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. Waterz
    Dec 22, 2013
    7
    It is an amazing game much like it's predecessor, yet as many point out it seems more or less unfinished.
    The initially released version 1.0 barely deserves beta status, and i would deem not even worth playing.
    Update to latest beta patch (even though the patch is in beta and can contain some minor problems, the game heavily needs all the fixes they bring in the newer patches!), and you    It is an amazing game much like it's predecessor, yet as many point out it seems more or less unfinished.
    The initially released version 1.0 barely deserves beta status, and i would deem not even worth playing.
    Update to latest beta patch (even though the patch is in beta and can contain some minor problems, the game heavily needs all the fixes they bring in the newer patches!), and you will find it not just playable but very enjoyable!
    Alas you will continually find stuff like phalanx units having so many problems you will all together drop them, and ranged units not firing like suppose to.
    All in all, the recent patches has made the game enjoyable, and hopefully the future patches will restore it to the polished game it deserves to be!     … Expand
  2. SlayerK4
    Jan 2, 2014
    1
    It's just a waste of money and time like spent on pre alpha version. For 4 months since the release I have failed to finish any of the cooperative games to the end. Game crushing, solid bugs, problems with optimization, error saves, stupid AI. And in addition they buried all the strengths of the previous parts of the game. It's just unplayable in any form, totally failed, unfortunately.It's just a waste of money and time like spent on pre alpha version. For 4 months since the release I have failed to finish any of the cooperative games to the end. Game crushing, solid bugs, problems with optimization, error saves, stupid AI. And in addition they buried all the strengths of the previous parts of the game. It's just unplayable in any form, totally failed, unfortunately.

    "Privet sem'e createvi assembly" (c)    … Expand
  3. axxiusdecius
    Jan 11, 2014
    2
    based on what it offers, I'd say: 8/10 for the battles (very well done, but just the same as in previous games),, 9/10 for the faction variety (a step forward from the Shogun 2, which was boring in lacking any variety), but 0/10 for the strategic part: the building tree and the tech tree are tiny, their descriptions are unclear and effects not felt, they were so lazy that building/techsbased on what it offers, I'd say: 8/10 for the battles (very well done, but just the same as in previous games),, 9/10 for the faction variety (a step forward from the Shogun 2, which was boring in lacking any variety), but 0/10 for the strategic part: the building tree and the tech tree are tiny, their descriptions are unclear and effects not felt, they were so lazy that building/techs don't even have pictures! the commerce is also totally undeveloped, the resources don't matter, and so on, so in the strategic map part there just is no fun in playing any more. NONE! Plus the fact that fleets now invade port cities, which is very frustrating, cause while you can afford about 3 or 4 armies and kick ass with them, you cannot afford armies in all ports, and you will constantly lose them. So an average of 5,7 based on the ratings above. but in reality for me it was a 2/10, because played it for a few days and uninstalled it forever, while TW Medieval 2 I still play now, after endless games.… Expand
  4. Madskillz99
    Jan 11, 2014
    0
    If i were being fair, RTW2 would probably score 4 - offering bugged and messy battles (even after months of patching), infantile diplomacy, stroke victim AI and the removal of TW core concepts such as a family tree and seasons, leaving you with a very ordinary and somewhat boring army hack. Having said, CA churning the piece of crud out that I have waited eagerly for over the last 10If i were being fair, RTW2 would probably score 4 - offering bugged and messy battles (even after months of patching), infantile diplomacy, stroke victim AI and the removal of TW core concepts such as a family tree and seasons, leaving you with a very ordinary and somewhat boring army hack. Having said, CA churning the piece of crud out that I have waited eagerly for over the last 10 years, buying a 4k PC just for it's release and 'somehow' getting all the mainstream reviewers to give it 10/10 - WASNT FAIR EITHER. For making me die inside - RTW2 gets 0.… Expand
  5. arsen301
    Jan 29, 2014
    0
    So I bought RTWII in CD in Turkey. Steam says you cannot install the game in this country. I was somehow ripped off. Then with all my naivete I tried my chance in the UK once again. To my utter diasppointment steam says you cannot install the game in this country. In total I paid more than 200 USD for this game, purchased it twice and was robbed twice. I am outraged, just go to hell steam.
  6. gabailey2
    Feb 9, 2014
    4
    This is an astonishingly mediocre game. They took everything that made the other Total War games great, turned it on its end and removed core features. Don't get fooled by the score. It's not so-bad-it's good. It's just boring. I almost feel bad saying this as you can tell effort has been put into making the game, but in the wrong areas. I could forgive glitches if the base game wasThis is an astonishingly mediocre game. They took everything that made the other Total War games great, turned it on its end and removed core features. Don't get fooled by the score. It's not so-bad-it's good. It's just boring. I almost feel bad saying this as you can tell effort has been put into making the game, but in the wrong areas. I could forgive glitches if the base game was excellent. It's not. 9 patches in, it's still astonishingly poorly optimized, plenty of DLC already, and all in all not worth anyone's time and money.… Expand
  7. 2d_beanbag
    Feb 15, 2014
    5
    I'm writing this short review as of patch 9.

    This is no remake of Rome 1. Rome 2 significantly differs from Rome 1 in many ways such as you can no longer: Build and upgrade roads (no idea why they got rid of this feature) Build and upgrade walls: Walls are preset in the game (around capitals namely) and there is no choice for the player to construct walls around his smaller towns    I'm writing this short review as of patch 9.

    This is no remake of Rome 1. Rome 2 significantly differs from Rome 1 in many ways such as you can no longer:

    Build and upgrade roads (no idea why they got rid of this feature)

    Build and upgrade walls: Walls are preset in the game (around capitals namely) and there is no choice for the player to construct walls around his smaller towns which is kind a sad.

    No more family tree (this never really bothered me, but a lot of people have complained about this).

    Build watch towers with your generals

    Micromanage each settlement individually: This means that instead of managing each single city/settlement as in Rome 1, in Rome 2 you manage provinces (between 2 to 4 settlements). This waters down the strategy side of the game greatly as you can no longer set a different tax rate for each settlement, and whereas in Rome 1 where happiness was indicative of certain buildings being built in that particular city, In Rome 2 building say a temple in any of your provinces will increase happiness over the entire province. Personally I think this over simplifies the game and quickens the pace of the game.

    You no longer recruit troops in your settlements, First you pay to train a general, then you can recruit troops by clicking on your general and the troops available to you is down to what military buildings you have built. This is good in some ways, since you can move your lone general around your province and still recruit troops, but in other ways its annoying because now you can't train troops unless you have a general present - and there is a limit to how many generals you can recruit! So remember when you could train a single cohort of Hastati and merge it into an army? Well you can't do that now. Heck you can't even have an army without a general!

    With every military building built (dependent on its type) it automatically assigns a number of garrisoned troops inside that settlement. And you can find out which troops are garrisoned by hovering your mouse over an icon (I would have preferred a panel showing me what soldiers were garrisoned but as of patch 9 nothing). Again I feel this takes away more control from the player. I would much rather decide which troops to garrison inside my settlement rather than have some troops automatically assigned.

    There are many more examples that make Rome 2 feel watered down like this.

    Now a note about the graphics. It looks nothing like the pre-alpha footage. I can set the graphics on Extreme settings and they are still horrendous! The colours are bright and sharp, the water unrealistic. I'm amazed that CA have on their website screen shots that are no way indicative of the actual gameplay; in fact they look Photoshoped. CA seriously have questions to answer since what they showed us pre-release is nothing to what we got. Also there is no proper AA support; the only option you have is on or off - which is ridiculous.
    Sometimes I play BF3 and Skyrim and wonder how on earth Rome 2's graphics are that bad.

    The UI is so so and the unit cards I think are over simplified, plain and similar looking to the other factions.

    Trait cards are many and confusing. They are just presented to the player in an uncategorized fashion which therefore forces you to hover your mouse on each one to see what bonuses they are concealing. Really annoying since you will discover that there are many trait cards with the same bonus only with different looking drawings on the card. Stupid.

    Apparently there is a cultural and political system but to be honest I seem to be able to play the game without even noticing it so it does make me wonder how important it is.

    This game looks, feels and plays like a cross between a beta and a port and the more I play Rome 2 the more I am convinced that this game was further developed for Modding. If you want good graphics, get a mod. If you want better unit cards, choose a mod... Why should we fork out for a game only for it to be right we have to get it modified?! If the modders can make the graphics work why can't the developers at CA??

    A lot of people have rated this game between 2- 3 I think this is harsh. After 9 or so patches the game is so much more playable now stability wise. I give it 5 simply because I still believe it is an unfinished product and that it is very much watered down in many instances. This game is a huge disappointment.    … Expand
  8. TrueReview01
    Feb 16, 2014
    1
    This game is best described as a WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. Sega has managed, in partnership with Creative Assembly, to put out a bug filled game full of promises of BUG FIXES THAT HAVE NOT HAPPENED.

    A game which touts variety, but in reality has very litter variety at all. Each faction is almost exactly the same, they've just put different skins/clothes on the units and then say it    This game is best described as a WASTE OF TIME AND MONEY. Sega has managed, in partnership with Creative Assembly, to put out a bug filled game full of promises of BUG FIXES THAT HAVE NOT HAPPENED.

    A game which touts variety, but in reality has very litter variety at all. Each faction is almost exactly the same, they've just put different skins/clothes on the units and then say it has variety. It's another marketing statement that is full of no truth what so ever. Don't fool yourself into thinking its a great game just because you enjoy Roman history.
    THIS GAME DOES NO JUSTICE TO HISTORY, AND IS NOTHING LIKE THE ADVERTISED MATERIAL USED TO SELL THE GAME.

    Its now February at the time I'm writing this review and the game still has bugs, ai issues, compatibility issues, and lacks basic optimization for many systems. The only people on the internet that say its a good game are most likely Public Relations for company being paid to say its good when its actually not.
    BUYER BEWARE.    … Expand
  9. junedragon3
    Mar 20, 2014
    2
    I find myself conflicted on whether to review this as a Total War game or as an individual game. I'll start of with the TL;DR version:

    As an individual game I'll be generous and give 2/10 As a Total War game? 0.5/10 And here's why (to call a handful out of a host of issues): Luckily I did not buy the game at launch and missed that epic disaster. All of my experience with this    I find myself conflicted on whether to review this as a Total War game or as an individual game. I'll start of with the TL;DR version:

    As an individual game I'll be generous and give 2/10
    As a Total War game? 0.5/10

    And here's why (to call a handful out of a host of issues):

    Luckily I did not buy the game at launch and missed that epic disaster. All of my experience with this game is up to date with the most current patch.

    Feature stripping: Gone is the innovative multiplayer of Shogun ii, the faction-intro videos (and most other polish of past games that lent to the overall experience), great elements of the campaign game (eg. no family tree and the turns are so long (1 year) they'll die before you can really put much work into them), and a host of other features throughout the game.

    Disappointing battles: The battles, the heart of total war games, just feel off and generally disappointing. Numerous mechanics are plainly broken (naval battles are utterly broken, cavalry/chariots routinely routs formed spearmen, unit grouping messes up all the time, especially when transitioning positions, etc.) and the battles are often flat-out boring (even in MP).

