay graphics and smoothness of it, but it's all theI was really excited to get this game with all the hype (of course), but soon found it to be lacking a lot of the qualities that the former Total War series games had. I didn't like the campaign map graphics at all; in fact, even without all of the latest graphics, the former games had more of an appeal. The one good thing is the gameplay graphics and smoothness of it, but it's all the small things that took away from what could have been a good game. The thing that bothered me the most was that you can't zoom out very far to see the campaign map -- this is a feature that just amazes me as to why it was removed. Players like to see their accomplishments, especially on the campaign map where one can zoom out and see all the lands under his/her control. Also, I miss the portraits of generals rather than the 3D full-body captures. Overall, I just wasn't at all excited about this game. Why is it that every game company, especially Creative Assembly, feels like they have to significantly change things that obviously gave them good ratings to begin with? Do yourself a favor next time and ask your consumers what THEY want to see in the game.… Expand
  94. bspurlock
    Feb 14, 2014
    2
    I have always been a fan of the Total War series and wait for new releases with joy. However there seems to be a demon at work with Rome II.
    I have always considered myself as a good to decent student of strategy on the battlefield. Keeping my enemies to my front avoiding having my flanks threatened and always looking for a chance to flank my enemy.
    In Rome II it does not matter if I out    I have always been a fan of the Total War series and wait for new releases with joy. However there seems to be a demon at work with Rome II.
    I have always considered myself as a good to decent student of strategy on the battlefield. Keeping my enemies to my front avoiding having my flanks threatened and always looking for a chance to flank my enemy.
    In Rome II it does not matter if I out number my opponent or not or apparently if I even set it on easy, which I never do, I can not win a single battle. Even if I engage an enemy unit and flank it while engaged I lose the combat with my units routing from the field. I want to throw this piece of crap in the junk.    … Expand
  95. ekiprkl
    Sep 4, 2014
    0
    Well done, CA. I give up. Empire was a **** up which I can forgive because of the new engine, but now our relationship needs to end. You can't fix this.

    - terrible graphics and optimization (how did you manage make it worse than in shogun?) - UI is total and absolute **** on the battles. Unit cards tell you nothing and the new top view is practically useless. - still no unit    Well done, CA. I give up. Empire was a **** up which I can forgive because of the new engine, but now our relationship needs to end. You can't fix this.

    - terrible graphics and optimization (how did you manage make it worse than in shogun?)
    - UI is total and absolute **** on the battles. Unit cards tell you nothing and the new top view is practically useless.
    - still no unit collisions. Oh how fun it is when everything devolves into a mass of retards. Third game with this engine, ****ing fix it already
    - still desyncs on coop campaign (again, third game with this engine)
    - AI is worse than ever before
    - DLC whoring. Make real expansions not this bull****.
    - stop dumbing down every ****ing thing. This is not a console game. There is no reason for it. Add features not take them away.

    The most damning thing is the fact that by now the game has been out quite a while and it's still only marginally better. You can't or won't fix this, just like you did with Empire. I gave you a second change with Shogun, not going to give you a third one.

    My advice: buy original Rome Total War, both of the Medieval Total Wars and Shogun. Don't touch anything else. Or on a second thought, just stop funding CA alltogether.    … Expand
  96. Rikalonius
    Sep 4, 2013
    4
    Beware the Nones of September. When a game receives and orgy of "best game" awards prior to release, it means some Roman-esque political machinations are going on between the developers and the gaming press.

    After a ten hours of post release play I'm ready to ask for a refund. The graphics at extreme fall well short of the advertised images. The UI is lazy. Shogun's UI was much    Beware the Nones of September. When a game receives and orgy of "best game" awards prior to release, it means some Roman-esque political machinations are going on between the developers and the gaming press.

    After a ten hours of post release play I'm ready to ask for a refund. The graphics at extreme fall well short of the advertised images. The UI is lazy. Shogun's UI was much better and much more culturally immersive. For instance I expected a full screen character sheet for my generals and my agents, but it was like something out of early 90s. It felt like a holder to be replaced by future art assets.

    The battles so far have been horrible. I'm not sure who they are making this game for, but I'm of the opinion that high strategy games should allow the player to issue commands and have units preform according to their training, not have to micromanage every aspect of a large armies movements. Don't my units have NCOs? My friend who started playing the Iceni said he lost a siege he was winning because an enemy unit took over some forest checkpoint. Does this make a lick of sense?

    The prologue was mediocre even given the bad ground AI; the sea UI was just unspeakably idiotic.

    I should have never bought this game at first release. I'm sure the game will get better, maybe, but as many are saying, this release is a bad omen for CA. We the players are going to have to start demanding more. I won't be buying another Total War game until after release and I've had a chance to read actual reviews and not hyped up gaming press reviews. They no longer have any credibility with me.    … Expand
  97. dinakos
    Feb 6, 2014
    6
    After the ninth patch the game runs way better. Still the siege mechanics are bad the political system needs further optimization. But the game does not deserve a 4/10 as before but rather a 6/10.
  98. Zippygeorge
    Sep 5, 2013
    0
    For people giving it good reviews and say 'oh it's fine, they'll fix it'. YOU ARE A JOKE. You should review as you get it now, not how you think it'll be in 12 months time after several patches.
    At this moment in time the game is completely broken, AI is terrible and graphics are even worse. I've played all total wars since the first shogun and this is by far the worse.
  99. PerfectJayDread
    Sep 5, 2013
    0
    I am heart broken, I have been playing for 13 hours and it just keeps getting worse and worse... horribly imbalanced. NO optimization of any kind, interface. Everything we knew and loved about Total War has been stripped away and dumbed down. The battles are dreadful, the AI would be better if it wasn't even there to begin with and the balance, OH THE BALANCE. There is none in essence.I am heart broken, I have been playing for 13 hours and it just keeps getting worse and worse... horribly imbalanced. NO optimization of any kind, interface. Everything we knew and loved about Total War has been stripped away and dumbed down. The battles are dreadful, the AI would be better if it wasn't even there to begin with and the balance, OH THE BALANCE. There is none in essence. Blobs, spam, broken units... thats how far CA went for Rome 2.… Expand
  100. Hamishduncan
    Sep 6, 2013
    5
    I have a middle of the range computer like most of you will and this game just doesn't run as well as the rest of the series,i love total war and have all of them but this beta of a game is a let down,the game lacks substance and the draw in factor of other titles,its sad and hopefully they will fix it but i have no trust in the game any more you can see me playing Rome 1 or empire overI have a middle of the range computer like most of you will and this game just doesn't run as well as the rest of the series,i love total war and have all of them but this beta of a game is a let down,the game lacks substance and the draw in factor of other titles,its sad and hopefully they will fix it but i have no trust in the game any more you can see me playing Rome 1 or empire over this until its fixed… 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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