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Total War: Rome II

Total War: Rome II - Hands-On

Goodness gracious great balls of fire.

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As with all Total War games, there's two sides to everything. Rome II is, like other games in the series, divided up into two sections: the turn-based strategising on the campaign map, and the real-time battles that happen when two armies collide.

First things first, the campaign map. It's huge. Colossal even. It stretches from the northern most tip of Africa, to the British Isles, all the way over to what is modern day Afghanistan. There's a huge amount of provinces (nearly 60, with over 180 regions between them) to be potentially conquered.

For fans of the series, it will be a sight to behold. A thing of beauty. Players will have a plethora of options in front of them, and will be able to create armies as they see fit, marching them around the campaign map and conquering different regions as they go. In Rome II you'll be able to recruit direct to your army, rather than creating units in nearby provinces and sending them to your force, which should streamline things nicely, especially considering the size of the game.

Total War: Rome II
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Managing provinces will also be a simpler affair, with directives handed down to the regional capitals, rather than having to tinker with each specific area of land. Again, it seems like a good way of streamlining that side of the campaign, but for players who prefer the turn-based element, there's still a huge variety of options available. The population need to be kept happy, and fed, and of course there's going to be betrayals between the various powerful families that are vying for control of the empire.

During the presentation by Creative Assembly, we witnessed the Roman force, under the direction of Julius Caesar, marching on Egypt and taking part in the Battle of the Nile. The demonstration started on the campaign map, with the legion heading up through North Africa.

There was a little diplomacy to be done. One last ditch attempt to make peace with Egypt, but ultimately they weren't interested in being friends. In a move to make this side of the game more transparent, players can now see how their previous actions have impacted the way other factions view you.

Total War: Rome II
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Marching up the coast on the campaign map took the Creative Assembly staffers controlling the Legion straight into battle. They demoed an exchange between Rome and Egypt, with the defending Egyptians holding the higher ground. Alongside the land battle are two fleets of warships. In Rome II these battles happen at the same time, and this dual focus gives the player a lot to think about; spend too much time tending to one area, and you risk destruction and ruin in the other part of the battle.

The higher ground consisted of a well-armed force of troops. War elephants. Trebuchets and giant balls of hay waiting to be set alight and rolled down the hill at the incoming Roman troops. After watching the CA team demoing the battle (and narrowly avoiding defeat because they were too busy showing off the new features) I was able to play it through myself, from both perspectives.

At first I took control of the Egyptians. I wanted to sample the great balls of fire for myself. My first play-through was actually an anti-climax. It wasn't until a second play-through, when a helpful CA team member was able to show me how to light the balls, that I was able to deploy them in battle (you need to highlight the unit behind the ball, wait for a small icon to appear, and select it - I was told that this will likely be better signposted when the final version of the game is released).

Total War: Rome II

My first battle was easy. The higher ground, the trebuchets, the stampeding elephants, all conspired together to make for a straight forward beating. The Roman units were routed one by one, and I didn't even need to break a sweat to do it. The naval battle that went alongside was similarly swift. All that was needed to be done was prevent the Roman ships from getting past my units, and thus stopping them from disembarking troops to the rear of my hilltop force.

The second battle, where the tables were turned and I assumed command of the Roman force, was a little trickier. First I dispatched half of my ships into direct naval combat with the Egyptian fleet, and in doing so sent them off to certain death. The other half I sent straight to the nearby shore, had three units of troops disembark and join my force at the bottom of the hill.

From here it was a straight-up pincer attack. Cavalry and elephants were sent to the left flank, my newly acquired units held the right, and the main thrust of my attack were sent marching up the centre of the hill. So as to minimise the devastation caused by the defensive tactics of the Egyptians, I adopted a loose formation, so when their war elephants charged through my ranks, sending troops flying, the damage was somewhat lessened.

Total War: Rome IITotal War: Rome II

My cavalry charged the flanks, while the main force (accidentally, I must admit) went back down the hill. The right flank was swarmed by defenders, and sent fleeing the from the battlefield. A small force chased down my retreating central column, but I was able to dispatch them and send my units back up the slope. It was less dangerous now, as my enemy had exhausted his supply of flaming balls and his elephants had been defeated, so I closed ranks and sent my remaining units into pitched battle.

My cavalry whittled away at the enemy's flank, but was ultimately bested and retreated from the field, leaving my army's core fighting for their lives on top of the hill. In truth, I thought I'd lost the battle, but that wasn't to be the case. The lightly armoured units of the Egyptians were dispatched one by one, until it was clear that the tide was turning. Watching these units crash into each other was satisfying, and thanks to increased levels of detail on each soldier, there's a level of variety in the battles not seen before in the series.

At this point I stopped admiring the finer details because I noticed a huge column of reinforcements marching up from the left. Perhaps the AI of this early build assisted me, as they didn't envelope my force and obliterate me straight away, instead sending in a few units at a time, which my battle-hardened Roman forces were able to easily repel. All that was left to do was capture the command point at the top of the hill, and the battle was won. It was a breathless affair, full of ups and downs, but ultimately hugely enjoyable.

Total War: Rome II

There are several noteworthy additions to the well-established Total War formula in Rome II. The tactical view was seldom seen, but will offer an overview of the entire battle from a distance. As with the Shogun 2 expansion, Fall of the Samurai, you're able to assume direct control over some units (catapults and whatnot), and witness first hand the destruction they cause when you land a hit on an enemy unit. The defensive options available to players was aptly demonstrated during this demo, and even more are promised (hidden fire pits, for example).

Terrain is to be persistent, so once a landscape has been generated for a battle, there it will remain for any subsequent encounters, allowing players to bring additional strategy to the field thanks to their previous experiences. Legions will be able to adopt particular traits that become engrained in their philosophy, so if an army is completely destroyed and you need to raise a new one, you'll not have to start from scratch and the buffs that served the last force will be available to the new troops.

The battles themselves look better than ever, and coupled with a more intuitive UI and a streamlined turn-based campaign taking place over a gigantic map with a healthy variety of different opponents, Creative Assembly looks like they've outdone themselves in nearly every respect. We'll reserve final judgement for when we've got our hands on the final build of the game, but everything we've seen so far indicates the Total War: Rome II will be the pinnacle of the series.

Total War: Rome II

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Total War: Rome II

REVIEW. Written by Mike Holmes

Fans of the series have been waiting for this sequel for many, many years. Happily, it doesn't disappoint.



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