    Dreadful Campaign - It's far too easy, ridiculously dumbed-down/simplified/feature-stripped, and just in general boring. It's nowhere near as engaging as past titles in the TW series and is just not very enjoyable overall.

    DLC whoring/practices: oh boy, where to start. From charging $8 for the greek states DLC (pay-to-unlock/on-disc "DLC") which they knew people would really want (as Spartans were really popular in Rome Total War) to the debacle in which units claimed to be added-on in the Beasts of War DLC were found in pre-release advertising footage, which brings us to the next complaint...

    False Advertising: From the "screenshots" and other pre-release footage which hardly resemble the final product even on the mightiest of rigs to promises of the best AI to date (...ya...) and the aforementioned lies about DLC, the level of dishonesty displayed so far has been extremely disappointing.

    I won't even bother complaining about the host of glitches, those god-awful capture flags, the psychotic diplomacy, the atrocious optimization, and other issues that have already been complained about to death.

    Why such a low score (1.5/10) as a TW game? Because not only does it contribute nothing to the series and fall well short of quality standards set by past titles, it strips some of the great features of said past titles.

    Why not a 1/10?

    Redeeming qualities: At least they tried to add a new feature in combined land/sea battles (even though its still quite broken and the mentally challenged AI can't handle it and often end up staring at a wall for an hour - oh and ya, the AI still will stand dumbly staring at you for an hour sometimes, a brilliant strategy in ensuring their victory by making you ragequit). And... the ... um... the graphics are better I guess... Oh and at least they did fix *most* of the game breaking bugs of launch (though that never should have happened...)    … Expand
  10. Liaramancer
    Sep 26, 2018
    0
    Let's see:

    - Red Shell;
    - Bugs gallore;
    - Cash-grab titles like Britannia;
    - Tying patches to DLC and little to no performance patches;
    - Charging for Blood n gore DLC and pretending it's to avoid being Rated M;
    - Social justice implementations;
    - Taking a page from EA when responding to criticism.
  11. JavaSquirt
    Oct 1, 2018
    0
    В древнем Риме бабо-генералы? Серьёзно? Вы блять там серьёзно? АЛЛО, ПРИЁМ КАК СЛЫШНО?
  12. KeyserSozeNZ
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    Maybe in 6 months time this game will be worthy of a 6 or 7, but you can only review it in the state it is in now. The AI is terrible, pathing issues, AI doing nothing, having to reissue orders multiple times etc. Oh and the prologue is stuck in a loop for, another bug which has been acknowledged by CA, so I'm fighting the same battle over and over again.

    I know games will have bugs but    Maybe in 6 months time this game will be worthy of a 6 or 7, but you can only review it in the state it is in now. The AI is terrible, pathing issues, AI doing nothing, having to reissue orders multiple times etc. Oh and the prologue is stuck in a loop for, another bug which has been acknowledged by CA, so I'm fighting the same battle over and over again.

    I know games will have bugs but we are talking some real big deal breaking bugs here, which makes me surprised they would even release in this state it's that bad.

    Avoid for now and pick up on sale in 6 months time.    … Expand
  13. Clemenza
    Sep 8, 2013
    3
    So, I´ve been waiting for this game forever... I spent hundreds of hours with Rome 1 and pretty much every other TW... Shogun 2 is the masterpiece, most of the mechanics work like a charm, they are clever etc. So what I expected from Rome 2 was Shogun 2 mechanics in ancient world with some new features and furthermore improvements... In a sense, it is the case. But... it doesn´ t work, forSo, I´ve been waiting for this game forever... I spent hundreds of hours with Rome 1 and pretty much every other TW... Shogun 2 is the masterpiece, most of the mechanics work like a charm, they are clever etc. So what I expected from Rome 2 was Shogun 2 mechanics in ancient world with some new features and furthermore improvements... In a sense, it is the case. But... it doesn´ t work, for now... It just doesn´t... I like most of the new mechanics, like provincial system (including food which many people seem to be having problems with, but I like it... makes the empire management more real), army management etc. The problem is that there is a big problem in almost everything... Optimization, for starters... It´s horrible... The game doesn´t use CPU or GPU properly. So while I get 60 fps on extreme settings in the benchmark, in some battles my fps drops to 15 with very little GPU or CPU load... For example when I hold spacebar to see where my army is going or holding RMB to send all army somewhere in a formation. The campaign map performance is a mess too... lags, fps drops all down to 8 fps etc. etc.

    Then there is the AI. There are blinks of brilliance there. The enemy army tried to flank me on campaign map and it went pretty well, it found my undefended city and attacked it. But then again, many things just don´t work... First of all the AI is too passive. It just sits there waiting for you to attack it, raising almost no armies and occasionaly dying out from hunger because it didn´ t manage to build the buildings in proper order so that the ballance between food storages, public order etc. is preserved.
    It´s similarly dumb in battles too. Although it´s not that bad. What is bad is the battle speed. The battles last 5 minutes now, because the armies start routing almost immediately after starting the fight (fortunately an excellent Czech modder Radious fixed it really soon).

    All that said, I believe that R2 will become the best TW after most of the biggest flaws are fixed (and I hope they will be fixed). But I just keep wondering, was it really worth releasing in this state? Look ate the score of this game, it deserves so much better.    … Expand
  14. maca
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Disappointing performance from CA. I waited this game so long and now I feel scammed by its shiny marketing. Too many bugs, too many bad things in this game. It seems they made this game for kids and casual players. Stupid.
  15. kostarico
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Once again we see the same story... official critics from game magazines got paid and write a good reviews on a terrible game. I wished i never bought it actually.

    Total War: Rome II is terribly bad.... i played Total War Shogun 2 recently, Empire Total War and other games of the series, i was always a fan of it. this game is a serious step back from previous games of the series.    Once again we see the same story... official critics from game magazines got paid and write a good reviews on a terrible game. I wished i never bought it actually.

    Total War: Rome II is terribly bad.... i played Total War Shogun 2 recently, Empire Total War and other games of the series, i was always a fan of it. this game is a serious step back from previous games of the series. Terrible graphics, terrible UI, awful AI and etc. I can't believe that the same company actually did all the other games of the series before.

    Shogun 2 was a real breakthrough for the series... how we got ripped off for $30 for a poorly done game with terrible user-friendly interface and hilarious quality. Just try it out by yourself company Shogun 2 (a real masterpiece) and Rome 2 (real crap).    … Expand
  16. ZarKo
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    This game is broken, don't bother, wait until they get it fixed. Game crashes when you attack towns, game crashes when you enter enemy territory, game crashes when you do nothing. I don't like new UI which looks ugly and for some reason they removed normal city building mechanics.

    This game is not playable in its current state. Will it ever be playable? Probably yes after they will    This game is broken, don't bother, wait until they get it fixed. Game crashes when you attack towns, game crashes when you enter enemy territory, game crashes when you do nothing. I don't like new UI which looks ugly and for some reason they removed normal city building mechanics.

    This game is not playable in its current state. Will it ever be playable? Probably yes after they will patch this game.    … Expand
  17. anomaly47
    Sep 5, 2013
    0
    I've played every single Total War game and had been following Rome 2 for quite some time. I've been excited about its release for months. Paid $70 bucks for it plus the expansion on Steam and rushed home to play it tonight after work. (Like many of you I'm sure). I wanted this to be everything it was built up to be. Every play through and trailer made it look better and better.

    It    I've played every single Total War game and had been following Rome 2 for quite some time. I've been excited about its release for months. Paid $70 bucks for it plus the expansion on Steam and rushed home to play it tonight after work. (Like many of you I'm sure). I wanted this to be everything it was built up to be. Every play through and trailer made it look better and better.

    It unfortunately is not. I wanted it to be more than anything. I mean ROME! Hello!

    Issues:
    - The campaign map is a slow nightmare that just won't wake. Its performance is horrendous. Low frame rates, slow animations, UI issues... I can put up with this for a while.

    - 60 second turns (if that) and quite literally 3-5 minute waits between turns while the hundred or so AI states do their thing. Some turns you don't have anything to do and so it turns into a 8-10 minute wait while you "play" the game. I have better things to do with my time. Laundry?

    - Naval battles seemed janky. Boats get hit once and immediately explode.

    I can't play this game as is, and I have a HIGH tolerance for pain. Sad sad sad day in gameland.

    I hope this improves.    … Expand
  18. Myriokephalon
    Sep 6, 2013
    2
    The game is choppy on many high end machines (in my case, a 7850 and an Ivy Bridge core i7) on any setting, which is simply unacceptable, but the biggest issue is that CA turned the game into more of a typical RTS. Battles are much more like slaughter fests now; it's more about killing your opponents troops instead of making them flee. And this might be the worst AI Creative Assembly hasThe game is choppy on many high end machines (in my case, a 7850 and an Ivy Bridge core i7) on any setting, which is simply unacceptable, but the biggest issue is that CA turned the game into more of a typical RTS. Battles are much more like slaughter fests now; it's more about killing your opponents troops instead of making them flee. And this might be the worst AI Creative Assembly has ever shipped, which is an impressive accomplishment. The UI is remarkably hard to use and the grouping of towns into provinces makes it much harder to see what's going on with taxes and public order, not easier as I'm sure they intended. I'm sure they'll patch some of the technical problems away, but the same can't be said for the just bad design. It's depressing that CA would take a such a huge step back again after getting so much right with Shogun II.

    I'd ask for my money back, but I know I that's not going to happen, so I'll just avoid ever buying a CA game again.

    Note to critics: I'm glad you were spared most of the technical issues that we players are getting. At least I hope you aren't just omitting any mention of them. But next time, please bother to play the game for more than half an hour before you start writing, because that's the only way I can explain these inexplicably excellent reviews. This is the kind of game for which we have user reviews, because the critics sure as hell didn't do their job this time.    … Expand
  19. Rolby
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    this game doesnt even look a little bit like the Carthage or Teutoburg gameplay trailer. it is full of bugs and glitches and all characters look like they have some face disease. this game is just horrible compared to shogun 2. they went downhill, and not even a little bit. there is almost no technology anymore and u all the technology u have, u discover in 1 turn. it feels like a pre-betathis game doesnt even look a little bit like the Carthage or Teutoburg gameplay trailer. it is full of bugs and glitches and all characters look like they have some face disease. this game is just horrible compared to shogun 2. they went downhill, and not even a little bit. there is almost no technology anymore and u all the technology u have, u discover in 1 turn. it feels like a pre-beta game, it's just that bad. they made stuff simpler so dumb people could play it too, but they took away all the good stuff by doing that. i hope they will decide that it was a bad fault to release rome 2 yet, give us our money back, and work on it for another year to make it a GOOD game. like the first rome.… Expand
  20. Raven76
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    I have been a fan of this series for very long time. I played all the original and in each you felt apart of SOmETHING. It captivated you in the feel and era especially the originally Rome and Medievals both. You felt your empire grow, your cities build you started from nothing until a golden age reigned or you died in that attempt. The thing is it was fun and you couldn't wait to do itI have been a fan of this series for very long time. I played all the original and in each you felt apart of SOmETHING. It captivated you in the feel and era especially the originally Rome and Medievals both. You felt your empire grow, your cities build you started from nothing until a golden age reigned or you died in that attempt. The thing is it was fun and you couldn't wait to do it again and again.
    This game is a piece of garbage when it come to obtaining that. If CA attempt was to create something dynamic and different they didn't even achieve this a two year old could have done better with their imagination and toys!!.
    Sadly Sega's acquisition of CA has again turned another beloved title into A MONEY MAKING VENTURE in which the original fans and those who could be, have been have been left in some perpetual zombie filled spectacle. The thing is any new people to this title would have to be kidding themselves into delirious stupidity in forking out money for this terrible product when such titles as Civ and others are out there- the only thing in CIV is the RTS battles then there would be no need for this garbage!!

