Rome Total War

In a new take on real time strategy gaming, gamers can now take the challenge of building and protecting Rome over several generations. In the new release Rome Total War, RTS gaming has gone massive as the battle in the game are simply the largest and most complex ever contained within a game and rival anything Hollywood could produce for sheer scale and excitement.
Set during a turbulent era, players take on the role of a family whose ultimate goal is to gain power, conquer the world and become emperor. In addition to greatly expanded graphics, the speed of armies vary adding a new depth of realism and challenge to the game.
Natural landmarks such as forests, mountains and valleys can now be used for strategic advantages and make ideal locations to plot and carry out ambushes and counter attacks.
Another ideal advantage to the tile is how it blends in Role Playing as gamers must control the family over several generations and important tasks such as bribery, assassination, promotions, appointments, and army composition all play into the success or failure of a campaign. For example, a well timed bribe to an assassin can save the use of an army or a difficult political challenge freeing up time and resources to concentrate on other areas.
Since combat is a large portion of the game, the ability to zoom on the action and determine battles based on strategy rather than army size is ideal. Placing your armies in various formations can not only clear the way against a superior force, but can provide support for sieges and other offensive tactics. The ability to move from offense to defense is a key point that can determine the tide of battle, and is given full attention in this game.
Numerous units are available including various animals that have vital strategic importance.
This is not to say that combat is perfect as enemy A.I. is not always smart as more than once was I able to thwart an attack by simply staying in place and letting the enemy units run straight into my spears. Elephants also are massively over balanced and make it easy to decimate enemy forces en mass. The multiplay in the game also had some issues as well as matchmaking was difficult at best. In a recent update, many of the above issues have been addressed in an update patch.
Issues aside, Rome Total War is an instant classic that should become an instant classic for the genre
Graphics 5
Gameplay 4
Sound 4.5
Value 4.5
Fun 5
4.5/5