At E3, I had a few hours with Sega to see what they had on offer. One of their titles being flashed around in an elaborately stylised booth was Total War: Rome II. After an introduction from a Sega employee — who was amazingly chirpy for late in the third day of a very busy E3 — I was given the backstory of the campaign I was about to play.
Not surprisingly, the game follows the mighty Roman Empire on a conquest throughout a huge game world. The world map is essentially Europe and as historians will tell you, the Romans were quite fond of extending their backyard. The demo is set around 200 turns into the campaign and finds the hungry Romans making their way to Syria for chicken and waffles or possibly conquest. Something of that nature anyway.
Standing in their way is an Egyptian stronghold who are (understandably) a little miffed that you have marched a legion of troops into their territory. At this point you have the option to try and use diplomacy and make a powerful ally. Alternatively you can attempt to flatten the much larger Egyptian army whom have the considerable advantage of standing on high ground. I tried being nice, but the Egyptians were not having any of it. Lucky for me because it would have been a very short and boring demo if they had so easily became my bromigos.
My first battle was very short and rather embarrassing. It was quickly apparent that I was not an all powerful General and my army was suffering from my poor decisions. After failing so quickly I had enough time for a second attempt. I had learnt a few things from my first disastrous fight, which resulted in victory for my ravenous Roman Empire. Going from failing so miserably the first time around to the utter destruction I rained down on the Egyptians on the very next try says a lot for the game. It’s easy to learn from past mistakes and stop making them. Instead of stupid battalion placements I found strategic advantages. Proving that I was learning to think a little more like a mighty war lord, making the game that much more fun.
The battles are not the only source of entertainment. There are quite a few other duties required to improve your empire. If an area is having troubles — famine or disease for example — morale can be raised by having some peasants thrown to the lions for the City’s entertainment. A new feature to this sequel allows the adoption of children from other wealthy bloodlines which strengthens your own. The ability to assassinate troublesome members of parliament before they ruin your good name is also a bold new initiative. Failing in an assassination attempt will result in much more trouble from your jealous rival. They will then endeavor to destroy you and rally like minded people together against you.
During your travels you will come across many different towns and cities. There is a mix of agricultural, commercial and industrial, while some are just full of fighting pits. Each shows a very different architecture. Throughout the map there are variety of monuments such as Stonehenge and the great pyramid of Giza. I was constantly surprised by little things like this and it’s this attention to detail that kept me interested beyond just battling.
Total War: Rome II will be available for PC on 3 September 2013.
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