The WhatsNext verdict
If you want grand campaigns where territorial planning feeds directly into huge, cinematic land battles, Rome: Total War delivers a remarkably durable version of that loop. Play it for the emergent military stories and scale, but expect diplomacy and naval combat to feel noticeably weaker.
What it does best
Ancient warfare becomes a living battlefield
Campaign decisions carry the weight of an empire
Campaigns keep generating reasons to continue
Your campaign produces stories you did not script
What might put you off
Campaign AI and diplomacy
Naval warfare
The setup
What you are walking into
Set during the rule of the late Roman Republic and the early Roman Empire, Rome: Total War is a real-time tactics and turn-based strategy game that takes place across Europe, North Africa and the Near East. The player assumes control of one of three Roman families with eight other factions playable outside the main campaign. The main goal of the campaign is to become emperor of Rome by conquering fifty provinces with the support of the people before capturing Rome itself although a short campaign is also available wherein success depends on besting other factions in a race to seize control of 15 provinces.
Where it lives
Genre
Vibe
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