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

    DISGUSTING    … Expand
  21. Machiavellian
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    If you like being a beta tester, buy this game. The game is currently unfinished. Numerous graphical issues, terrible AI, unoptimized game engine. This Total War game breaks from the previous games and will need much modding from the community before it is worth playing. Wait a month or two and you can buy it from the bargain bin.

    Main issues: AI Enemy AI will send waves of weak    If you like being a beta tester, buy this game. The game is currently unfinished. Numerous graphical issues, terrible AI, unoptimized game engine. This Total War game breaks from the previous games and will need much modding from the community before it is worth playing. Wait a month or two and you can buy it from the bargain bin.

    Main issues:
    AI Enemy AI will send waves of weak missile units to their deaths etc. pitiful really.
    Technical issues.
    Game is unfinished (reminds me of Empire Total War).
    Multiplayer features lacking (if you liked Shogun 2s multiplayer move along there is none of it).

    Summary: Do not buy at full price!    … Expand
  22. Sylanus
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    This game is a complete mess. The AI is pathetic and just stands there doing nothing, the commands i give during the battle half the time are unresponsive and have to repeat them 300 times to get my unit to actually follow and stop taking arrows to the face, HUGE lag spikes and my PC is well over the recommended requirements, you just CANNOT win a naval battle without auto-resolving, andThis game is a complete mess. The AI is pathetic and just stands there doing nothing, the commands i give during the battle half the time are unresponsive and have to repeat them 300 times to get my unit to actually follow and stop taking arrows to the face, HUGE lag spikes and my PC is well over the recommended requirements, you just CANNOT win a naval battle without auto-resolving, and the graphics are horroble EVEN after the new patch that came out today. 0/10 this game is a flaming turdball rolling down a hill.… Expand
  23. Skipnipper
    Sep 15, 2013
    0
    So so angry & so disappointed. This has to be the worst game in the franchise by quite some way. Useless AI coupled with terrible design and game play choices make this a complete waste of not only your time, but also your hard earned money. I can sincerely say with hand on heart that the company's involved in creating this turd deserve to go bankrupt. I cannot put into words the utterSo so angry & so disappointed. This has to be the worst game in the franchise by quite some way. Useless AI coupled with terrible design and game play choices make this a complete waste of not only your time, but also your hard earned money. I can sincerely say with hand on heart that the company's involved in creating this turd deserve to go bankrupt. I cannot put into words the utter contempt I feel for them right now. PLEASE ignore ANY positive reviews, as they are obviously from paid shills.… Expand
  24. rainofbores
    Sep 4, 2013
    3
    Horrible AI. Streamlining removed all things which gave depth and character, now its just A B C which stat to increase. False marketing with minimum and and recommended required specifications. The end is near for total war franchise. Played total war since Shogun, Wasted my money on Empire and this sad pile.

    Honestly, fire the AI programmers.
  25. MrKieran
    Sep 4, 2013
    4
    Disappointing. Shogun2 was ok, but this game has serious problems. The graphics may have improved, but gameplay is bad (stupid AI, useless diplomacy, unfair battle auto-resolve, confused units that ignore orders or fail to shoot and other unreliable mechanics etc...) Also game lags as hell on very good hardware. I have GTX 680 and I have about 15 fps, prologue crashed few times.

    Very    Disappointing. Shogun2 was ok, but this game has serious problems. The graphics may have improved, but gameplay is bad (stupid AI, useless diplomacy, unfair battle auto-resolve, confused units that ignore orders or fail to shoot and other unreliable mechanics etc...) Also game lags as hell on very good hardware. I have GTX 680 and I have about 15 fps, prologue crashed few times.

    Very bad experience with this game.    … Expand
  26. Kazuya
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Don't buy into the hype of this game, it's completely broken. This game has no redeeming qualities, sub-par in all aspects. Game doesn't even detect my graphics card, the UI is confusing, battles last 2 minutes. Rome 1 is 100x better than this junk.

    I feel cheated, i regret buying this.
  27. tech99
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    I have played the Total War series since the first Shogun, and this series is becoming the Madden of strategy games. It seems CA focuses more on graphics and gimmicks rather than creating a better game engine and improving basic game mechanics. Battles turn into huge balls of chaos instead of soldiers keeping their formations, and if the enemy routs they will just stand there doing nothingI have played the Total War series since the first Shogun, and this series is becoming the Madden of strategy games. It seems CA focuses more on graphics and gimmicks rather than creating a better game engine and improving basic game mechanics. Battles turn into huge balls of chaos instead of soldiers keeping their formations, and if the enemy routs they will just stand there doing nothing instead of engaging a nearby enemy. Battles are far too fast, many features like the family tree from previous TW games are gone, and overall the game is an unpolished mess. I feel robbed because the Total War series has been one of my favorites for such a long time, and it was always the pinnacle of PC gaming for me. I am done with this series and will never purchase another Total War game again.… Expand
  28. gladiatorus
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Incredibly bad, nearly non existent AI ensures this game will get a very low score from me. Optimization is a shame. My powerful gaming PC can not run properly this game because GPU load is only 57%. Also game doesn't support multi-core processor. SHAME
  29. Omghaibuttonz
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    I should have known, thats all I keep telling myself. I am not one of the people having performance issues, I mean despite the large time spent looking at load screens it all works and functions. I knew when they switched philosophies from the days of TW:Medieval to the style of Shogun and Napolean... I knew in the back of my mind that TWR2 was going to be revamped TWR1 with all the terridI should have known, thats all I keep telling myself. I am not one of the people having performance issues, I mean despite the large time spent looking at load screens it all works and functions. I knew when they switched philosophies from the days of TW:Medieval to the style of Shogun and Napolean... I knew in the back of my mind that TWR2 was going to be revamped TWR1 with all the terrid idealogies of Napolean and Shogun. I am an idiot.

    Ok the pros
    -Battles look good, albeit quick.
    -Pathing is marginally (and I mean marginally) better.
    -The way cities build although revamped from Napolean and Shogun, is still a huge improvement. I still really miss the style of Medieval and TWR.
    -Armies can recruit from the field
    -Agents are more fun, spies in particular

    Cons
    -10 years to take a damn turn. I dont think I spent as much time on my turn as I did waiting for my next one. Holy good god
    -Prologue would be fun if I wasnt forced to sit through and manage the battles. Some people just like the autoresolve button... stop forcing us to to manage these battles if we dont want regardless of it being just the prologue.
    -It doesnt matter what graphics setting your on, the game still overall looks like crap. NOTHING looks trailer quality, in fact much of it looks quite worse
    -Ai DERRRRRRP
    -Release day DLC.... what a dirty ploy for a $60 game.
    -Navies USELESS
    -Anyone try to split an army yet? Its as about as fun as going to the dentist.
    -This idea of provinces and capitals is stupid. The idea that I cannot garison units in the cities without a general is even dumber.
    -Generals required to have an army.... seriously.
    -Functional multiplayer anyone?
    -Tech tree.... holy good god thats bad
    -Cant wait to spend time crouched down to look really closely at that SMALL INFORMATION WINDOW
    -Back to graphics, turn them on ultra.... tell me if you can tell your armies from the blobs of shadows apart. that just looks TERRIBLE
    -General Character Management is wonky at best.

    I feel scammed of my $60 and really really dumb for having bought this game on release. I KNEW I should have waited to read reviews first. Dont make my mistake if you havent purchased this game yet.    … Expand
  30. Wheeler711
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Played a good 6+ hours and I can tell you now do NOT buy this game. It is unfinished. The battle of Carthage looks nothing like the demo that they showed. Its a much smaller battle. The campaign map is laggy. The UI and AI are terribly done. Loading screens take forever. When you end your turn you are going to have to wait even longer. This is all with the following PC specs on myPlayed a good 6+ hours and I can tell you now do NOT buy this game. It is unfinished. The battle of Carthage looks nothing like the demo that they showed. Its a much smaller battle. The campaign map is laggy. The UI and AI are terribly done. Loading screens take forever. When you end your turn you are going to have to wait even longer. This is all with the following PC specs on my computer. GTX 680, Intel i7 2600k cpu, 8gb of RAM. Please do not listen to the fan boys that are out to fool you into buying it. Do yourself a favor and wait for patches if they manage to fix it.… Expand
  31. setr_zero
    Sep 6, 2013
    0
    Poorly optimized,. The AI is STILL worse than the AI the TW mod community put out. Gameplay is dumbed down and without nuance.

    Creative assembly, stop outsourcing your god damned games to the modders, or at least pay them for fixing your games.
  32. messiahua
    Sep 11, 2013
    0
    When I first started the game I noticed only some performance issues, but they were not gamebreaking. Overall I liked what I saw and was ready to give this game a decent personal score of about 7/10. I played prologue at that time and had no issues with AI for example, but when I finished it and jumped into campaign by the lapse of time I started to stumble upon more and more bugs and IWhen I first started the game I noticed only some performance issues, but they were not gamebreaking. Overall I liked what I saw and was ready to give this game a decent personal score of about 7/10. I played prologue at that time and had no issues with AI for example, but when I finished it and jumped into campaign by the lapse of time I started to stumble upon more and more bugs and I started to hate a lot of gameplay changes, which I discovered by the time. After first patch game even started to constantly crash. I've tried pvp campaign multiplayer to mitigate completely stupid AI, but it's almost unplayable, because of very long turn times and desync.

    I've played for 50 hours already and I am really disappointed. I don't understand why it was so hard to make similar game as previous titles, leave all old features and add new ones.

    In spite of all negativity there is also some great new features, for example big and detailed campaign map, detailed tactical maps, which precisely correlate with strategical map, LOS feature for units (i've been wishing such feature for every total war), combined naval and land battles, but all this is pointless if the game is crashing, lagging, gameplay dumbed down, ai broken, features removed...

    I would give it 4/10 now, but simply to make this more noticeable I will rate it 0/10 to support community.

    All this hype and marketing, promises and talks, but not actions that's only what is on the table right now from CA/SEGA.

