14 DAY TRIAL // 
The first time the Gauls defeated me, they needed a 6 to 1 superiority in overall numbers and a group of cavalry that I simply could not counter using only Caesar, his bodyguards and two hastily recruited mercenaries from local tribes.
The enemy managed to get to my ballista and kill its crews and I was then in danger of seeing my entire line getting rolled, but I managed to stop their process using the Loyalty of the 10th special ability and by whipping my trusty legionnaires.
Unfortunately, I failed to stop another cavalry ride around my flanks and I finally chose to order Caesar and the surviving troops to retreat rather than die needlessly.
This autumn battle weighed heavily on my mind all through the winter but I returned during summer with fresh troops and I razed that insolent tribe of the Allobroges from the map.
Caesar in Gaul is a smaller, more focused campaign for Total War: Rome II that manages to capture the subjugation of Gaul, the moment when the first Emperor of Rome made his name and impressed his peers for the first time.
There are plenty of small tribes to conquer and Romans need to also navigate a complex web of alliances that divide the Gaul factions while also dealing with the invading Suebi.
The main elements of the series, the turn-based strategic layer where troops are recruited and provinces developed, and the tactical battles are both present and almost unchanged from the core release.
Because turns cover smaller periods of time, The Creative Assembly has been able to implement seasons and their impact on military campaigns, creating another layer of realism.
This, coupled with the smaller map, makes the entire experience more feel more strategic and manageable at the same time.
The includes sides, Romans, Suebii, Nervi and Arverni, are imbalanced, with the Romans as invaders clearly superior in terms of units and tactics, which makes it interesting to experience all the four sides of the campaign.
There’s a nice ebb and flow, defeat is possible if you take on too many enemies at a time and the battlegrounds are varied enough to make all tactical engagements interesting.
One of the elements that The Creative Assembly has failed to solve with Caesar in Gaul is the speed at which battles move, which remains entirely unrealistic and actively detracted from my enjoyment of the experience.
I understand that an ambush means that enemy morale breaks fast and that casualties are ramped up during the pursuit phase of the battles, but destroying four powerful Gallic units in under one minute using nothing but skirmishers and cavalry does not make sense.
I understand that campaigns need to move fast in order to cater to the modern gamer, who has less time to spend with games, but I want a Total War: Rome II experience where I can at least tweak settings to make battles last longer.
On the upside, this is a much faster experience and it will certainly appeal to those who find playing 100 years as Makedon a waste of their limited time.
In addition to the campaign that follows the exploits of Caesar, those who get the new content for Rome II will also have three new factions that can be used in the grand campaign, all of them based on modern-day France.
Total War: Rome II – Caesar in Gaul does not make any significant changes in the graphics department. Gamers will notice that the units and the cities look as good as they did on launch, and all those who try out the DLC will be able to enjoy them better now that turns actually move at a reasonable pace.
The presentation and sound design has been improved and there’s a lot of historical detail offered on all the included factions, all of it drawn from the journals that Caesar himself used to chronicle about his battles in Gaul.
In fact, the mini-campaign is an excellent way to get players interested in the actual history that the game covers and it would be very nice to see The Creative Assembly continue the same trend by exploring other critical moments from the period.
Caesar in Gaul for Total War: Rome II is not a necessary purchase for those who want to simply conquer the world as one of the many included factions, but the content is interesting for those looking for a more focused and shorter experience.
