Without a doubt, the global strategic game Rome has become, if not perfect, then the most long -lived and interesting representative of the series Total War, The history of which is counted since Shogun in 2000. Until the first “Rome” studio Creative Assembly I also suggested that we participate in medieval battles Medieval: Total War. But the series gained genuine glory precisely with the launch of the three-dimensional strategy of the times of ancient wars in 2004, where the Romans faction played the leading role. ROME: Total War thanks to the vast game community remains popular to this day, despite the further development of the series in the person of Medieval 2 with modified graphics;“Powder” Empire with the addition of sea skirmishes on ancient sailboats to the usual land battles;and even the reborn Shogun 2, dedicated to the historical period of the formation of Japan. It was destined to be again born “Rome” – Total War: Rome 2 already on free sale and right now it acquires its new fans and even haters.
The state of cities – their stage of development, destruction or decline – is visually displayed on a strategic map.
Be true traditions
As before, we plunge into a meditative mixture of many hours of strategic planning and tactical action, where success forms an endless border of some characteristics with others. To the relaxing music and the loud cry of warriors, we watch the epic adventure of truly enormous scale, where there was a place for politics and wars. Total War: Rome 2 It remains true to the traditions of the series in all respects. She not only absorbed the best ideas of the first part, wrapped herself in the robe of the Warscape+ graphic engine and took into account the perennial prayers of devoted fans, but still at the time of the release stumbles on numerous bugs and arrears.
We will return to the disadvantages later, but for now, having chosen one of the nine major fractions, we play at a huge single Mediterranean geopolitical arena, where 116 remaining states will interact on a strategic field, creating unions or unleashing bloody wars. The beginning of the campaign in the 270s BC. e. uses all the prerequisites for the appearance of the Great Roman Empire, which by the 14th year of. e. will take colossal territories, subjugating hundreds of peoples of Europe and Asia.
Whether Juli will come to power to power, or you will personally lead competitive families to the imperial throne, and maybe you will completely prevent imperial ambitions – it all depends on the desire of the players themselves at their discretion. Freedom to rewrite the story in a new way again in our hands. Dilemma and missions implemented only help us to identify our own goals. We set priorities in such a way as to extract the maximum benefit of the existing advantages on the global map, and sometimes we completely reform the state by releasing edicts.
Strategic advantages
Opportunities for action we may have a lot. For example, the economic system Rome 2 has become an order of magnitude more interesting and wider than ever before. The provincial division of the regions allows the development of the state by a divorce, carefully thinking through each move in advance. In small cities, we create a military complex, trade representatives, a stronghold of novelization or farm lands. The dominant capital to match its provincial satellite settlements develops economic and army potential, grows in size directly on a strategic map, flourishes with a good ruler or perishes at the hands of adversaries. Having a formidable metropolitan bastion with a full set of farm settlements, we are quite capable of organizing a huge army or fleet.
You can build buildings in all cities of the region from the window of the capital – this greatly simplifies the management of the Big Empire.
Thanks to such a carefully designed scheme, the construction of the empire will have to conduct a balanced. If you want conquests, then it is very important to establish wide supply of provisions. The growth of the metropolitan region is now tied to this: the more people in the city, the more buildings are available to us, and the more food in the state, the more
people strive for our monastery. Reasonable decision, Creative Assembly. And most importantly – it’s just in understanding the essence of game mechanics. Smash the enemy with the help of the ruin of its provincial cities? Great tactical move!
On the way to the creation of the empire, it is profitable to use the services of agents: warriors, spies and dignitaries. The former are great warriors with great authority and the ability to train the army. Swinging is a typical spy that can be entrusted with murder, poisoning of the garrison or arson. A dignitary, a kind of scientific class of spies, is even able to change the order of the enemy army, forcing it, for example, to retreat. Each agent, however,, like the leader of the army, received three development branches. It will be a balanced or highly specialized “unit” to decide the player.