    I'm definitely not going to preorder next title (if such will be) and, if this trend will continue, definitely not going to buy at all.    … Expand
  33. Mastokk
    Jan 1, 2014
    0
    Impossible to play this game. I've "played" 3 hours. Just the time to understand this game wasn't good. Crashes, bad gameplay, no optimization... This game is a waste of time and money. I won't pre order anymore.
  34. Jesper
    Sep 12, 2013
    4
    You betrayed your fans CA. The game is broken and even if it was not, I would give it an 8/10. What keeps it from getting 10/10 is that the game is heavily dumbed down. There is so much that has been simplified in the political system that you do not really care for any of the characters that belong to your faction. For example, with no family tree there is no need for caring if someoneYou betrayed your fans CA. The game is broken and even if it was not, I would give it an 8/10. What keeps it from getting 10/10 is that the game is heavily dumbed down. There is so much that has been simplified in the political system that you do not really care for any of the characters that belong to your faction. For example, with no family tree there is no need for caring if someone dies, someone else will just instantly pop up and take his place. It feels like you did not listen to the community at all when making the game. You just dumbed it down to make it more accepted for a wider audience. Regarding the game being broken, perhaps SEGA pushed your deadline too early to be able to finish the game the way you wanted it to be. Or is it just the fan in me that makes up excuses for such an unfinished game. I guess you just have to get used to hate loving this genre. In conclusion however, I have not lost my trust in you CA(though it is quite shaken). But know that we fell for your awesome trailers for ROME II and we somehow ''knew'' that you could not this up... yet you did! We will not fall for your trailers again!… Expand
  35. Rumblefish
    Nov 27, 2013
    2
    First things first, this is a truly awful game. It's probably the most disappointing game release of all time and not because CA have tried to innovate, but because they have dumbed down what was a great series, lost sight of what made the TW games good in the first place, removed the majority of the good features of previous games whilst adding half-finished and poorly designed aspects.First things first, this is a truly awful game. It's probably the most disappointing game release of all time and not because CA have tried to innovate, but because they have dumbed down what was a great series, lost sight of what made the TW games good in the first place, removed the majority of the good features of previous games whilst adding half-finished and poorly designed aspects. This game represents a betrayal of Total War, the fans and the reputation of CA itself.

    Where to start with just what is wrong with Rome 2? Well I could talk of blatant bugs, of homogenised unit rosters, a total lack of optimisation and performance, AI that is just utterly unintelligent, the awful obfuscating province system, the capture points in open field battles, transport ships being able to sink navies, Iron gates being burnt down with torches, massive and opaque unit cards, confusing unexplained game mechanics, the incredible stupidity of 1 year per turn, the terrible terrible animated character portraits, automatic garrisons, magic abilities, the battles where two armies simply converge in a mass blob, the battlefield engine which is simply not fit for purpose and is far inferior to the engine of the original Rome, every battle lasting five minutes, the non-functioning diplomacy system, the utterly pointless politics system this is the tip of the iceberg, I could go on all day.

    So, did they get anything right at all? Well, the music and sound is nice if limited in variety. The new ethos of 1 general 1 army is interesting and changes things up. I can understand it too as by limiting the number of armies (albeit artificially) means the player and AI have to be more selective in where they deploy the armies they do have. The classical civilisation aesthetic is nice. Also, the new agents are a good idea but are simply terribly implemented. Army naming and traditions is a nice idea, although could have been fleshed out a lot more. And that's about it for the positives.

    The most damming aspect of Rome 2 is the fact that above all it is utterly boring. The game is amazingly easy even on Legendary mode and you will spend most of your time simply pressing end turn without having done anything since the last one. There is no strategy here, there are no choices, no real options; everything is streamlined and watered down. The campaign map is contains set channels for armies to march down and set landing sites for navies to disembark their troops, and this means the "biggest ever campaign map" we were promised is actually the smallest and most restrictive.

    Rome 2 is a colossal failure and no amount of patches will change that. Three months after release, the game is still an unpalatable mixture of boring and non-working game mechanics.

    What can we learn from this? CA are pretty much done, they've lost their way and look like they've given up. I doubt there's a real gamer still at the company. How anyone could be happy putting their name to this travesty I will never know. Perhaps more importantly we have yet again learnt about some of the biggest review sites out there. It is amazing that some have given this a score of 9 or 10 (as they did with Diablo 3 and the Madden franchise for years). These reviewers are either utterly corrupt or completely inept. In more ways than one, Rome 2 has shown us who we can trust.    … Expand
  36. ocelot1300
    Sep 9, 2013
    5
    This is an okay game with the potential to be a great game. Numerous UI and AI issues, lag and graphics issues, prevent it from being what it could be. To illustrate the point, let me give an example:

    I was defending a settlement against significantly superior forces, invading both by land and sea. I defeated the enemy forces. However, one group of enemy units was on a boat that got    This is an okay game with the potential to be a great game. Numerous UI and AI issues, lag and graphics issues, prevent it from being what it could be. To illustrate the point, let me give an example:

    I was defending a settlement against significantly superior forces, invading both by land and sea. I defeated the enemy forces. However, one group of enemy units was on a boat that got stuck, unable to land or retreat. Even though I shattered its morale, they were still counted as active combatants, and thus the game didn't conclude the battle. My options were to concede defeat (even though I had really won the battle), or wait for the 40+ minutes left on the timer to expire. I tried fast-forwarding the game, but due to lag it takes the same amount of time on fast-forward as regular speed. So in the end I decided to concede defeat, and lost the province--even though I had actually won the battle. That's what kills the enjoyment of this game.

    It should also be noted that I tried this game on three different computers. On one it worked with no problems, one I had to delete a folder in AppData to get it to run, and on the newest machine I still can't get it to work. It's not my responsibility to get the game to run, it's CA's.

    Like most CA games, it's not so great out of the box. Hopefully they'll patch the game, and modders will improve the game (by eliminating stupid things like the army cap), and then it will finally be a great game.    … Expand
  37. Deadplate
    Sep 16, 2013
    2
    After playing this game for over 15 hours, I have just come to find this game way to easy. The AI just seems to be on easy mode, even thou I switched it to the hardest setting. The loading times are just way to slow, The time between turns even more so, This with other countries that will not even attack you. Units running around doing nothing, Boats going right threw everything includingAfter playing this game for over 15 hours, I have just come to find this game way to easy. The AI just seems to be on easy mode, even thou I switched it to the hardest setting. The loading times are just way to slow, The time between turns even more so, This with other countries that will not even attack you. Units running around doing nothing, Boats going right threw everything including shore, docks and everything else. This game seems as if it is still in the Beta format, and Once again. The FPS is bad, and this whole 1 year per turn is just over the top. 2/10… Expand
  38. DAVstep
    Sep 19, 2013
    0
    Three weeks has gone and it's still unplayable. I am not even talking about the AI now, no the fps is so low that even on low graphics it still is on 15/10 fps. The graphics are also horrible, even on ultra. The god damn textures are so bad that it doesn't matter if I zoom in on the battlefield or out, I can never see anything because of the flickering mess. The trees doesn't even lookThree weeks has gone and it's still unplayable. I am not even talking about the AI now, no the fps is so low that even on low graphics it still is on 15/10 fps. The graphics are also horrible, even on ultra. The god damn textures are so bad that it doesn't matter if I zoom in on the battlefield or out, I can never see anything because of the flickering mess. The trees doesn't even look like trees but just an orgy of ugly lines.

    The price was already very high in my opinion, and I can't even play it, this was the biggest waste of money I have ever put on a video-game.    … Expand
  39. veganox
    Sep 27, 2013
    0
    Have played over 200 hours on every other Total War game, and over 800 combined hours on Medieval and it's expansion. I've loved every minute of all of the other games. But as a result of the TERRIBLE AI in this game, I honestly have to say it would be more fun if they just turned off the AI and let you slaughter them all without fighting back. Battles are so boring I found myselfHave played over 200 hours on every other Total War game, and over 800 combined hours on Medieval and it's expansion. I've loved every minute of all of the other games. But as a result of the TERRIBLE AI in this game, I honestly have to say it would be more fun if they just turned off the AI and let you slaughter them all without fighting back. Battles are so boring I found myself autoresolving EVERY battle because the battles were soOOooOO boring. The AI plays worse than a blind person with no arms would.… Expand
  40. Snorren
    Oct 1, 2013
    0
    DON'T BUY THIS GAME!

    This must be one of the most broken games ever. I have played through two campaigns and was on my third when they released a patch that totally rebalanced all the buildings for the faction I was playing resulting in -264 food and my current 40 hours campaign going to waste. With the number of patches they are pushing out and the magnitude of fundamental    DON'T BUY THIS GAME!

    This must be one of the most broken games ever.

    I have played through two campaigns and was on my third when they released a patch that totally rebalanced all the buildings for the faction I was playing resulting in -264 food and my current 40 hours campaign going to waste.

    With the number of patches they are pushing out and the magnitude of fundamental changes this game isn't close to being finished, why the did they release it in this state?

    The battle AI is really a joke and the only reason to play battles with walled cities was to be amazed how it will up EVERY easy assault.

    The retarded political system that only has one purpose a civil war.

    If this game ever will be enjoyable no one will care about it any longer.

    How can this game get a 79% rating, do they even play?    … Expand
  41. Chatterly
    Mar 2, 2014
    4
    Ever been in a chocolate shop and seen a delightful confection that looks like it will melt in your mouth in a gush of warm chocolaty goodness and sweet cacao bliss? You buy it and bite down and for a moment it is everything you might hope until you get to the flawed burnt out husk of bile and hatred that lies at the center.

    This is that game. It's as if someone took a QA list of their    Ever been in a chocolate shop and seen a delightful confection that looks like it will melt in your mouth in a gush of warm chocolaty goodness and sweet cacao bliss? You buy it and bite down and for a moment it is everything you might hope until you get to the flawed burnt out husk of bile and hatred that lies at the center.

    This is that game. It's as if someone took a QA list of their bugs, packaged them up as a game, and shipped it out with pretty box art. It bluescreens, it hands, it has an almighty memory leak that could suck down the 7th fleet, units behave unpredictably, rather than embark your armies will take a world tour, and that's just the short list.

    We want Creative to make good games, but they don't. They make early access games that might be patched into something playable. The concept is great, but it's the same concept from ten years ago and their quality and testing only get worse with each new release.

    tl;dr: Give it a pass.    … Expand
  42. vorys
    Sep 14, 2013
    0
    input flags Say no tactics. siege machines do not need force tank will do everything for them. a lot of bugs and shoals in the chart. simplification in the "beautification of cities." inability to erect walls in the settlements, and yes even a complete simplification of all that you can. teams get off to a bunch of stupid. dull fights on the water. lack of diplomacy. restriction in theinput flags Say no tactics. siege machines do not need force tank will do everything for them. a lot of bugs and shoals in the chart. simplification in the "beautification of cities." inability to erect walls in the settlements, and yes even a complete simplification of all that you can. teams get off to a bunch of stupid. dull fights on the water. lack of diplomacy. restriction in the military it seems if it will fail to remove all the entire balance. there is still a lot of different things.… Expand
  43. ibnarabi
    Sep 14, 2013
    3
    The best thing I can say about this game... it's made figuring out which websites are corporate whores really easy. So thanks for that :)

    I'm wondering why they made troop transports into free battleships that spawn on entering the water, and put a capture the flag mode into some battles... it doesn't really matter, the AI is very bad in both land and naval combat, the Campaign    The best thing I can say about this game... it's made figuring out which websites are corporate whores really easy. So thanks for that :)

    I'm wondering why they made troop transports into free battleships that spawn on entering the water, and put a capture the flag mode into some battles... it doesn't really matter, the AI is very bad in both land and naval combat, the Campaign interface is poorly done, the AI trivial, diplomacy is so simple it's nearly pointless, the engine is unoptimized...
    It may turn into a 7 someday, but I think 3 is fair now. Go get the Radious_Total_War_Mod.pack if you want a quick fix. That at least makes it somewhat playable.

