Rome: Total War

Rome: Total War is one of the titles that proved even a hybrid of turn-based strategy and real-time battles can be brought to a touchscreen phone. Feral Interactive converted the PC classic without changing the core of the game – the player plans moves, diplomacy, and city building on the empire map, while the battles themselves play out in real time with unit formations that must be positioned and commanded directly on the battlefield.

Commanding dozens of units with a finger on a small screen is the biggest challenge of the port – the camera is controlled with gestures, units are selected by tapping and dragging, and formations are changed through context menus. Even though Feral managed to make this clear and workable, the game remains aimed more at experienced strategy players who are willing to spend time getting used to controls without a mouse and keyboard. The reward is a faithful mobile version of the famous historical strategy game, including an extensive campaign about unifying ancient Rome and dozens of playable factions with their own units.

The title is paid, with no ads or microtransactions, which fits its focus on players looking for a full-fledged strategic experience rather than lightweight casual entertainment between tasks. Performance demands are higher, so the game runs best on newer phones or tablets with a larger display, where battle formations and terrain on the battlefield are easier to read and unit control is less prone to mistakes.

Why play it: Recommended for fans of historical strategy games who want to experience the combination of a turn-based map and real-time battles on their phone and don't mind a longer learning curve with the controls.