Rome: Total War is a PC strategy game developed by The Creative Assembly and released on by
ActivisionActivision is an American publisher, majority owned by French conglomerate Vivendi SA. Its current CEO is Robert Kotick. It was founded on October 1, 1979 and was the world's first independent developer and distributor of video games for gaming consoles...
. The
Mac OS XMac OS X is a series of Unix-based operating systems and graphical user interfaces developed, marketed, and sold by Apple Inc. Since 2002, has been included with all new Macintosh computer systems...
version of the game was released on by
Feral InteractiveFeral Interactive is a publishing company founded in 1999 that publishes games and other software that did not fit in with the release programs of the large established publishers. It publishes Macintosh games and has relationships with publishers such as Electronic Arts, Eidos Interactive,...
.
The game is the third title in The Creative Assembly's
Total War series.
The game's main campaign is set during the rule of the late
Roman RepublicThe Roman Republic was the period of the ancient Roman civilization where the government operated as a republic. It began with the overthrow of the Roman monarchy, traditionally dated around 508 BC, and its replacement by a government headed by two consuls, elected annually by the citizens and...
and early
Roman EmpireThe Roman Empire was the post-Republican period of the ancient Roman civilization, characterised by an autocratic form of government and large territorial holdings in Europe and around the Mediterranean....
(270 BC – AD 14), with the player assuming control of one of three Roman families; other factions are playable outside the main campaign. Gameplay consists of real-time
tactical battlesMilitary tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
framed within a
turn-based strategicA turn-based strategy game is a strategy game where players take turns when playing...
campaign, taking place across
EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
,
North AfricaNorth Africa or Northern Africa is the northernmost region of the African continent, linked by the Sahara to Sub-Saharan Africa. Geopolitically, the United Nations definition of Northern Africa includes eight countries or territories; Algeria, Egypt, Libya, Morocco, South Sudan, Sudan, Tunisia, and...
and the
Near EastThe Near East is a geographical term that covers different countries for geographers, archeologists, and historians, on the one hand, and for political scientists, economists, and journalists, on the other...
. On the large strategic scale, players spend each turn managing diplomacy, developing infrastructure, moving armies, and managing the population's growth and orderliness through taxes and gladiatorial games, among other tasks. On the smaller scale, real-time battles against enemy armies take place within or between cities, with the player commanding forces which can contain thousands of individual soldiers.
Rome: Total War was released to critical acclaim, and has been well received by gamers, going on to generate a persistent and loyal modding fanbase. It is widely regarded to be among the greatest video games of all time.
Gameplay
The player takes a role equivalent to the head of one the three great Roman houses at the time; the Julii,
BrutiiThe Bruttii , were an ancient Italic people who inhabited the southern extremity of Italy, from the frontiers of Lucania to the Sicilian Straits and the promontory of Leucopetra, roughly corresponding to modern Calabria.-History:...
, and
ScipiiScipio is a Roman cognomen representing the Cornelii Scipiones, a branch of the Cornelii family. Any individual male of the branch must be named Cornelius Scipio and a female Cornelia. The nomen, Cornelius, signifies that the person belongs to the Cornelia gens, a legally defined clan composed of...
. Each of these factions has a set of attributes, initial objectives, and a few initial provinces under control. Control of a province is given to the faction whose army is occupying the province's city. The ultimate goal is to become emperor by conquering 50 provinces, gaining support from the people, before capturing
RomeRome is the capital of Italy and the country's largest and most populated city and comune, with over 2.7 million residents in . The city is located in the central-western portion of the Italian Peninsula, on the Tiber River within the Lazio region of Italy.Rome's history spans two and a half...
itself. Cities have a variety of buildings which may be built or upgraded, such as:
templesA temple is a structure reserved for religious or spiritual activities, such as prayer and sacrifice, or analogous rites. A templum constituted a sacred precinct as defined by a priest, or augur. It has the same root as the word "template," a plan in preparation of the building that was marked out...
