Total War: Rome II

Total War: Rome II is a computer game in the strategy genre, developed by the British studio The Creative Assembly and published by Sega. The domestic publisher of Total War: Rome II is "1C-SoftClub". The game's release took place in early September 2013. Rome II is positioned as a sequel to the famous "Rome" (Rome: Total War), which was released back in 2004.

Like the first part of Rome, the game marked with the Roman numeral II transports us back to Ancient times, when the crowned Rome had not yet turned into a vast empire but had already begun to assert itself as a dominant state in the Mediterranean region. The player must take control of Roman cities, boost the economy, conclude important diplomatic agreements, command armies, and finally set out to conquer near and distant lands - in the glory of Rome!

Of course, the game doesn't limit itself to just the Roman faction in Rome II. There are other countries in the game: Armenia, Macedonia, Sparta, Carthage, and numerous barbarian states - these are just a few available to gamers. And there are simply an immeasurable number of different tribes in Rome II. In fact, there are far more units, opportunities, diplomatic proposals, strategic features, and tactical variations on the maps than before.

As in all previous parts of the series authored by The Creative Assembly, Rome II features a division into a strategic map, where the game is conducted in turn-based mode, and tactical battles in real-time. The world map has not only significantly expanded eastward compared to the first "Rome," but has also undergone changes of a different kind. For instance, instead of individual regions, there are now provinces, each consisting of 2 to 4 regions. Each region has its own city, but the largest and best-defended polis is always the province's capital. Interestingly, a province is not considered captured until at least one region remains under your control or that of an opponent.

This is certainly not all. Advanced political mechanics have been implemented in Total War: Rome II, allowing for backdoor wars with competitors within your own country. The diplomatic functionality has significantly expanded - new negotiation tools have been added: non-aggression pacts, confederation creation, and military actions coordination among allies. Armies and fleets have gained different abilities - now they can raid neighboring territories, speed up their movement several times, and so on. New agents, a new leveling mechanic for individual generals and units, named legions and squads, traditions, and much more - listing all the nuances of Total War: Rome II is quite a challenging task.

The tactical mode has also undergone some changes, and here we should highlight several important features. Firstly, in Rome II, walls are only found in province capitals, meaning that the number of sieges (with the construction of battering rams, ladders, etc.) has decreased significantly. Secondly, the rules for capturing cities have changed - there are now control points (up to three in capitals) that need to be captured and held to achieve victory. Thirdly, "Rome," after its second attempt, has acquired naval battles: regular and storming, with landings and without, with rams and boardings. And what about ground army duels? Here, the game has truly reached a new level - such beautiful battles have not been seen in any of the series' games before Rome II.