total-war-rome-2
Latest
Total War: Rome 2 is a 'completely reworked vision' from The Creative Assembly
Rome: Total War is one of those games that a certain, very dedicated audience loves, while the rest of the gaming world is left outside admiring the craft but not quite understanding the dedication. The first Rome: Total War was critically acclaimed and spawned a line of expansions and updates, and now strategy giants The Creative Assembly are returning to the game with a full sequel, not to mention switching around the title to Total War: Rome 2. What's different? "Just about everything, really," says lead battle designer Jamie Ferguson during an interview at E3 2013. "In the ten years since we did Rome 1, we've completely overhauled the game. The game engine isn't even the same." TCA has released a number of Total War sequels and spinoffs throughout periods of history, and updated the original title with new features and systems already. But even despite those improvements, Ferguson says the new game has even more updates and improvements. "When we call it Rome 2, it might be a bit of a misnomer in a way," he says. "We might call it Rome Redux, I guess. It's a completely reworked vision of the game."%Gallery-191377%
Total War: Rome 2 available this September
Sega has just announced that Total War: Rome 2 will engage all territories across physical and digital fronts on September 3, 2013. The publisher also announced that patricians pre-ordering the game will receive the game's first piece of downloadable content – the Greek States Culture Pack, which adds three additional playable factions to the game; Epirus, Athens and Sparta – on release day. There will also be a limited run of 22,000 numbered collector's editions of the game. It includes "Roman-themed games and items" and comes in a "leather-effect" box. It also includes a catapult. A mini catapult, but it's a catapult.%Gallery-187895%
Try not to lose the Battle of Teutoberg Forest again in Total War: Rome 2
The Battle of the Teutoberg Forest is an epic historical Roman defeat against Germanic tribes, in which about 20,000 Romans died, including suicidal officers tormented by their failure and soldiers who had their remains desecrated by the barbarians. And now you can play it as a game!
Rome 2 looks to continue building Total War's empire
Showing off a strategy game like Total War: Rome 2 at a convention can't be easy. With only so much time to show off to the awaiting journalists, games have to rely on spectacle. Yet the greatness of Total War derives from longer play sessions. There, the series' two halves – tactical battlefields and grand strategic decisions – work in harmony. Those moments are impossible to achieve in a single gameplay demonstration, but developer Creative Assembly still has to make that attempt, which it did, with the historical Battle of Teutoburg Forest. The most notable part of the demonstration was that the game's graphics are fantastic, but that's also the least surprising aspect of a new Total War game. After all, the Total War series has taken major leaps forward in graphics ever since its inception over a decade ago. 2011's Shogun 2 may still look great, but Rome 2 appears to surpass it. The background geography, like the trees, cliffs, and marshes look particularly detailed, while the soldiers had a slightly grittier, less cartoonish look than their samurai counterparts. It was left to a question and answer session after the demo with three of Rome 2's developers to understand what might make this installment particularly interesting. Much of what they said indicated that they understood the series' flaws and were actively working to fix them. Although not directly stated, many of their statements implied a move away from micromanagement, the bane of Total War and many other strategy games.%Gallery-167504%
Total War fan will live on as a character in Rome 2
The Creative Assembly has decided to include the likeness of one of their fans, named James, in the upcoming Total War: Rome 2. James visited the studio last year the day after the game was announced, and unfortunately passed away from a bout with liver cancer just recently. The Creative Assembly says he was the first person in the world from outside the studio to play the game, and character artist Mauro Bonelli offered to assemble a model of James from reference photos and measurements. The screenshot above is a mockup for now, as Creative Assembly community manager Craig Laycock says the company isn't sure where he'll end up. But he will be in there, according to Laycock, and the team is "determined to make it a fitting tribute" to their fan when the game is on shelves later this year.
Total War: Rome 2 introduces tactical map
After showing off its plans for the sacking of Carthage in this trailer for Total War: Rome 2, The Creative Assembly gives a peek at the game's new tactical map. Although players won't be able to command from it, this is a feature that's been a looooong time coming to the series.
Just try and guess Total War: Rome 2's first revealed faction
We'll give you thirty seconds to formulate an educated guess as to what faction Creative Assembly has revealed as the first confirmed group of soldier dudes in Total War: Rome 2. Okay, ready? Go!What, Belgium? No, it's Rome. Rome, you dummy. The eponymous nation was revealed by the game's official wiki, which will continue revealing factions at an undisclosed rate until the game launches next year."As a playable faction," the wiki reads, "Rome benefits economically from its excellence in metalwork, enjoys enhanced military development, and can exploit the masses in order to maintain public order." That's great and everything, but any true military strategist knows that the strength of a nation's soldiers depends entirely on the complexity and inventiveness of its plumbing technology.
Total War: Rome 2 trailer is full of murder and intrigue, light on strategy
Have the folks at The Creative Assembly been studying up on Spartacus?
Total War: Rome 2 marches to PC in 2013
Yes, the rumors are true: Creative Assembly's next game is Total War: Rome 2, a sequel to the studio's 2004 strategy game. The PC exclusive is set to launch sometime in 2013.Creative Assembly studio communications manager Al Bickham walked me through a very brief demo for Total War: Rome 2, the siege of Carthage. The goal for Total War: Rome 2 is to let players rewrite history in the single-player campaign mode, which lets them conquer the globe as they see fit. But Bickam promised me "more detail to each man" in skirmishes for the sequel, and a more cinematic and epic experience.Total War: Rome 2 will also transition seamlessly between battles at sea and on land. During my 10 minute overview of the game, I witnessed giant boats carrying Roman soldiers onto the beach, where they hastily assembled siege towers and scaled the massive walls of Carthage. A free camera provided a top-down overview with a map, provided you don't opt into seeing the action at ground level. What I saw was still very early in development, consisting of pre-alpha gameplay with no UI elements and large chunks of Carthage appearing incomplete.Bickham wasn't too chatty about what's planned for Total War: Rome 2, citing its relative infancy in development, but he did say the game hopes to highlight "the value of one man" on the battlefield.%Gallery-159576%
Rumor: Total War: Rome 2 announcement incoming
Rome: Total War (pictured) may be getting a sequel, according to the latest issue of Australia's PC PowerPlay. The page highlighting next month's issue of the magazine, as captured by NeoGAF, shows a screenshot of numerous Roman soldiers battling it out, all overlaid by the large Roman numeral 2.Another forum goer notes that Total War developer Creative Assembly will be at this year's Rezzed exposition in Brighton on July 6 and 7. The next PC PowerPlay, meanwhile, goes on sale July 18.The studio is supposed to be discussing "the future of Total War," so it seems likely that a sequel is in the cards. A lot has changed since Rome: Total War was first released back in 2004. Notably, the naming convention has been flipped, meaning a sequel will probably be called Total War: Rome 2.