,
aqueductsAn aqueduct is a water supply or navigable channel constructed to convey water. In modern engineering, the term is used for any system of pipes, ditches, canals, tunnels, and other structures used for this purpose....
and
amphitheatresAn amphitheatre is an open-air venue used for entertainment and performances.There are two similar, but distinct, types of structure for which the word "amphitheatre" is used: Ancient Roman amphitheatres were large central performance spaces surrounded by ascending seating, and were commonly used...
which increase the people's general happiness and wellbeing; markets and academies which respectively increase the city's financial contribution and likelihood of producing effective family members (see below); walls which make the city more resistant to assault by enemy armies; and barracks, archery ranges and stables which unlock new military units which may be trained in the city. The player's empire is expanded by training armies in friendly cities and using them to assault and occupy enemy cities (native mercenary units may also be hired by a family member outside a city). Controlling more cities brings benefits in its increased geographical dominance and increased income from the new population's taxes. However, more space and more population become increasingly difficult to control, due to local populaces being resistant to foreign rule, and the increased distance reinforcements have to travel. If a city's inhabitants are overtaxed, underdeveloped or unprotected, they rebel and become in effect their own faction - the player's control of the city is lost, garrisoned units are forced out of the city, and a hostile rebel army is formed in its place.
When the player's army meets an enemy army, a
3D3D computer graphics are graphics that use a three-dimensional representation of geometric data that is stored in the computer for the purposes of performing calculations and rendering 2D images...
real-time
tacticalMilitary tactics, the science and art of organizing an army or an air force, are the techniques for using weapons or military units in combination for engaging and defeating an enemy in battle. Changes in philosophy and technology over time have been reflected in changes to military tactics. In...
battle is started, which represents the other half of gameplay in
Rome: Total War. The strategic and tactical modes integrate such that the landscape for the battles is the same as seen on that particular spot on the strategic map where the armies meet; for example, if the strategic map is hilly, and covered in snow, the battle map will attempt to reflect that. The game features a variety of units which are used in battle (most of which are unique to each faction), which may be broadly categorised into
infantryInfantrymen are soldiers who are specifically trained for the role of fighting on foot to engage the enemy face to face and have historically borne the brunt of the casualties of combat in wars. As the oldest branch of combat arms, they are the backbone of armies...
,
cavalryCavalry or horsemen were soldiers or warriors who fought mounted on horseback. Cavalry were historically the third oldest and the most mobile of the combat arms...
,
archersArchers may refer to:*People who practice archery*The Royal Company of Archers, a Scottish ceremonial unit*The Archers, long running BBC Radio 4 soap opera*"The Archers", nickname for British film-making partnership of Powell and Pressburger...
, and
artilleryOriginally applied to any group of infantry primarily armed with projectile weapons, artillery has over time become limited in meaning to refer only to those engines of war that operate by projection of munitions far beyond the range of effect of personal weapons...
units. Each unit has optimal styles of use, opposing units against which it is vulnerable or effective, formation settings, defensive and offensive hit points, and arguably the critical component - morale. If a unit's morale drops too low, it becomes uncontrollable, and its soldiers will attempt to flee from the battlefield. The morale of a unit may be influenced by factors such as its terrain elevation relative to the enemy, proximity to the army's general, command experience of the army's general, soldiers' level of fatigue, intimidation by the enemy army, or level of combat experience. Players may attempt to
flankIn military tactics, a flanking maneuver, also called a flank attack, is an attack on the sides of an opposing force. If a flanking maneuver succeeds, the opposing force would be surrounded from two or more directions, which significantly reduces the maneuverability of the outflanked force and its...
an enemy's units, focus their attacks on the enemy general, conserve energy by walking rather than running their units, or switch their archers to using the slower but more intimidating flaming arrows - all as techniques to gain the morale advantage over the enemy. Each unit has a certain distance it can travel on the campaign map in one turn, with cavalry able to travel the farthest, and cumbersome artillery pieces having the most limited movement distance. Movement is increased depending on the type of terrain being traversed, the type of roads present, and, at times, the attributes of the commanding general.
Family
Each faction starts with a set of family members composed of that faction's leader, his spouse, their children, including a faction heir, any of their spouses and any grandchildren. Only the male members of the family are controllable, once they reach the age of maturity, 16 years old. They govern settlements when stationed in a city and when fielded upon the world map, command armies. Male family members are added to the family by births between married family members, as well as adoption and marriage. Family members eventually die, either naturally through old age or by death in battle, assassination or due to natural disasters. In the absence of generals commanding field armies, captains are the commanders by default. Admirals fulfill a similar function for fleets. Neither are family members, but appear in the list of forces when displayed. However, if a captain is victorious in a battle in which the odds are against him, the player may have the option of adopting the captain.
Family members can acquire traits depending on their actions in battle or when governing a city. These can have both positive and negative effects on their command, management, and influence, which in turn affect their battlefield performance and how happy a province's populace lives under their governance. Some of these traits are hereditary, and can be inherited by the children of a family member. Family members can also acquire ancillaries by the same actions. These are members of a general's retinue, but can only number up to eight. These ancillary characters can be traded between two family members if they are in the same army or city.