Diplomacy, where several innovations appeared, including such an important thing as a non -aggression pact of non -aggression, is now remarkable now. Nothing reminds you? For example, such a item on the list of diplomatic proposals was a strategy Hearts of Iron. IN Rome 2 The non -aggression agreement operates 10 moves and implies the peaceful coexistence of the states that signed the pact. But if one of them acts as an aggressor in violation of the contract, then diplomatic fines will be closed to any negotiations for a very long time.
But any diplomatic ties sooner or later break. Even the new point “Defensive Union”, which creates a reliable coalition of the defending states, will someday lead us to a forced war with the enemy on the side of our ally. About peaceful coexistence in Total War Everyone will have to forget. This distinguishes a series from the famous global strategy Europa Universalis. The second “Rome” is traditionally impressive for the series with its tactical battles, on which, in general, the studio Creative Assembly always spent a significant part of the game budget.
All roads lead … to war
Yes, of course, the global card has become very beautiful and detailed. We see much more effects on it, including a new fog of war, hiding with dense veil only unknown lands and a small thickness of the clouds of the clouds of border states or previously visited territories. Settlements grow with new buildings, roads are being built, more and more ships appear on trade routes. Armies are moving on the map, which received several movements of movement, including distant abilities without the opportunity to attack the enemy, trenches, ambush and even robberial campaigns. All this is very beautiful, wonderful and really convenient. But without battles in Rome 2, As before, you can’t do.
In tactical mode, meditative attitude Rome 2 As if dissolving. The epic scale of locations, huge cities with an honest system of damage, countless armies with “units”, which differ not only in textures, but even growth and animation! All this is embellished by the new movie camera mode, in which, from a very close distance, the battle is felt much more dramatic than earlier. The team of the detachment, the second, the third – and the cloud of dust rises into the sky, and the roar of the thousands of thousands already makes the enemy tremble with fear. Of course, this time there were no battle elephants, Onagr, catapult. Of the latter, they even give a manual aiming in the same way as it was with artillery in the Addon Shogun 2 – Fall of the Samurai.
Among the innovations in tactical battles Rome 2 The help of artificial intelligence in attacks and defense appeared. Given the enlarged territories, the transfer of our own troops to the management of the AI of the AI allows a step -by -step battle, picking up one advantage after another. Occupying profitable locations, we will bring our army to victory, even being in the minority. Whether it is a siege, a battle for a crossing or just an open field, each location has heights, rivers, forests, fortifications. Yes, they were before, but now this is used by Silicon rival. Rome 2 I also prepared a really interesting surprise – a landing from the ships arriving from the river or the sea appeared in the game to hit the flank or rear.
Horse arrows or heavy cavalry can also hurry and fight like an ordinary infantry, quickly climbing into the most vulnerable points in the rows of the enemy. The success of the battle largely depends on what units are in our formation. For example, if warriors take the banner of their illustrious legion on the battlefield, which the neighbors are afraid of, then the enemy shamefully loses the points of the fighting spirit. Thus, the parameters with the global map are from now on even more closely related to the internal features of the tactical regime. The choice of a profitable landscape for battle, studied technologies or even simple starting bonuses of the fraction now significantly affect the result of the battle.
Moreover, the hot desert of the African continent or the cold lands of the North will certainly cause desertion and the death of your soldiers, it is worth only the army to linger in such lands on a global map. This moment was remarkably tested in Napoleon: Total War, migrating entirely in Shogun 2. But in the second “Rome”, territorial features received an incomparably more contrasting difference. On the map we observe special “units”, such as elephants or camels. Their presence in certain regions indicates the possibility of hiring unique troops there. They are not cheap, but sometimes they help out great in sorties to enemy settlements. For example, supporting the attacks of elephants greatly undermines the fighting spirit in the ranks of the opponent.
Land and sea in Rome 2 finally united: battles can take place even in several stages, including sea battles and sieges on one location.
Apology Creative Assembly
Within the framework of this review, we managed to make out only key features Rome 2. In fact, there are much more innovations, and all of them are carefully thought out. For example, the new political system promised by the developers has become really more interesting. Internecine ups and downs in the birth houses of the same faction are so important that they can bankrupt the whole state or even reinforce the fire of the civil war. The same dilemmas within the framework of the new political system remind us of our purpose – to believe the fate of peoples and individuals. Whether it is a drunken relative or a patrician vomiting to power, it is proposed to solve their fate with several options for actions, the result of which will manifest through one or even several moves.
