

Still, you’ll miss seeing your cavalry run over enemy archers and the joy of taking out the enemy general. You can choose to autoresolve any battle (and naval battles are sadly always autoresolved), and over the long span of your campaign, you’ll want to autoresolve most battles that you’re clearly favored in. At first I was frustrated when my pikemen were stuck in combat, but then I realized it’s a tad unrealistic to have them just run away from a hundred soldiers they’re currently engaging in hand to hand combat. You’ll have less control over your soldiers the more their morale has been hurt and if they’re stuck in combat, its hard to get them out. You can set their troop formation, enable special abilities, order attacks and withdrawals. That said, battle commanders can’t ask for much better controls of their units. While zooming in will let you see how your troops are doing, up close you’ll see how dated Rome’s graphics are. The camera controls are a bit wonky-you can rotate the camera by putting your mouse on the edge of the screen, follow units on the map, or use the mini-map to jump to different points on the battlefield-but I still wanted to scale the view larger so I could see everything during especially epic battles. You can zoom in to see your troops up close or zoom out for a larger view. On the battlefield, Rome: Total War becomes a pretty run-of-the-mill real-time strategy game. Arenas will grant entertainment bonuses to your cities, making them happier. More troops will quiet a riot while buildings like sewers and public baths will make the people healthier. You can see how much money each settlement is bringing in, how well your city is growing, and how loyal your city is due to handy icons on each settlement what buildings you build, what tax rate you set, and how many troops you camp there will affect these stats.

They stack on the left side of the screen at the end of each turn, and in the later rounds you’ll pretty much ignore every one except maybe rioting notifications and the notice that someone in your family has come of age. It’s here you’ll make your larger strategic moves each turn, and it’s also hear you’ll get your faction’s reports on currency, recruitment, construction, family births and deaths, which cities are rioting, and other worldly events.
#Rome total war gold edition guide full#
The larger world map is full of naval ships, roads, terrain, army icons, and settlements. If you haven’t been ambushed, you’ll be able to deploy your troops and then move them in real time against your foes. When your armies engage in battle, the game changes into a real time strategy game.

On the larger theater map, you’ll move your troops, order construction of buildings, recruitment of agents and troops, negotiate alliances, and manage your settlements. Rome: Total War is a rare hybrid of turn-based and real-time strategy that actually gives each genre its proper due. Thankfully, a well-thought out tutorial and handy in-game guide will give you plenty of advice and walk you through the more complex elements of the game so that one day you may become Caesar. Eventually, you’ll have the backing of the Senate or the masses to march on Rome itself and take over the empire.

You play as one of three Roman families (or as the barbarians in the expansion pack) tasked with furthering your family’s power by conquering lands, forging alliances, and becoming the envy of civilized society. Instead, you’re thrown into a sea of tactical information and a huge campaign that will take days to complete. Unlike conventional real-time strategy games, the game isn’t broken down into missions where you must build up an army and conquer point A or point B.