Agents
Like family members, agents can acquire traits and specific ancillaries, which can be traded, but only with other agents of the same type. They can independently cross into other territories (allied, neutral or hostile) without diplomatic consequences. There are three types of agents that can be used by factions:
spiesEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
,
diplomatsDiplomacy is the art and practice of conducting negotiations between representatives of groups or states...
, and
assassinsTo carry out an assassination is "to murder by a sudden and/or secret attack, often for political reasons." Alternatively, assassination may be defined as "the act of deliberately killing someone, especially a public figure, usually for hire or for political reasons."An assassination may be...
. Spies can be used to gather intelligence on field armies, infiltrate foreign cities to identify enemy installations, and serve in a
counter-espionageCounterintelligence or counter-intelligence refers to efforts made by intelligence organizations to prevent hostile or enemy intelligence organizations from successfully gathering and collecting intelligence against them. National intelligence programs, and, by extension, the overall defenses of...
role in the players own cities. When sieging an enemy city, the player may plant a spy in the city and use him to open the city's gates. Diplomats can negotiate with other factions, offering deals such as
alliancesAlliances may refer to:* The plural of alliance, an agreement between two or more parties* Airline alliances, agreements between two or more airlines to cooperate on a substantial level...
and trade rights. They may also attempt to bribe enemy armies and agents. Assassins are used to assassinate enemy family members, or other agents. They can also sabotage buildings in enemy settlements. These missions carry a risk of death towards the agent, as is the case with spies.
Factions
The game's campaign begins with only 3 playable factions, all Roman: Julii, Brutii,
ScipiiScipio is a Roman cognomen representing the Cornelii Scipiones, a branch of the Cornelii family. Any individual male of the branch must be named Cornelius Scipio and a female Cornelia. The nomen, Cornelius, signifies that the person belongs to the Cornelia gens, a legally defined clan composed of...
. Upon completion of a campaign, 8 additional factions are unlocked. The unlockable factions are: The
Greek CitiesAncient Greece is a civilization belonging to a period of Greek history that lasted from the Archaic period of the 8th to 6th centuries BC to the end of antiquity. Immediately following this period was the beginning of the Early Middle Ages and the Byzantine era. Included in Ancient Greece is the...
, Egypt, the
Seleucid EmpireThe Seleucid Empire was a Greek-Macedonian state that was created out of the eastern conquests of Alexander the Great. At the height of its power, it included central Anatolia, the Levant, Mesopotamia, Persia, today's Turkmenistan, Pamir and parts of Pakistan.The Seleucid Empire was a major centre...
, Carthage,
GaulGaul was a region of Western Europe during the Iron Age and Roman era, encompassing present day France, Luxembourg and Belgium, most of Switzerland, the western part of Northern Italy, as well as the parts of the Netherlands and Germany on the left bank of the Rhine. The Gauls were the speakers of...
,
GermaniaGermania was the Greek and Roman geographical term for the geographical regions inhabited by mainly by peoples considered to be Germani. It was most often used to refer especially to the east of the Rhine and north of the Danube...
,
BritanniaBritannia is an ancient term for Great Britain, and also a female personification of the island. The name is Latin, and derives from the Greek form Prettanike or Brettaniai, which originally designated a collection of islands with individual names, including Albion or Great Britain. However, by the...
, and
ParthiaThe Parthian Empire , also known as the Arsacid Empire , was a major Iranian political and cultural power in ancient Persia...
.
The nonplayable factions (in the campaign) are: Macedon,
PontusThe Kingdom of Pontus or Pontic Empire was a state of Persian origin on the southern coast of the Black Sea. It was founded by Mithridates I in 291 BC and lasted until its conquest by the Roman Republic in 63 BC...
, Armenia,
NumidiaNumidia was an ancient Berber kingdom in part of present-day Eastern Algeria and Western Tunisia in North Africa. It is known today as the Chawi-land, the land of the Chawi people , the direct descendants of the historical Numidians or the Massyles The kingdom began as a sovereign state and later...
,
ScythiaIn antiquity, Scythian or Scyths were terms used by the Greeks to refer to certain Iranian groups of horse-riding nomadic pastoralists who dwelt on the Pontic-Caspian steppe...
,
DaciaIn ancient geography, especially in Roman sources, Dacia was the land inhabited by the Dacians or Getae as they were known by the Greeks—the branch of the Thracians north of the Haemus range...