An abundance of interesting opportunities that we did not meet in the series before Total War, Puts Rome 2 A whole head above even their youngest predecessors. Scale, detail, interactivity – indigenous satellites of the second “Rome”. Add to this a deep study of the starting characteristics of each faction with its historically reliable features, the balance of power and automatic calculation of the battle, an expanded amount of artificial intelligence, new, more informative battles and diplomacy – and diplomacy Rome 2 claims to the high title of one of the best strategies of all time. If not for one “but”.
“The failure of history”, “from the reality in the mud”, “painful fall” and many other shortcuts are hung on Rome 2 daily. After grandiose advertising and epic videos, fans of the series expected from Creative Assembly revolution in the series. Many counted on miraculous artificial intelligence, and in the release version he seemed to be righted up, making illogical maneuvers in the tactical battles and siding for a long time in his castles, even when arranged, together with us to defend themselves. The same vaunted cooperative regime gave rise to wild horror with long delays: the partner has long moved his troops, and we still have a picture of a five -minute ago. The vaunted Warscape+ sometimes misses animations, inhibits even on strong configurations during medium settings, makes the army push in minor obstacles, deprives us of the support of the ally in siege, and so on.
Of course, the players who made a preliminary order in order to play for three additional fractions – Sparta, Athens and Epirus did not like this state of things with additional expectation of patches. But in the first “Rome” almost all states were available to our management. Now this is a “unique opportunity” that only paid DLC can give. And those beautiful sea battles with a taran of wooden makhin from promo-video? In fact, this is a terribly buggy scene from useless logs on the water. Miracle, if we manage to direct them as ancient tactics did. For the first time Creative Assembly I did not heed the requests of players to return from Rome: Total War Dynastic Tree. The interface also succumbed to simplification, and at the same time it became much more difficult to master.
While work on patches boils, the developers hastened to apologize to the players for errors Rome 2. There are really many of them, they are extremely unpleasant, but it is worth paying tribute Creative Assembly – There are no critical bugs. The second “Rome” is playable, pass and interesting even despite the fact that many buyers urge to throw the disk into the window. And it’s a shame, of course, after so many years of expectations to see not a revolution in the series Total War, and just the evolution of the previous parts. However, since the appearance of the first “Rome”, the development of the series rushed far ahead. Yes, finally, the same diplomacy is at least a little similar to the one that we see in games Europa Universalis!
This time, Creative Assembly paid much more attention to the diplomacy system, for which the Total War series was criticized especially zealously.
Over the past 13 years, episode Total War has become such a large -scale project that we all accept her games as something for granted. Say, already the genre of strategies in the decline, and then the developers still dare to invent something, without listening to our opinion-the opinions of the players, by the way, voting the ruble! But who asked to revive Shogun? And sea battles with sailboats in Empire? Or the railways did not give us to Fall of the Samurai? Creative Assembly always listens to the opinion of the players. And this time the authors carefully monitor the forums for speedy error correction. Rome 2 – This is a giant labor -intensive project taking into account the desires of devoted fans and ready to interest beginners. But it is intended for the most difficult platform from a technical point of view and is created by very small by the standards of the modern gaming industry by the personnel composition of developers. Therefore, the mistakes were not to avoid. But here there is one wonderful nuance-“Rome” still returned!
Pros: huge scales with an abundance of balanced fractions and “units”;The strategic map received special territories with a unique landscape and exotic mercenaries;new and more detailed system of economics, politics and diplomacy;processed system of “pumping” of characters;Convenient Tree of Technology Development;more random events, including disasters and dilemmas;wonderful graphics taking into account the existence of top iron;new chambers modes to transmit all the drama of the battles of antiquity.
Cons: The release version is rich in mistakes and bugs;Realized artificial intelligence sometimes makes victory impossible due to flaws;The interface lost ergonomics and ease of use;protracted passages of fractions;The army cannot be divided now or left without a general;Diplomats from the first “Rome” are abolished;sea battles are clearly needed to revise.
