In Rome: Total War, the most epic, cinematic real-time 3D battles ever
seen in a game come to life with awe-inspiring graphics. Vast armies are
led by brilliant generals such as Hannibal, leader of the Carthaginians
and Julius Caesar, Rome's greatest general and leader. The mightiest
armies and the most brilliant commanders of ancient times clash in an
epic war game only Total War can create.
Specification
Minimum System Requirements
PC - Operating System:
Windows® 98SE/ME/2000/XP
CPU Type and Speed:
Pentium III 1GHz or above
Hard Drive Space:
2.9GB plus 500MB for
Windows® swap file
Memory:
256MB RAM
Graphics:
1024 x 768 resolution monitor
64MB 3D hardware accelerated card
Windows® swap file
- only suitable
for those aged 12 or above
64MB 3D hardware accelerated card with
100% DirectX 9.0c compatibility
With the glory days of the real-time strategy game now nothing but a distant memory, Activision’s Total War series has come to totally dominate the strategy market and Rome is such a huge leap above the already impressive Medieval and Shogun titles that the series has almost become a mini-industry in itself.
Set, fairly obviously, during the hey day of the first Roman Empire, the game gives you total control over your own faction with the game once again split between a turn-based strategic world map and real-time tactical battles. The former allows you to build and maintain armies and buildings, but also gives increased control over diplomacy and trade--elements that were largely overlooked in previous titles.
The real draw of the game though is the tactical battles which are now displayed using some quite staggering 3D graphics that can see up to 10,000 separate warrior in battle at one time. With units ranging from elephants and inflammable pigs to centurions and escaped slaves just watching the battles unfold is as epic as any Hollywood blockbuster. What’s perhaps most impressive about the game is that controlling such huge numbers of soldiers is actually surprisingly easy with a simple point-and-click interface making everything as smooth as possible.
Rome: Total War is one of those rare breed of games that is largely impossible to fault. In technical and gameplay terms it gets everything right and unless you have a pathological hatred of strategy games this is easily one of the best PC games ever made. --David Jenkins