    Sega obviously rushed this out the door, and the cowards at CA didn't mention it to their customers, or bother give a damn until they had our cash. Nothing new there.    … Expand
  44. KeithMoonsLiver
    Sep 7, 2013
    3
    Total war games have always been rough at launch, but as someone who has played since medieval this is CA's worst effort yet. More concerning than the usual bugs and optimization issues is many of the gameplay decisions CA has made. They have been flirting with "dumbing down" or "consolfying" the series for awhile now, and I think this may be the point where they've finally stepped overTotal war games have always been rough at launch, but as someone who has played since medieval this is CA's worst effort yet. More concerning than the usual bugs and optimization issues is many of the gameplay decisions CA has made. They have been flirting with "dumbing down" or "consolfying" the series for awhile now, and I think this may be the point where they've finally stepped over the edge.

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

    My advice to anyone interested in this game: Wait. Forget about Rome 2 for awhile and go play something else. 12 months from now this game may have been patched and modded to the point where it's a very good gaming experience but as it stands now, it's not worth playing and certainly not worth paying anything near $60 for.    … Expand
  45. pepikJS
    Sep 15, 2013
    0
    Gaming press was bribed, dudes, I'm telling you, this is unbelievable. We need to let em fall, for real, go bankrupt. Or, we can buy sh*t like this and pretend its quality product, keep on giving em more money, so they will throw at us more and more sh*t. No, dudes, let em fall. They need to learn what is responsibility and consequences. If they have the guts to sell this pile of sh*t forGaming press was bribed, dudes, I'm telling you, this is unbelievable. We need to let em fall, for real, go bankrupt. Or, we can buy sh*t like this and pretend its quality product, keep on giving em more money, so they will throw at us more and more sh*t. No, dudes, let em fall. They need to learn what is responsibility and consequences. If they have the guts to sell this pile of sh*t for 55 euro, they're playing with fire. Its like buying a car with fuc*ed up engine and steering-wheel made of pure sh*t! Unforgivable! Disrespectful! They think we re just open wallets, but no, this robbery is over! I'm done!… Expand
  46. yozabo
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    The Game has so many bugs, glitches, & crashing problems it's a joke. I personally have crashes in prologue & I have a more than adequate system. I have been all over the forums & to say the problems are widespread would be an massive understatement. Until then, save your money.
  47. Touton
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    I made a metacritic account just for this review. I have a monster PC and the game is simply unplayable, I can max BF3 but in Rome 2 the ground is flashing black grids, the screen is constantly tearing and the animations are nonexistent.

    I did not pay to get into a beta, I paid to play the game, and the game is simply unplayable.
  48. 1warrior1
    Sep 4, 2013
    2
    This is a great disappointment to the total war series... so many glitches and game also crashes after an hour of playing... I can't understand why they removed family screen and walls from many cities.

    Don't wast your money with this game...now I cannot even resell it.
  49. sergioccc
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    The game is really a 0, with high end pc core! 7 and a 7970 edition ghz 15-25 fps in battles. Do not understand how someone can throw the worst game ever and what reviews are scoring high, when it really does not work and is 0
  50. LT_sigerius
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Terrible game, both in terms of historical validity, and in terms of gameplay and unit stats, special abilities. Poor optimization and the imbalance in every moment. DONT BUY THIS GAME
  51. Davido1
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Made an account just to get this off my chest, this game is a do not buy if you love the series. If you buy this game you are only encouraging more of the same and we will never see a decent game from these guys again. There is no tactical combat in this game, the turns take too long, there is not much to do when your turn is even up.

    It is not even in the same league as other games of    Made an account just to get this off my chest, this game is a do not buy if you love the series. If you buy this game you are only encouraging more of the same and we will never see a decent game from these guys again. There is no tactical combat in this game, the turns take too long, there is not much to do when your turn is even up.

    It is not even in the same league as other games of the series. The game has lost it's soul, some say they are trying to appeal to casuals...I don't know but in the end it appeals basically to no one.    … Expand
  52. ROME2BETRAYAL
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Terrible performance even in high end rigs (4670k @4.4, z87saber 16gigs and 770 lighting).

    No beta testing carried in this game whatsoever (CANT EVEN FINISH PROLOGUE, WTF?) Many good features that were great in Shogun 2 were removed like being able to guide your faction leader/general through a unique military career, now every general is disposable and you get an infinite pool of    Terrible performance even in high end rigs (4670k @4.4, z87saber 16gigs and 770 lighting).

    No beta testing carried in this game whatsoever (CANT EVEN FINISH PROLOGUE, WTF?)

    Many good features that were great in Shogun 2 were removed like being able to guide your faction leader/general through a unique military career, now every general is disposable and you get an infinite pool of them.

    SEGA forced CA to rush this unfinished "videogame" and invested more in ADVERTISING the game than actually MAKING IT.

    A.I. IS TERRIBLE. WORST THAN ANY TW GAME SINCE ROME 1. Unbelievable.

    Avoid this game AT ALL cost until SEGA apologizes for such a colossal up and fix all the they DIDN'T ****ING BETA TEST.

    I'm very frustrated and angry at a videogame that was supposed to be THE VIDEOGAME. If you played it, you would understand.    … Expand
  53. Midgetsmasher
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    I feel shamed that i bought this. I shouldn't have listened to all the marketing. They made us think this game was a state of the art version of Rome I. Well as you may have noticed.. it is not and you should avoid it.
  54. knightsbore
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    So sad to see how quickly they fall. When you look deep into this game you can see how they really tried to get some of their old problems right. The problem is they completely lied on so many things, made a HORRIBLE UI, and pretty much killed the series for me. I loved every single previous game, they had their problems but I wanted to work through them, because the game when it workedSo sad to see how quickly they fall. When you look deep into this game you can see how they really tried to get some of their old problems right. The problem is they completely lied on so many things, made a HORRIBLE UI, and pretty much killed the series for me. I loved every single previous game, they had their problems but I wanted to work through them, because the game when it worked was so much fun. This game is not fun, I end up just charging my infantry at highest difficulty head on because if I try to implement a strategy it wont work. The campaign controls are clunky and impossible to understand. This game is so many steps back from even Shogun 2 its sad. Sega seems to now like to copy what happened with aliens colonial marines, as I can honestly compare it to this.… Expand
  55. Kratocokkos
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Horrible don't bother to buy it, bad optimisation bad graphics and ridiculous UI, i could run shogun 2 on max settings at high fps, this doesn't work on all low
  56. sakuma
    Sep 7, 2013
    1
    This game is bad and when I say bad I mean "ok that back to Shogun 2 and don't look back" bad. I can't think of something to save in this game if not the graphics and even that I feel like I was duped. The UI sucks combat is too short and simple the management disappeared no more variety in battle always the same brownish terrain in summer, 15 armies? seriously? naval battle imbalancedThis game is bad and when I say bad I mean "ok that back to Shogun 2 and don't look back" bad. I can't think of something to save in this game if not the graphics and even that I feel like I was duped. The UI sucks combat is too short and simple the management disappeared no more variety in battle always the same brownish terrain in summer, 15 armies? seriously? naval battle imbalanced in the beginning "look my land army crushes your navy!" I don't know how this could be improved... At least totally change the UI but I won't by any other Total war after such a debacle and I loved CA i played TW since Rome the first I loved the mods but It all disappeared with Sega and I won't come back! You shouldn't either.… Expand
  57. jstmcook
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Terrible game. Its like they went back to Empire for their battles. no excitement to winning battles as the AI is terrible. The UI is horrible. Even with a good system, the graphics are bad. Its just not a good game in general.
  58. Torka_FIN
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    I can honestly say there has never been another game that has disappointed me more. It is almost like Creative Assembly tried to make a game that could be simple enough to be ported to consoles. Because quite frankly this is really, really pitiful. The reasons have been covered enough, don't buy it.
  59. Philippus
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    simplistic game
    no depth strategy
    poor tactically poor optimized poor performance horrible AI horrible UI "...CA have taken what was an immersive, detailed, tactical, and market leading series and have turned it into a better looking but fundamentally simplified and dumbed down version of its formal self. They have seriously damaged the tactical element to this game, taken out    simplistic game
    no depth strategy
    poor tactically
    poor optimized
    poor performance
    horrible AI
    horrible UI

    "...CA have taken what was an immersive, detailed, tactical, and market leading series and have turned it into a better looking but fundamentally simplified and dumbed down version of its formal self. They have seriously damaged the tactical element to this game, taken out tried and tested elements and have replaced them with arcade elements.''    … Expand
  60. JVK
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    Creative Assambly raped own child Total War series and lowered their reputation in the toilet. If before I watched their creativity in all the sources, now if I see the name of the CA, I think that the scammers want to cheat again and collect money from unsuspecting people. SEGA need to investigate about where did the money from the budget dedicated to the game. Is it all spent on PRCreative Assambly raped own child Total War series and lowered their reputation in the toilet. If before I watched their creativity in all the sources, now if I see the name of the CA, I think that the scammers want to cheat again and collect money from unsuspecting people. SEGA need to investigate about where did the money from the budget dedicated to the game. Is it all spent on PR campaigns with these stupid clowns? Epic battles? No, it's an epic failure!You said that you know best what we need, you spit on the desires of fans Well, that's my score of 0/10… Expand
  61. Sky-Moondrift
    Sep 18, 2013
    0
    As a massive fan of TW games I can honestly say this is the worst one by far. The UI is counter-intuitive, looks and feels sluggish and horrible. Much of the options and technical depth has been stripped away in favor of the more casual and/or brain dead gamer. Accessing important information involves you clicking on a bunch of crappy looking icons that all look the same, only to find outAs a massive fan of TW games I can honestly say this is the worst one by far. The UI is counter-intuitive, looks and feels sluggish and horrible. Much of the options and technical depth has been stripped away in favor of the more casual and/or brain dead gamer. Accessing important information involves you clicking on a bunch of crappy looking icons that all look the same, only to find out there is no information there anyway.

    The graphics, mainly on the campaign map, look muddy and with little detail where its needed and lots of detail where it's not. The cities look like they're made out of Play-doh both in battle and on the campaign map. Even on the highest settings troops blur into each other like someone stuck 3,000 men with swords into a blender.

    Performance is bad, and the game is not optimized well at all, the load times are long, And it often lags out for no apparent reason.

    The whole game over emphasizes on just the Romans,factions and troops all look and sound the same as the Romans, as well as sharing the same painful UI. The forced Flag system is just silly and a major annoyance. There are also hardly any open battles, it all just revolves around siege battles that all look and feel the same.

