Rome II

[W8taminute]

Off topic:

I love your new avatar LB.  Is that the Enterprise firing on the hidden rebel base at Yavin?


Back on topic:

I haven't played Rome2 in a while but I also agree with Martok that it surpasses Shogun 2 in total war greatness.

[BanzaiCat]

Nah, that's from Star Trek II, from the beginning scene during the Kobayashi Maru training scenario.

I haven't played TW since the first Shogun, but I'm leaning towards buying this now.

[Gusington]

I am torn because of this thread. I am into the WWI stuff I am playing and reading now, but I really want to start an Iceni campaign.

[Martok]

^What?! Please explain that...you went from a non-believer to a total convert!

Heh.  I knew my comment was going to prompt that response from you (or something similar).  ;) 


I still don't know that I'd consider myself a "total" convert -- at least not yet, if only because it's my nature to hedge and qualify my words (as I'm reluctant to make blanket, absolutist statements).  However, the more I contemplate Rome II and my experiences with it so far, the more I'm coming to realize that this game probably comes closer to being the "complete package" than any previous Total War title...and that's including the original STW and MTW (both of which you know I hold in very high regard).  I might still *like* those old games more -- and even that I'm no longer as certain of -- but I've finally come to admit that Rome II is probably the *better* game. 


I think it's mostly just that Rome II has so much of what I look for in historical-themed strategy games -- and for that matter, in most strategy games, period: 

* I like there's a good number (and variety) of factions to choose from, and the resulting replayability. 

* I like the city-development mechanics, I like how research works, and how both force one to make (often difficult) choices.  As a strategy gamer, such things warm my black heart. 

* There's immersion in spades.  From major stuff like the (always excellent) visuals and the epic music, to more subtle things like soldiers talking amongst themselves while they're marching (including unit commanders cursing at their clumsy subordinates, which never fails to elicit a chuckle from me), I easily get lost in the world. 

* I like how characters (generals, spies, champions, etc.) play such a central role in their respective factions.  History features all sorts of interesting *people*, and this game reflects that. 

* The AI -- much to my pleasant surprise -- has thus far been quite good.  It's not brilliant, perhaps, but I've not seen it do many overtly stupid things yet either, and that alone is gratifying to see (and this is only on Normal difficulty). 

* Both land *and* naval battles are generally pretty fun.  They still go too fast for my tastes, especially land battles (I keep thinking I need to check out mods that reduce troop speed and kill rates), but the overall mechanics work very well IMHO.  Also, hooray for the tactical map!  (Oh yes, and the fact that I can finally simultaneously fight battles on both land and sea?  Halle-fricking-lujah!!) 

* Shogun 2 can claim this as well, but I can't emphasize enough how nice it is to see diplomacy that actually makes sense some of the time, and isn't completely schizophrenic (this also goes back to the decent AI again):  Alliances make sense now, and if a faction back-stabs me, I can usually see it coming, and/or know why they did it.  And while factions are still sometimes guilty of declaring war on someone they really probably shouldn't be messing with, I gotta give them credit for (at least sometimes) being willing to sue for peace if/when the war starts to go badly for them. 

* I know it's not as sexy, but the UI deserves a mention as well.  The devs seem to have made ease of information access a priority, and finding the right key/button/command/etc. is only rarely a chore; most of these things are pretty intuitive. 



I could probably go on some more, but you get the point.  :) 


Certainly, Rome II isn't anywhere near perfect, and (as I've noted previously) that was especially so when it was first released.  And despite my own liking for the game, I can easily understand why a good number of folks aren't enthralled with it. 

But for all the valid criticisms one could make about the game, the simple truth is, I'm having a blast with it.  This is the most fun I've had playing a TW title since Medieval Total War/Viking Invasion -- which for me, is high praise indeed. 




(Well, shit.  Maybe I *am* a total convert... ::) ) 

[Gusington]

^YES!

[Rizik6]

I agree.

[LongBlade]

Off topic:

I love your new avatar LB.  Is that the Enterprise firing on the hidden rebel base at Yavin?


Back on topic:

I haven't played Rome2 in a while but I also agree with Martok that it surpasses Shogun 2 in total war greatness.

Banzai_Cat is correct. It's the Kobayashi Maru.

[BanzaiCat]

Sorry for stealing any thunder, LB. But that avatar IS pretty slick.  8)

[LongBlade]

Sorry for stealing any thunder, LB. But that avatar IS pretty slick.  8)

No thunder stolen :)

[mikeck]

Now go to TWcenter or the Rome2 forums at steam and see how ridiculous people are over there about this game. angry Joe says this....angry joe says that...this game sucks...blah blah. It's a great game. It was a good game from day 1. People decided they were going to hate it for one reason or another and nothing could change their mind

[Yskonyn]

Which mods are recommended for:

a) more realistic/slow turns per year?

b) longer battles/fights, slower morale decrease?

Any other 'must-haves' ?
I am only interested in modding these base game mechanics, but otherwise want to keep it vanilla.

[BanzaiCat]

Now go to TWcenter or the Rome2 forums at steam and see how ridiculous people are over there about this game. angry Joe says this....angry joe says that...this game sucks...blah blah. It's a great game. It was a good game from day 1. People decided they were going to hate it for one reason or another and nothing could change their mind

I can take anything anyone says about this game with a grain of salt. I'd be more willing to trust the opinions of my fellow Grogs here over anyone, actually, and the words here in support of this game are all I need to make the decision to buy it.

I especially take anything Angry Joe says about the game with a lot of salt, because I know that's his schtick, to be pissy about just about anything. Granted, on more than one occasion he's justified, but still...

[undercovergeek]

back in the game after 2nd week of release, using Radious' stuff - amazing - have to take care of junior but very difficult to pull my self away - had a great battle and unleashed the elephants for the first time - id forgotten about the army names and personalisation, as minimal as it is, even calling this band of 1500 men the Lions of Carthage makes them mine so much more than 'generic army'

next week - colour me missing for 48 hours while i Rome-out

[Gusington]

^There's a Radious all-in-one mod right?

[undercovergeek]

yeah the one from steam