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PC)GrahamGarside has been waiting patiently for the latest instalment of the Total War engine. Now he's got his hands on it, he can't wait to tell you just how great it is. Could Rome: Total War be the pinnacle of PC gaming, showcasing the cerebral challenge that only the PC can offer? 
Ignoring Half Life 2, Rome: Total War is arguably one of the most anticipated games of the year. Following on from the acclaimed prequels Shogun and Medieval, Rome: Total War certainly has a high standard to live up to. For those who are not aware, It has already impressed those who have been following the BBC’s Time Commanders and the History Channel’s Decisive Battles. In both series, the Total War engine has been used to generate the graphics used! Starting off you are taken through a quick prologue, giving you a brief history lesson of pre-empire Rome, which oddly enough chooses to use video encoded game engine footage. I still don't understand the reasons for this, I could understand them using the actual game engine for these scenes and it's certainly pretty enough, but to use recordings of it to me makes no sense, a minor grip but I felt I should find something. The game begins giving you a choice of one of three families vying for power, Julii, the Bruti, or the Scipii. None of these families actually rule Rome, but instead they are allied to one another, as well as the Senate and People of Rome (or Senatus Populusque Romanus for those up to scratch with their Latin). The Senate and People of Rome are an unplayable faction that represents Rome itself. While initially all are allies to begin with, each seeks the same goal - to rule Rome! Thus civil war is inevitable and choosing the right time to strike is the key to ruling Rome. Of course comparisons with the two previous Total War games are bound to come up. Compared with Medieval it's much the same game, but only bigger; instead of armies of a thousand or so, the game engine can now handle 10,000 units on screen at once and no longer two-dimensional sprites, but actual 3D characters rendered to level that only a couple of years ago would have been up to the quality of a main game character. It's not too demanding of hardware either, sure an X800 will make it run silky smooth, but it's feasible to run at max detail level, 1024x768 with 2xAA on anything from a Radeon 9600/Geforce FX5700 upwards. Even on a lowly FX5200 I still found it more impressive than Medievals' visuals. That is of course apart from the world map screen. If you remember Medieval you'll know how well the 2D 'Risk' style map worked. This time, they've gone for a full 3D rendered map this time, complete with rendered units. This may not sound like a problem, but it doesn't scroll as smoothly as Medieval, and in my opinion doesn't look as nice. 
But I can't stress enough how impressive the battle scenes look. It's quite easy to be in awe of a thousand of your own men being cut down by enemy cavalry without a care for the fact your loosing and even after several days of play I still find my self zooming right in to the thick of battle just to watch.   
All the graphics would mean nothing, if there wasn’t also great game play backing them up. Fortunately the developers haven’t failed in the game play category either! Everything that made the previous games great is back, tweaked, improved and all round just better. It's more complicated than Medieval, but thanks to the detailed help system you are guided through until you have learned everything for your self. All in all it's my game of the year so far. It can keep you playing for weeks through a campaign, or satisfy you with a quick battle or online game. It's deep, but guides you through it. Whilst it doesn't stray too far from what made the rest of the series great, it still manages to be different and improved enough to give someone who's played both games and their expansion packs something new to do. If you like the other two games you'll love this, if you haven't played the other two games then this is the perfect introduction. Like it? Loathe it? Either way, discuss it in the forums! |