    The AI is incredibly dumb, predictable and glitchy, both in battle and on the campaign map. Also you have to set the game to maximum difficulty to get any real challenge, even then it doesn't make the AI smarter, it just changes unit stats in favor of the AI.

    It's a mass-marketed console orientated, dumbed-down, over-priced, half-finished mess, And whats more they release this game with a pre-release DLC which gives you (core) factions that should have already been included in the base game.    … Expand
  62. Nikk27
    Sep 7, 2013
    2
    This game in the current state is seriously overrated, it's a beta release at best, the ai is terrible, whatever settings i try it lags, i can run every other game but this refuses properly to work with my pc and to add insult to injury i get wise guy remarks by sega programmers saying that only 2% of gamers have problems....... well you know what? screw you sega! just screw you!
  63. Jamborinski
    Sep 5, 2013
    0
    I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't evenI didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed. I didn't even pay for it and I'm disappointed.… Expand
  64. Izay
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    CA should be ashamed. Releasing a broken product that is not fit for purpose. This is literally grounds for Class Action and I sincerely hope someone takes the initiative. We paid GOOD money to get a working product and I can't even break 20FPS with my 2500K@4.7GHz&680.
    THIS IS BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD.
    You just lost a loyal customer. I would not normally rate anything 0 because    CA should be ashamed. Releasing a broken product that is not fit for purpose. This is literally grounds for Class Action and I sincerely hope someone takes the initiative. We paid GOOD money to get a working product and I can't even break 20FPS with my 2500K@4.7GHz&680.
    THIS IS BAD AND YOU SHOULD FEEL BAD.
    You just lost a loyal customer.

    I would not normally rate anything 0 because there is ALWAYS some form of entertainment to be found, but when I can't even get my game running it deserves a 0.    … Expand
  65. Aquilifer11
    Sep 4, 2013
    0
    Sorry this game is a complete disappointment. I've played first Rome and it is one of my favourite games of all time. Now this one plays like it is written by a completely different programmer team. The design and interface is awful, gameplay is dumbed down. Waste of time and money!
  66. Werve
    Sep 11, 2013
    1
    This game is unplayable and not entertaining. It is an early beta, unstable and buggy. A big let down for most fans of the series. It clearly shows the bad side of modern game industry practices and lack of inspired professionalism. Not recommended.
  67. discipulo
    Sep 11, 2013
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Horrível a jogabilidade e o desempenho do jogo. A única nota positiva vai para as batalhas navais que agora podem ser controladas assim como as batalhas campais. No geral, o jogo ficou devendo e muito para o seu antecessor, Rome Total War e Medieval II Total War.… Expand
  68. BlackFox81
    May 22, 2014
    0
    This game came out almost 10 months ago with 12 patches and boat load of DLC that is mostly more crap on top of a broken game....And guess what this game still sucks and really there is no difference from release too 12 patches later....Rome 2 is is total Garbage if you love total war games you will hate this unless you are brain dead. And anyone who gives this game a 7-10 is either slowThis game came out almost 10 months ago with 12 patches and boat load of DLC that is mostly more crap on top of a broken game....And guess what this game still sucks and really there is no difference from release too 12 patches later....Rome 2 is is total Garbage if you love total war games you will hate this unless you are brain dead. And anyone who gives this game a 7-10 is either slow or still in denial that CA could make such a terrible money whoring game to an otherwise great series
    I give it a 0 because when a i buy a total war game i expect a good to great game not a big pile of dog crap that i paid 5o dollars for    … Expand
  69. A7ibaba
    Sep 10, 2013
    0
    Game A.I is completely broken and i really don't see a point of playing Rome 2. You can conquer whole game in 3 hours because A.I don't react and it's like playing a chess with mentally retarded person who never played chess in whole life. Not to mention technical problems with units going through walls and ships running through land and missing or mixed texture on battlefield map.
  70. CRC
    Sep 6, 2013
    0
    Countless glitches and technical issues like buttons not working.
    AWFUL A.I. (Even for a TW game.) You could probably win by just randomly banging your head against your keyboard. I wish I was joking.
    Very slow load times. Laaaaaaaag. Control Points in open-field battles almost completely throw strategy out the window. Graphics are "meh" even on max settings. Nothing like what we had    Countless glitches and technical issues like buttons not working.
    AWFUL A.I. (Even for a TW game.) You could probably win by just randomly banging your head against your keyboard. I wish I was joking.
    Very slow load times.
    Laaaaaaaag.
    Control Points in open-field battles almost completely throw strategy out the window.
    Graphics are "meh" even on max settings. Nothing like what we had been shown.
    Unit cards can end up taking up half the screen.
    Since 1 turn 1 year now, your generals start dropping like flies after only a few dozen turns.
    No family tree.
    No guard mode.

    I'm probably missing some things, but those are my major issues with this game. It has great potential, but in the state that it's in, it isn't worth anywhere near $60, and it certainly doesn't deserve the critical acclaim that it's getting. My advice is to wait until some patches and/or mods come out that fix it. Until then, steer clear of this buggy mess.    … Expand
  71. rikasan
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    They actually killed the series for its simplifications for youngsters and casual players. Want to play real Total War? Play Shogun 2, Medieval 2, Rome 1.

    This game is a huge fail. Capture points and lack of family tree are worst decisions possible. UI is very dull. I feel disapointed.
  72. Mortmal
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    As many i preordered as the city state dlc come with it, everyones want to try sparta...Sadly i am too impatient, should have wait for users reviews, as i cant find anything positive to say aboutt he game.

    From the unoptimized graphic engine, lagging strategic map, unintuitive UI, abysmal AI nothing is done right, its an alpha test or its similar to those steam indies early access,    As many i preordered as the city state dlc come with it, everyones want to try sparta...Sadly i am too impatient, should have wait for users reviews, as i cant find anything positive to say aboutt he game.

    From the unoptimized graphic engine, lagging strategic map, unintuitive UI, abysmal AI nothing is done right, its an alpha test or its similar to those steam indies early access, clearly not worth full retail price.

    Everything is a step backward compared to shogun 2 and 4-5 min inactivity after pressing end turn doesnt lighten the mood.
    Theres nothing working, its sounds like theres part of the code missing, the AI never declares war to you wonder why its called total war.
    Sometimes throwing small armies to their doom without any hope to success, sometimes jsut standing there completely frozen One thing i noticed is its never ever doing well in any city battle. You probalby seen the "genious AI" gameplay videos those are completely true alas.

    Maybe after intensive patching and heavy modding it will be great but as of right now a,void avoid avoid!    … Expand
  73. Hugotrd
    Sep 10, 2013
    2
    Waited years for this.. DONT BUY THIS GAME DONT BUY THIS GAME buy the first one! buy shogan, not this! god!
    I played this as soon as it launched, and so SO SO SO SO many bugs!!!!
  74. dmastri
    Jan 31, 2014
    1
    5 months, 9 patches, still garbage game. Creative Assembly is officially dead to me. You have only yourself to blame if you buy their terrible games anymore.
  75. EmineNc3
    Oct 22, 2014
    4
    Its been a little over a year since my last review and little has changed.
    The same stupid flaws of the game remain, all thats been done to improve things is add more DLCs to make more money.
    The game is the same as Empire, was an absolute nightmare.. that was their OPEN BETA... When Napoleon came out, it was much improved.. errors from Empire fixed etc. Now Attila is coming out, Rome    Its been a little over a year since my last review and little has changed.
    The same stupid flaws of the game remain, all thats been done to improve things is add more DLCs to make more money.
    The game is the same as Empire, was an absolute nightmare.. that was their OPEN BETA...
    When Napoleon came out, it was much improved.. errors from Empire fixed etc.
    Now Attila is coming out, Rome 2 support is basically at a finish.
    The next game will be the Full Release, as Rome 2 was the Beta    … Expand
  76. tux
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    worst game in the Total War series. nothing alive and warm remains of the first part. wacky icons, no clips, unrealistic morality, bad management, and more more
  77. peadora
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    It is simple, I pay full price for the game, the game crash everyturn and is not playable at all.
    A game that is not playable worth nothing 0
    Whoever lucky enough to be able to play the game without crash, well lucky you, please rate it base on your own gaming experience. But in my case, my gaming experience is 0. I would forgive them if they release this as a Beta, I would    It is simple, I pay full price for the game, the game crash everyturn and is not playable at all.
    A game that is not playable worth nothing 0

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

    I would forgive them if they release this as a Beta, I would forgive them if my machine/system do not fit their spec, I would forgive them if those bugs is isolated and only happens to me. But no, the game is not ready and clearly they have not properly tested it before release. This is bad management and CA is trashing their name.    … Expand
  78. Werg
    Sep 7, 2013
    0
    A sad day for all TW fans. CA had rough releases before, but this tops it all. Their questionable design decisions threaten the very core that was TW.
  79. SgtBash13
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    I don't normally submit reviews on games, however after awaiting this longly anticipated sequel to be released, I can't help but vent my frustration & disapointment to others. Rome 1 was surely one of CA's most fondly admired titles in the Total War series, therefore it was vital that more than ever CA stepped up & delivered a 2nd that we all craved for. Rome 2 however fails do to this,I don't normally submit reviews on games, however after awaiting this longly anticipated sequel to be released, I can't help but vent my frustration & disapointment to others. Rome 1 was surely one of CA's most fondly admired titles in the Total War series, therefore it was vital that more than ever CA stepped up & delivered a 2nd that we all craved for. Rome 2 however fails do to this, poor graphic performance & constant bugs equals a frustrating experience when you were promised (and expected) far far better. Shogun 2 is more than this ever will be & sadly the Total War series is in demise, like so many others.
    Typical Cash & Grab im afraid!    … Expand
  80. danyellow
    Sep 7, 2013
    4
    Rome 2 is an ok game, but does it make a worthy successor to the original Rome? No.

    The original Rome was the most innovative total war yet, and Rome 2 was supposed to live up to that. But when it comes to the end, it turned out to be one facepalm after another. As repetitive as it sounds, this game desperately needs a huge patch. They released the first patch, but for me personally,    Rome 2 is an ok game, but does it make a worthy successor to the original Rome? No.

    The original Rome was the most innovative total war yet, and Rome 2 was supposed to live up to that. But when it comes to the end, it turned out to be one facepalm after another. As repetitive as it sounds, this game desperately needs a huge patch. They released the first patch, but for me personally, it did more harm than good, as it degraded performance.

