Rome: Total War short review

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Constipated_Vigilante
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Rome: Total War short review

Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 02:00

This is the best strategy game, real-time or turn-based, that I've played in a long time. It's much easier to play than M: TW, and it hasn't been dumbed down too much. You still need to maintain a balanced military, economy, and keep dividing and conquering. I'm playing as the House of Julii, and so far I've taken over a large portion of Western Europe (I haven't taken Spain/Portugal or East of France, but I think that's pretty good for 8-10 hours of play. I've also reached the Marius Event, where a man named Gaius Marius unites the Roman Factions' militaries, so they all have far superior units (legionarres, roman cavalry, auxiliaries, auxiliary archers, etc.). Also, the game gives you the choice of governing each and every province yourself, or opting to have some (or all) provinces AI-controlled, running on a building strategy chosen by you.

The battles are also very good. They aren't quite as complex in terms of formations and orders as Medieval, but they still need the player to have a strategic mind. For example, it's still a wise choice to have archers/skirmishers rain arrows/spears on the enemy before charging with foot troops, wardogs (wardogs are fun!), cavalry, etc. Siege weapons are more fun now, too. Ballistas aren't useless anymore (can fire flaming arrows, are accurate, long-ranged, and can skewer several soldiers at once), and before assaulting a fort, it's required that the player build some sort of siege weapons before attack. It's possible to build battering rams, battlement-boarders (the things that drive into battlements and load off troops), and some other contraptions on site. Also, the turn-based campaign map involves some real-time elements. For example, during an assassination attempt, you're shown the result before the end of the turn. Or, when units are told to move, they walk to their destinations, avoiding obstacles, or armies can be walked into woodlands and hidden for ambush.

I've found the game pretty satisfying so far, and the only lacking part so far is the multiplayer, as not many people seem to play yet, and therefore a lack of servers is present. But right now I have to stop this review and do my English homework, though there's so much more to be told...
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Post by Grox » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 03:31

:thumb_up:

simonnance
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Post by simonnance » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 13:32

:cry:

havent had mine yet....... damm Amazon!
they tell me:
Dispatch estimate: Sep 26, 2004
Delivery estimate: Sep 27, 2004 - Sep 28, 2004
:roll:

WE WANTS IT PRECIOUSSSSSSSSSS
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
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Post by gillrichard » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 13:59

PC specs required?

Ta
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Timbuk2
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Post by Timbuk2 » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 15:01

... and recommended?

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Post by RoguePhotonic » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 15:12

Did they fix it so your people don't turn on you anymore?....used to play for 9 hours straight and the game would just be over when that happens.
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Post by simonnance » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 15:24

yer, i had that once, 20 rebelions in one turn, and that was AFTER i spent 30 min rearanging my armies to minimise the impact.......
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
Usenko wrote:Don't get me wrong, I think animals have their place in the scheme of things. It's just that in the case of sheep, cattle and pigs, their place happens to be in neat pieces under the griller.:-)

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RJV
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Post by RJV » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 16:44

simonnance wrote:yer, i had that once, 20 rebelions in one turn, and that was AFTER i spent 30 min rearanging my armies to minimise the impact.......
Yeah but that was just the 'make it stupidly hard for the player at the end of the game because he's beaten it really and he's never going to be able to play all these battles in one turn and will have to auto-resolve some and therefore lose some, thus depleting his army and resources' event kicking in.

Once any game reaches that point, it's time to strike a notch on the old joystick, congratulate yourself and start again.

Here's hoping that the AI in RTW will be able to present a believable challenge in the end-game...

Cheers,

Rob.

Constipated_Vigilante
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Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Mon, 27. Sep 04, 23:10

The game runs fine with everything on High with the below system, and it's not too hard to control rebellions now. You have a 'public order' percentage in a province, and once it gets to a certain percent there's a chance of peasants revolting. Although, some provinces' meters drop easier than others (my capitol, for example, has a lower drop rate). Also, in the campaign, the Roman Senate gives you missions to complete if you're unsure what to do. These affect your standing with the senate and your allies, too.
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Post by gillrichard » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 10:11

"The below system" is confusing to me...

What does that translate to in Intel chip stylee? sorry :(
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Timbuk2
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Post by Timbuk2 » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 12:25

An athlon 2100+ is roughly equivalent to a 2.1 GHz Pentium

gillrichard
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Post by gillrichard » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 12:35

Ta
The thing is...there is no thing.

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Post by muppetts » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 17:19

RTW PC out on 1st October!! :evil:
VURT The only Feathers to Fly With......

Timbuk2
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Post by Timbuk2 » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 17:23

What ?!

Game had it last Friday. I'm sure of it.

Gonna go check the Amazon website. Back in a tic.

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Post by Timbuk2 » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 17:25

Well bugger me sideways with something large.

You're right. It's Oct 1st.

Was gonna go pick it up tomorrow. Still, it's only till friday.

simonnance
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Post by simonnance » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 20:21

:rant:

anoying developers and publishers!!!!!!!

my most awaited game in like 2-3 YEARS and they release it the day before i re-start Uni!!!!!!!

so friggin inconsiderate, all this time off i have now and they release just before i go back to the prospect of 24hrs of Labs a week, + Lectures + Tutorials + Lab right-ups and problem sheets!!!!!!

:rant:

~edit~ filters missed the B-word
~edit2~ :oops: point taken The_Abyss
Last edited by simonnance on Tue, 28. Sep 04, 22:15, edited 1 time in total.
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
Usenko wrote:Don't get me wrong, I think animals have their place in the scheme of things. It's just that in the case of sheep, cattle and pigs, their place happens to be in neat pieces under the griller.:-)

Constipated_Vigilante
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Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 21:15

EB Games released it on the 22nd, I got it there. And btw, I run my Athlon 2100+ XP on more like 1.7 ghz, 2100 is a bit much for my comp to handle, apparently. When I had it maxed out my computer would shut down after playing a demanding game (like bf1942).
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Post by The_Abyss » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 22:04

Once again, the fact that there are filters on obscene language here does not give a user the right to use offensive language such as this. The rules on this are clear.

Any repeat, for any user, will result in a warning.

Thank you.
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simonnance
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Post by simonnance » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 22:16

:oops: reconsidered and edited
want the FACTS about X2/X3?
Usenko wrote:Don't get me wrong, I think animals have their place in the scheme of things. It's just that in the case of sheep, cattle and pigs, their place happens to be in neat pieces under the griller.:-)

Constipated_Vigilante
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Post by Constipated_Vigilante » Tue, 28. Sep 04, 22:16

Yeah Simmonance, you should know better with being here the same time as me with a third more posts!
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