,
ThraceThrace is a historical and geographic area in southeast Europe. As a geographical concept, Thrace designates a region bounded by the Balkan Mountains on the north, Rhodope Mountains and the Aegean Sea on the south, and by the Black Sea and the Sea of Marmara on the east...
, Spain, the
S. P. Q. R.SPQR is an initialism from a Latin phrase, Senatus Populusque Romanus , referring to the government of the ancient Roman Republic, and used as an official emblem of the modern day comune of Rome...
, and the rebel faction.
Modifications
Rome: Total War allows for the manipulation of some game resources, including its text files and
texturesTexture mapping is a method for adding detail, surface texture , or color to a computer-generated graphic or 3D model. Its application to 3D graphics was pioneered by Dr Edwin Catmull in his Ph.D. thesis of 1974.-Texture mapping:...
, which has led to the creation of many modifications. This includes the ability to control previously unplayable factions, and total conversion mods such as
Rome: Total RealismRome: Total Realism is a complete modification pack for the computer game Rome: Total War, intended to rectify historical inaccuracies in the original game. The mod has been featured in several major gaming sites and magazines, such as PC Gamer , PC Gamer , and GameSpot...
and
Europa BarbarorumEuropa Barbarorum , or EB, is a modification of the PC game Rome: Total War based on the desire to provide Rome: Total War players with a more historically accurate game experience....
.
Historical battles
Rome: Total War allows players to attempt historical battle scenarios. The player generally takes control of the outnumbered or losing army, and must fight hard for victory. Here is a list of those available:
- Battle of Lake Trasimene
The Battle of Lake Trasimene was a Roman defeat in the Second Punic War between the Carthaginians under Hannibal and the Romans under the consul Gaius Flaminius...
- Battle of Raphia
The Battle of Raphia, also known as the Battle of Gaza, was a battle fought on 22 June 217 BC near modern Rafah between the forces of Ptolemy IV Philopator, king of Egypt and Antiochus III the Great of the Seleucid kingdom during the Syrian Wars...
- Battle of Telamon
The Battle of Telamon was fought between the Roman Republic and an alliance of Gauls in 225 BC. The Romans, led by the consuls Gaius Atilius Regulus and Lucius Aemilius Papus, defeated the Gauls, thus extending their influence over northern Italy....
- The Siege of Gergovia
The Battle of Gergovia took place in 52 BC in Gaul at Gergovia, the chief town of the Arverni. The battle was fought between a Roman Republic army, led by proconsul Julius Caesar, and Gallic forces led by Vercingetorix...
- Battle of the River Trebia
The Battle of the Trebia was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic in December of 218 BC, on or around the winter solstice...
- Battle of Asculum
The Battle of Asculum took place in 279 BC between the Romans under the command of Consul Publius Decius Mus and the combined Tarantine, Oscan, Samnite, and Epirote forces, under the command of the Greek king Pyrrhus of Epirus...
- Battle of Carrhae
The Battle of Carrhae, fought in 53 BC near the town of Carrhae, was a major battle between the Parthian Empire and the Roman Republic. The Parthian Spahbod Surena decisively defeated a Roman invasion force led by Marcus Licinius Crassus...
- Battle of Cynoscephalae
The Battle of Cynoscephalae was an encounter battle fought in Thessaly in 197 BC between the Roman army, led by Titus Quinctius Flamininus, and the Antigonid dynasty of Macedon, led by Philip V.- Prelude :...
- Battle of Teutoburg Forest
The Battle of the Teutoburg Forest took place in 9 CE, when an alliance of Germanic tribes led by Arminius of the Cherusci ambushed and decisively destroyed three Roman legions, along with their auxiliaries, led by Publius Quinctilius Varus.Despite numerous successful campaigns and raids by the...
- Siege of Sparta
The Siege of Sparta took place in 272 BC and was a battle fought between Epirus under King Pyrrhus, who was besieging the city of Sparta, and an alliance consisting of Sparta under the command of King Areus I and Acrocratus and Macedon...
Barbarian Invasion
Barbarian Invasion allows the player to take control of the barbarian nations of Europe and the Middle East. Also adds a new gameplay mechanic, Religion, a major part of gameplay. The campaign takes place from 363 AD to 476 AD.
Alexander
The
Alexander expansion puts the player in the role of
Alexander the Great and replays his conquests and battles. The campaign takes place from 336 BC to 323 BC.