    Issues that need addressing
    -A.I. (Both battle map and campaign) A.I. in campaign would attack a 15+stack army with a single unit. A.I. isn't as intelligent as I would have liked it to be.
    -U.I. is not the greatest it's a lot of menu then submenus.
    -Graphics need a huge overall (bad textures, horrendous faces, etc.)
    -Battle speed NEEDS to be slowed down. All my battles have been under 10 minutes (Usually averaging 6 minutes.) 2 of those minutes are spent walking to the battle, 3-4 mins for the entire battle.)
    -Naval battles are buggy!
    -Capture points make no logical sense in game. (needs to be removed)
    -A lot of features from the original rome have been removed. (assassination videos, family trees, unable to toggle use of pila on roman units)
    -Campaign end turn times are LONG

    Overall, they released the game way too early. The game is 60-70% done in terms of content, and 30% done in terms of testing. What really grinds my gears is that before release, a lot of the community at TWC were addressing 60-70% of the current gameplay issues. Also, it would have been smart to release a beta to a variety of people with different systems, to have had a stronger release.    … Expand
  81. BadWolf1991
    Sep 13, 2013
    0
    Disappointing. Paid full price for a Beta. They saw record pre-orders. Can be sure I won't be one of those next time. Every promise that was made pre-launch was a lie. That just about sums it up.
  82. bracesco
    Sep 13, 2013
    0
    Dont buy this, it´s a alpha. The game it´s broken, the AI it´s broken, the fps sucks. Im a fan of the Total War saga and this game its just Total Crap. CA you broke my heart.
  83. Terrbear
    Sep 13, 2013
    0
    Awful, CA lied about so much that they were implementing, iv played every total war and this one just doesn't have any feeling in it, its been totally streamlined and it doesn't play any different playing as rome, or carthage etc as they all have massively similar units, no unique events or intro movie and even though there are so many factions they all have the same units!!! I don't careAwful, CA lied about so much that they were implementing, iv played every total war and this one just doesn't have any feeling in it, its been totally streamlined and it doesn't play any different playing as rome, or carthage etc as they all have massively similar units, no unique events or intro movie and even though there are so many factions they all have the same units!!! I don't care if theirs say 30 different greek factions if they all have almost identical troops and don't act or strategise differently! and lets face it the ai doesn't strategise AT ALL, im into the late game as carthage, HOPING the game would improve as it has gone on but honestly it just doesn't, no particular part of this game is fun, I waited along time to play this game as so many did. All those CA videos are lies, like the Macedonian skirmish one: showing how 'good' the new ai was! its obvious now that it was a person playing as the romans in the video because there Is no chance that is the ai!!! Also I feel its sick that the critics reviews are so wrong, there is clearly something wrong when most critics are saying this game is amazing etc when clearly... CLEARLY its not. we'll just have to keep our fingers crossed that this can be salvaged somehow...… Expand
  84. cleavland
    Sep 15, 2013
    0
    They copied the AI, lack of collision physics, and monotonous city-building from Empire and tacked it onto this mess. SAVE YOUR 60-70 BUCKS! The troubles start when the game crashes for no good reason and the how user interface became downgraded to the point of being patronizing. NO MORE CUSTOM FORMATIONS!?. Massive lag on the campaign map with 100+ factions together taking 1+ minute on anThey copied the AI, lack of collision physics, and monotonous city-building from Empire and tacked it onto this mess. SAVE YOUR 60-70 BUCKS! The troubles start when the game crashes for no good reason and the how user interface became downgraded to the point of being patronizing. NO MORE CUSTOM FORMATIONS!?. Massive lag on the campaign map with 100+ factions together taking 1+ minute on an optimum gaming computer to finish the turn, then there's the battle lag... This game was pushed to release and I have a feeling that the talent who actually make the game did not have a say in the matter as no self-respecting programmer should accept money for selling such a broken and falsely-advertised product. The punch-line being that some empty-greedy suit decided to do some DLC whoring by announcing DLC BEFORE the game was released. If money is no object, buy the first Rome Total War and this one, play them both and you will find a perfect example of what has gone wrong with gaming within the past 10 years.… Expand
  85. klungo
    Sep 16, 2013
    0
    This is not a total war game. This is basically just starcraft with roman legions. Battles end within a few minutes and nearly every unit has some stupid arcade like "special ability" that gives them some magical damage boost or faster running speed. Units run and perform actions like throwing javelins way too fast and you can have your men run extremely long distances without gettingThis is not a total war game. This is basically just starcraft with roman legions. Battles end within a few minutes and nearly every unit has some stupid arcade like "special ability" that gives them some magical damage boost or faster running speed. Units run and perform actions like throwing javelins way too fast and you can have your men run extremely long distances without getting tired.

    The game also places a hug emphasis on capture the flag battles now. Open land battles consist of rushing magical flags to win instead of using your brain to rout the enemy and run them down. Units also dissolve into mindless mosh pits as soon as they reach the enemy. The guard mode is gone so good luck trying to keep your men in formation to set up proper battle lines. Family trees(one of the best features in any total war game) is also gone and replaced with some shallow "internal politics" system that has no impact on the game whatsoever since the game will just fart out generals endlessly for you to use no matter what.

    0/10
    Worst total war game ever.
    This makes empire look like a masterpiece and I will never buy another total war game again until CA gets their together. If you want a real total war game then go play classic Rome or Medieval 2.

    P.S. WTF were you thinking CA by hiring Richard Beddow instead of Jeff van Dyck? The empire and napoleon soundtracks composed by Beddow were boring as and it clearly shows in Rome 2 with it's generic monotone music that doesn't build up to anything. Jeff's music is what brings life to the total war series and the game feels dead without it, no matter how good the game is in other regards.    … Expand
  86. DanielCorfour
    Sep 16, 2013
    1
    I would like to make a clarification. Objectively the game rating should be about 6.5. Not quite a 7 but not quite a 6. The only reason I gave a 4, is because the reviewers, the critics, decided to give it a near perfect score, which is pure bull, and would only encourage companies to flood out more unfinished/unpolished games.

    "It's not about the score, it's about sending a message"    I would like to make a clarification. Objectively the game rating should be about 6.5. Not quite a 7 but not quite a 6. The only reason I gave a 4, is because the reviewers, the critics, decided to give it a near perfect score, which is pure bull, and would only encourage companies to flood out more unfinished/unpolished games.

    "It's not about the score, it's about sending a message"

    The jist of it is summed up in the last two paragraphs, if you don't want to read the whole review. Basically it's a 4, plus points for size and beauty and a whole bunch of negative ones for it being a complete mess playability wise.

    As of date I have spent roughly 80 hours in Rome 2, but I have no idea why. Every two seconds in the game a random bug appears which makes you want to tear off your scalp. And although the Beta 2 patch solves a lot of issues, it is still way too easy to call the entire game a Beta test.

    Don't get me wrong, I looove the game, I absolutely adore it. At least that was my first impression of it, which I'm guessing is all the "official" critics bothered to get: a first impression with one hour of gameplay. Or they were just pandering to the company. Either of the two. After your tenth hour you start noticing annoying little things and after about 20 hours, you want to smash your PC. But you'll still love the game, and this is why.

    It is stunningly beautiful. And huge. I mean the campaign map is unbelievably huge, with over a hundred factions on it. And the smallest thing which i love the most is that the cities expand on the map visibly when they grow.. it;s amazing, with all the other little improvements it makes the game fantastic. Best of all it actually makes you feel like you're in the time period, it gives you that feeling. even more so than any Total War game to date. And again, incredibly beautiful. I cannot even imagine the amount of that went into making this game, and to the developers I say bravo.

    But then there is the game as a whole. It's a buggy mess, and some of the game mechanics are completely retarded. That amount of work that they put into it is not even noticeable compared to that. And yes the current patch tries it's best to get it to work, but it;s still bugged to the core. Ships riding sand dunes armies just dancing around for no reason, soldiers flying, 12 elephants killing an army of 3000 strong.. one time I did a siege, broke the enemy's gates, and when I ran my army through it, they all died for no reason. wtf? And that is just a few of them. But I would be able to look over them if not for the two biggest problems the game has.

    The streamlining and the AI. I mean holy what the huh? The AI is incredibly stupid, it's the worst one I've seen in years... it is a passive moron on every difficulty. Both the campaign and the battle and naval. By the way, naval battles are bugged to the point of unplayable, so don't even bother. Just to give a hint at how stupid the AI is, I've won a battle where outnumbered 10 to 1. 10 to 1!!! This is Sparta? And no, not because of some strategic chokepoint or anything, it was a plain field, no high ground, no nothing. All it was that the AI sacrificed half their army for no reason, and the rest did nothing even after that. And the game is streamlined to the point of it makes no sense. Random capture point flags appear in battles, which makes the AI go crazy and destroys any option of strategic maneuvering. Battles have been sped up, now the whole thing looks like a mosh pit, you can barely issue a few orders and the battle is over. A lot of features have been stripped and replaced with some easy nonsense, and it adds nothing substantial. Granted it does add a few minor improvements, like provinces and cinematic cameras, but the core of it is bare. General's speech has been shortened to almost nothing, there are barely any cinematic cutscenes, and so on.

    Here's the jist of it: overall it seems to me that it the biggest issue it has is that it's been rushed like most games as of late. It's a shady business practice that I will not stand for. It's not that it's unfinished, it's unpolished. The only thing they seemed to care about was the aesthetic of the game, so they can sell it based on pre-release advertising. And they botched that up as well, because the graphics are a mess. It's been overhyped and underdelivered, and it's not optimized at all. The best PCs could barely run the high settings. The Beta patch seems to fix this one issue, for which I am grateful. The streamlining and brain dead AI only further proves that they tried to sell as many copies as possible to retarded teenagers, rather than making a quality game.

    In closing I highly doubt that it will be ever fixed completely. Your best hope is the modding community, who already did tremendous progress towards solving certain issues. I would advise checking the TWcenter,and downloading the mods you think are needed. It's a hug    … Expand
  87. marcelklein88
    Sep 17, 2013
    0
    I am so angry about this game.
    Instead of finishing the development and THEN releasing it, the just throw it at the people and say "ok we will give you a 5GB Update every week from now on"-until it' s finished in 2045.
    And I won't comment on the 100GB Steam donwload you need to do first. And how big my hate against Steam is. I have sent the game back although I registered the key.    I am so angry about this game.
    Instead of finishing the development and THEN releasing it, the just throw it at the people and say "ok we will give you a 5GB Update every week from now on"-until it' s finished in 2045.

    And I won't comment on the 100GB Steam donwload you need to do first.
    And how big my hate against Steam is.

    I have sent the game back although I registered the key. If they try to prosecute me, I will fight to death.
    I am so angry about this crap.

