Total War: Rome II

Total War: Rome II is a strategy game from Creative Assembly and the direct spiritual successor to the original Rome: Total War, one of the most beloved entries in the whole series. The game places the player in the ancient world around the Mediterranean and the Middle East, leading one of many factions – from Rome itself through Carthage and the Greek states to Celtic tribes, Parthia, or the Egyptian kingdom – and trying to bring it to dominance on a map whose size and number of playable factions far exceed the series' older entries and their previous ambitions.

As with other entries, the game combines a turn-based strategic layer, dealing with province management, economy, diplomacy, and army building, with battles fought in real time on large maps with dozens of units on both sides. Rome II also expands the system of provinces and internal factional politics, adding family trees for leaders, more elaborate agents, espionage and sabotage, and a more prominent role for generals, who compete among themselves for influence and can even turn against their own faction. After release, the game faced technical problems and criticism over its AI and battle balance, which Creative Assembly gradually addressed through a series of extensive free updates and reworks of key systems, thanks to which the game changed markedly for the better over the following years and is today considered by many players to be one of the deeper and longest-supported entries in the series. The map's scope stretches from the British Isles across all of Western Europe, North Africa, and the Middle East to the interior of Persia, so even a single campaign can take dozens of hours before a victor is decided.

Why play: Total War: Rome II is a good fit for players who want to experience the ancient world on the largest scale the series had offered up to that point – with dozens of playable factions and a map covering nearly the entire civilized world of the time, from Britain to Persia. It will appeal to those who prefer long campaigns with elaborate internal politics and diplomacy over a fast, straightforward experience focused solely on battles.