History
A demo of the game was released on and is freely available for download. It features a playable version of the
Battle of River TrebiaThe Battle of the Trebia was the first major battle of the Second Punic War, fought between the Carthaginian forces of Hannibal and the Roman Republic in December of 218 BC, on or around the winter solstice...
, with the player taking the role of the brilliant general Hannibal.
Prior to its release, a preliminary but completely workable version of the game engine was used in two series of TV programs:
Decisive Battles by the History Channel where it was used to recreate famous historical battles, and
Time CommandersTime Commanders was a series of programmes made by Lion TV and PlayGen for BBC Two that ran for two seasons from 2003 to 2005. The programmes, originally hosted by Eddie Mair and more recently by Richard Hammond, featured a specially made game engine to reenact historical battles. A team of four...
by
BBC TwoBBC Two is the second television channel operated by the British Broadcasting Corporation in the United Kingdom. It covers a wide range of subject matter, but tending towards more 'highbrow' programmes than the more mainstream and popular BBC One. Like the BBC's other domestic TV and radio...
, where teams of novice non-gamers commanded ancient armies to replay key battles of antiquity. The game engine was fine-tuned specifically for these television shows by military historians for maximum historical accuracy. In addition, the former had the same music track as the battles in Rome: Total War.
The original music soundtrack for the game was composed by
Jeff van DyckJeff van Dyck is a Canadian video game music composer. Born in 1969 and raised in Vancouver, Canada, van Dyck is the Audio Director of The Creative Assembly's offices in Fortitude Valley, Brisbane, Australia....
, who received a
BAFTAThe British Academy of Film and Television Arts is a charity in the United Kingdom that hosts annual awards shows for excellence in film, television, television craft, video games and forms of animation.-Introduction:...
(British Academy) Interactive Awards nomination for his work. His wife Angela van Dyck features in some of the vocals including "Forever", which plays during the game's credits; Angela also wrote the lyrics for the song "Divinitus", written in quasi-
LatinLatin is an Italic language originally spoken in Latium and Ancient Rome. It, along with most European languages, is a descendant of the ancient Proto-Indo-European language. Although it is considered a dead language, a number of scholars and members of the Christian clergy speak it fluently, and...
.
Reception
Rome: Total War has been critically acclaimed by many reviewers who regard it as one of the best strategy games of 2004, winning numerous awards and high scores from gaming websites and magazines alike. The review aggregator Game Rankings shows an average of 91.7% from 65 major critic reviews, with 48 reviews at 90% or higher.
- PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
(UK): All time 5th best PC game "95%"
- IGN
IGN is an entertainment website that focuses on video games, films, music and other media. IGN's main website comprises several specialty sites or "channels", each occupying a subdomain and covering a specific area of entertainment...
: Editor's Choice Award, 4th Best PC Game of all Time, 14th Best Game of all Time.
- PC Gamer
PC Gamer is a magazine founded in Britain in 1993 devoted to PC gaming and published monthly by Future Publishing. The magazine has several regional editions, with the UK and US editions becoming the best selling PC games magazines in their respective countries...
(US): Editor's Choice, Best Strategy Game of 2004
- GameSpot
GameSpot is a video gaming website that provides news, reviews, previews, downloads, and other information. The site was launched in May 1, 1996 by Pete Deemer, Vince Broady and Jon Epstein. It was purchased by ZDNet, a brand which was later purchased by CNET Networks. CBS Interactive, which...
: Editor's Choice, Strategy Game of 2004
- Adrenaline Vault: Seal of Excellence
- GameSpy
GameSpy Industries, Inc., known simply as GameSpy, is a division of IGN Entertainment, which operates a network of game websites and provides online video game-related services and software. GameSpy dates back to the 1996 release of an internet Quake server search program named QSpy. The current...
: Editor's Choice
- E3 2003 Game Critics Awards
The Game Critics Awards are a set of annual awards held after the E3 video game conference since 1998. The awards are given to products displayed at E3 with the title Best of E3 of their category. The nominees and winners of the awards are chosen by individual judges representing 35 major North...
: Best Strategy Game
- X-Play
X-Play is a TV program about video games, known for its reviews and comedy skits...
: 5 out of 5
- PC Powerplay
PC PowerPlay is Australia's only dedicated PC games magazine. Also available in New Zealand, PC PowerPlay focuses on news and reviews for upcoming and newly released games on the Microsoft Windows platform. The magazine also reviews computer hardware for use on gaming computers...
: 95%
External links