    I was happy when they released it but NOOOO it's unplayable and makes my PC go nuts.    … Expand
  88. Vigil
    Sep 16, 2013
    1
    This is a massive downgrade from Creative Assembly's last entry, Shogun 2. Rome 2 is absolutely worse in every aspect than it's predecessors;
    - awful, clunky, intrusive UI
    - baffling interfaces which require you to use the in-game Encyclopedia (which contains information about mechanics cut from the game, no less) - severe graphical issues - half of the unit features from the original    This is a massive downgrade from Creative Assembly's last entry, Shogun 2. Rome 2 is absolutely worse in every aspect than it's predecessors;
    - awful, clunky, intrusive UI
    - baffling interfaces which require you to use the in-game Encyclopedia (which contains information about mechanics cut from the game, no less)
    - severe graphical issues
    - half of the unit features from the original Rome: Total War
    - completely broken unit AI
    - broken maps
    - awful naval combat
    - no politics
    - no family trees
    - no diplomacy (factions will ALWAYS demand a monetary payment for diplomacy actions)
    - no unit variety
    - horrifically overpowered Roman melee units

    I'd go on, but others have said the rest, probably. Phenomenal disappointment. I'm not sure what happened to CA, but they've lost the plot. Avoid this entry in the Total War series at all costs. It is not worth your money.    … Expand
  89. stern
    Dec 8, 2013
    1
    It's an incomplete game, buggy, with design flaws, and worst, a broken hard-coded core. This is something that not even modders will be able to change or improve, because it's the mechanics of Total War in the end.
    They should decide if they want to make a tactical real time battles game or if they want to make a strategical turn based map-based war game. As it is now, they try both and    It's an incomplete game, buggy, with design flaws, and worst, a broken hard-coded core. This is something that not even modders will be able to change or improve, because it's the mechanics of Total War in the end.
    They should decide if they want to make a tactical real time battles game or if they want to make a strategical turn based map-based war game. As it is now, they try both and fail utterly.
    If you paid for this game I feel sorry for you, I sure grew out to Paradox games many years ago so I wasn't expecting any different from CA. Whoever played Medieval know what pain is.
    One wonders the appraisal this game has from "professional" reviewers. Were they paid?    … Expand
  90. greview
    Sep 13, 2013
    1
    Finally the day is here Rome Total War 2... I couldnt wait ..have been a great Total War series veteran started with the original Medival Total War game in 2003 and bought every single one of the series after.i have had hundreds of enjoyabale hours playing Rome 1, medieval 2, Shogun 2 and Empire some of the best. they can all range from 8 to 10 stars, as a History buff i would say theFinally the day is here Rome Total War 2... I couldnt wait ..have been a great Total War series veteran started with the original Medival Total War game in 2003 and bought every single one of the series after.i have had hundreds of enjoyabale hours playing Rome 1, medieval 2, Shogun 2 and Empire some of the best. they can all range from 8 to 10 stars, as a History buff i would say the ancient romans would be watching over this game as a disgrace to they greatness, with retarded mentally challenged AI,plenty of glitches lots of waisted time waiting to download even on an high end PC. not all the ancient tribes exist as they should they should read plutarch and lots of history before launching this game. Total dissapointment or Total greed and failure should be the title of this one. what a great opportunity wasted for a 10 star game this should have been ,given the PC evolution since TW Rome 1, I would not advise any one spending $60 on this one rather play cheaper earlier TW games. Rely on user reviews other than "Critic" reviews whom share profit from this overpriced not fun to play game. 1 star i gave only because I like the History of Ancient Rome whom deserves a game matching its glorious past.… Expand
  91. Davohn
    Sep 6, 2013
    5
    I enjoyed the prologue, and the first few turns of the campaign, but the turn times are far too long which basically breaks the campaign before you even start talking about the tech trees etc.

    The battles themselves are fun and when some technical issues are fixed I can see the historical battles and multiplayer being worthwhile, but unless there is some serious optimization, the    I enjoyed the prologue, and the first few turns of the campaign, but the turn times are far too long which basically breaks the campaign before you even start talking about the tech trees etc.

    The battles themselves are fun and when some technical issues are fixed I can see the historical battles and multiplayer being worthwhile, but unless there is some serious optimization, the campaign is just an excercise in waiting.    … Expand
  92. M8ass
    Jan 16, 2014
    4
    In my opinion it should be criminal to post false advertising and lie on the game cartage and intentionally misguide the costumer. Rome total war 2 is one of those games, the squeal to one of the best total wars game that exists, Rome total war.

    In short its a rushed, unfinished game, full with bugs, and bizarre game play elements. I recommend waiting a while till the game drops in    In my opinion it should be criminal to post false advertising and lie on the game cartage and intentionally misguide the costumer. Rome total war 2 is one of those games, the squeal to one of the best total wars game that exists, Rome total war.

    In short its a rushed, unfinished game, full with bugs, and bizarre game play elements. I recommend waiting a while till the game drops in price and gets most of its bugs fixed before investing into this.

    unlike other games on the market its playable, and you can get some fun out of it, but there are better and cheaper games out there.    … Expand
  93. bzdt1
    Sep 4, 2013
    5
    The main problem of this game is that no provide "wow effect" anymore, nothing new, just shogun 2 with some new animations and skins, very boring technical problems
  94. krislawton19
    Sep 14, 2013
    4
    i've just signed up to leave this review, this game is so disappointing after watching the trailers and being a fan of the total war franchise from the start and with shogun 2 being awesome i expected this game to be even greater. The AI is terrible which wont be a game changer if you didn't just buy dogs which in kill 80% of any army without even engaging them, or the gates to a forti've just signed up to leave this review, this game is so disappointing after watching the trailers and being a fan of the total war franchise from the start and with shogun 2 being awesome i expected this game to be even greater. The AI is terrible which wont be a game changer if you didn't just buy dogs which in kill 80% of any army without even engaging them, or the gates to a fort opening and closing none stop so you cant burn the gate down. Boring though when you use 2000 men vs 8000 just dogs and only take 50 casulaitys. I can live with stuff like this though even on the highest difficulty but stuff like shoguns army controls missing in rome 2 makes me cry or how naval battles are pointless. People disappear from your armys to fast aswell, different forts are just the same fort rotated on the map a let down. it does have some nice things like line of sight and province but the more i play it the more i start to think do i really want the next one if its like this. how people can rate this game 8/10 i dont understand. granted ive only played 55hours of it so far and i am playing it on its highest settings across the board graphics/gameplay but im bored of it and let down and shogun keep me entertained for ...well lets say 5x this in single player alone. i unstand glitches and ai bugs all ways happen in these games but comon didnt you even do beta and its core machinics are just not there and its a shadow of other games… Expand
  95. Ratspike
    Sep 25, 2013
    0
    I wish i could give this game less than a 0.

    Forget the broken game, the quality of previous total war games that gave hope to an ever better Total War this time around. The marketing for this game was so dishonest, so under-handed, so criminal. To say the AI is "better then ever before" is a grin of a lie, they knew it was broken yet they still said how amazing the game was. They    I wish i could give this game less than a 0.

    Forget the broken game, the quality of previous total war games that gave hope to an ever better Total War this time around.

    The marketing for this game was so dishonest, so under-handed, so criminal. To say the AI is "better then ever before" is a grin of a lie, they knew it was broken yet they still said how amazing the game was. They released pictures of mesmerizing soldiers and landscapes. THE GAME LOOKS NOTHING LIKE THE PROMOTIONAL PHOTOS.

    This company deserves to fall to its pieces and every liar within to be out of a job, this is what is wrong with video games today, and getting a 0 on a metacritic review is the absolute least CA deserves.    … Expand
  96. mr_cyberpunk
    Sep 25, 2013
    2
    This game was advertised as being a cinematic epic with advanced "learning" AI. This game does not live up to those claims at all. The game runs very poorly on the best hardware and looks terrible especially when compared to Rome 1 Mods like RTR, Roma Surrectum and EB.

    The streamlining in this title went too far and removes most of the challenge from the game, the veterans are    This game was advertised as being a cinematic epic with advanced "learning" AI. This game does not live up to those claims at all. The game runs very poorly on the best hardware and looks terrible especially when compared to Rome 1 Mods like RTR, Roma Surrectum and EB.

    The streamlining in this title went too far and removes most of the challenge from the game, the veterans are overpowered and remove the reward from fighting a good battle. The tactical elements have been reduced to blob warfare, where combat multipliers do not apply and in general the game feels unrealistic.. which is a shame because Total War always prided itself on being realistic at least from a tactical standpoint.

    The UI is terrible and by far some of the worst design I've seen in a long time. The UI icons are uninspired and nothing feels intuitive. At first glance I didn't even know where the techtree was.. versus Empire and Shogun 2 which I immediately understood where everything was. We're taking steps backwards.

    I played this game for about 2 weeks. Managed to get to the endgame but couldn't bring myself to complete the game out of frustraition with boring battles where all I was really doing was watching the action. There's no tactics.. you can spam town centers and win with no issues. Eventually the game reduces to auto-resolving.. defeating most of the work the developers did on the game. The seige system is broken, there's no need to build seige equipment as you can just burn down gates... and its not as if the AI knows how to use walls.

    The game crashed several times. The factions are rather dull and I didn't appreciate the Greek City States being DLC, when taking into account these being unplayable for new customers, this game lacks content.. If you install mods you're opened up to the reality that CA is cheating people, the content is in the game, its just locked.. they expect fans to pay for them yet again.

    The naval combat is unplayable... I can't figure it out but the whole thing feels boring when it does work. I've lost entire units to some pathing bugs forcing the soldiers to abandon ship.

    Environment design is dreadful, most of it you rarely see because the game is too easy.

    This game is easily a 2.. its unfinished, its barely acceptable as a Beta, I couldn't get very many hours out of this because it was too easy, every faction felt the same, there's just none of the charm their earlier games had.

    And hands down this is one of the worst games I've ever played, its not fun and its release is unacceptable, CA are a terrible developer and should be held accountable for the games they release. I'm just glad I didn't buy it.    … Expand
  97. blitzsnake
    Sep 25, 2013
    1
    Rome 2 is what you get when you combine EA-style marketing, pre-ordering and producing with complete control on the game making process. Rome 2 was made for the sole purpose to maximize sales and abuse fan loyalty. Any sane player will notice after maximum 2 hours of playing. There are so many corners cut. So many half-assed features. Barely nothing from the trailers made it into the game.Rome 2 is what you get when you combine EA-style marketing, pre-ordering and producing with complete control on the game making process. Rome 2 was made for the sole purpose to maximize sales and abuse fan loyalty. Any sane player will notice after maximum 2 hours of playing. There are so many corners cut. So many half-assed features. Barely nothing from the trailers made it into the game. Those were blatant LIES. Siege of Carthage looks nothing like the trailer. Even though the devs had the audacity to say it would look EVEN better than the video.

    Sure, some may say that it wasn't CA's fault and it was Sega pressuring them to release the game, but the way I see it, that's all the more reason not to buy Rome 2. I have a hard time believing that Rome 2 would've been released had the greatest powers in CA objected. The impression I've had from CA is that their entire model consists of impressing SEGA as much as possible. They don't care about the fans. They know we'll buy the game regardless. Rome 2 is like one shiny turd thrown at the face of fans all over the world.    … Expand
  98. Elodea
    Sep 25, 2013
    2
    Rome 2 is a soulless game. A dried and empty husk of terrible gameplay design and implementation that requires extensive use of community created mods to be anywhere enjoyable. The feature set has been streamlined to the point of anorexia.

    The only redeeming point in this title is it's achievement in graphical fidelity, but this rings hollow when there's not really any solid meat underneath.
  99. Lizard_man
    Sep 25, 2013
    2
    I really don't understand how people are rating this game a 10, it's unfinished, full of bugs, stripped down and boring...

    What I can't forgive is the state that this game has been released in, fix the bugs and you're still left with an unfinished and poor excuse for a game...

    CA really pulled a fast one on us. They've lost a fan, and a customer...
  100. Rodii
    Sep 27, 2013
    2
    Too many bugs to be enjoyable.
    Too many features cut out to be a fun game.
    Too rushed to be playable.
    Don't buy the game in this state!

    Wait a year to let it be patched and reduced in price.
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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.
    Read full review
  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.
    Read full review
  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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