14 DAY TRIAL // 
Coming back to Total War: Rome II using the Emperor Edition is like meeting an old friend again after a few months, finding that he lost some weight and then waiting patiently to see how his worldview has changed.
The Creative Assembly says that this is the definitive edition of the strategy experience, and after trying out the new campaign and the newly added factions, I have to say that fans will be happy with most of the changes that have been introduced and that newcomers who are looking to get into the series will find that this is the best possible entry point.
There are still some weird behaviors here and there and the game needs a solid system to run on, but Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition is a solid release.
Story
Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition still allows gamers to just choose the Grand Campaign, select a faction and simply try to reach the objectives or even conquer the entire world, creating their own narratives of success, betrayal and rivalry in the process.
Those who have not touched the title since shortly after its launch will also be able to choose from a number of new nations, including the just added Armenia.
But the center of the Emperor Edition of the strategy title from The Creative Assembly is the new Imperator Augustus campaign, which is designed to offer a self-contained experience based around the political situation created by the assassination of Julius Caesar.
Fans of the Romans will be able to take charge of factions within the nation controlled by Octavian, Marc Anthony and Lepidus, all of which feel they have a clear right to the legacy of the great ruler that has just died.
At the same time, Pompey loyalists are still interested in power and there are six outside nations on the borders of Rome that seek to use the internal conflict to expand their own borders.
Gamers need to carefully consider their alliances and their enemies as they seek to complete smaller objectives which will allow them to consolidate their starting provinces, deal with smaller factions, and finally defeat the other major rivals to the title of Augustus and the position of first true Emperor of Rome.
The whole way, politics and the civil war have been modified for the new version of Total War: Rome II and the characters are also living longer, which means that it is easier to deliver narratives around faction leaders and prominent generals.
Gameplay
Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition is still a game with two core elements: a turn-based one where gamers manage cities, move armies and generally keep order in their empire, and another where they move to a real-time battlefield in order to command men and try to vanquish their enemies.
The Imperator Augustus is somewhat more focused than the Grand Campaign, but offers more choices and strategic conundrums than either Caesar in Gaul or Hannibal at the Gates.
I played with all the Roman factions and about half of the barbarians (using the designation of the Empire) and all of them have a clearly delineated expansion route created by the developers, but can also deliver surprising moves and attacks.
The Artificial Intelligence is solid on the campaign map, able to attack weakly protected regions and to make sure that its own provinces are out of harm’s way as much as possible, although it does have a tendency to be a little conservative.
When two armies meet in the Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition, players enjoy a generally solid tactical experience, although the computer-controlled enemy does have a tendency to once again send its generals too far away from the army on suicidal attacks, a long-term problem for the franchise.
Naval battles still feel clunky at times, but on land, the spectacle of Roman on Roman violence is impressive and engaging, especially when zooming in to see how the various units deliver blows to their enemies.
One weird element is the autoresolve for combat, which seems to weigh in favor of the conservative options and sometimes seems not to take into account the presence of reinforcement armies.
In Imperator Augustus, gamers will have to decide quickly whether they plan on being aggressive, raising armies as fast as possible and fuelling their recruitment, upkeeping with raids and with sackings, or if they are more interested in first upgrading their own provinces in order to support future conquest expeditions.
The battles can vary in terms of difficulty, but the campaign is hard to complete, mainly because sieges are more complicated than in the initial version of Rome II, and the AI is a little more competent.
The Grand Campaign continues to be exciting and massive, almost intimidating when it comes to faction variety.
I played with newcomer Armenia and favorite Dacia and the engine does feel faster and more responsive, with the weight of accumulated patches making sure that I did not encounter any major issues.
The game is not without its faults, despite the massive improvements and the new campaign.
Traits might have been reworked, but generals in cities still seem to gain too many negative points and the political side of the title still does not make perfect sense.
The Creative Assembly might have to deliver one more major patch in order to fix the final few issues and declare its work on Total War: Rome II complete.
Graphics and audio
Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition does not introduce any sort of major update when it comes to the look of the title, but even more than one year after launch, the experience created by The Creative Assembly looks very good, both when gamers are planning thier moves on the strategic map and when they are directly commanding armies in the tactical battles, a game that creates a very immersive take on the Ancient World complete with plenty of small details.
The new map is beautifully designed, with plenty of minor details to draw gamers in, and there are a few new units on which the player can zoom in during combat to see a range of new animations, some of them pretty impressive.
The interface and the color choices have also been updated and mesh better with the overall feel of the experience, but the player still needs to have a rather powerful system in order to enjoy everything it has to offer.
The sound design of Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition reflects the resources The Creative Assembly has access to and manages to enhance the immersion, although the soundtrack and the voice work are a little too theatrical at times.
Multiplayer
Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition allows players to engage in multiplayer sessions for all the included campaigns, even for Imperator Augustus, and players can still simply launch battles if they do not have the time for a longer session.
The community of players who are involved in this aspect of the title is pretty hardcore at this point, skilled when it comes to tactics and sometimes a little impatient with newcomers, but I have experienced no insults or bad behavior.
The Good
- The Imperator Augustus campaign
- Improvements to politics and buildings
- New factions
The Bad
- Some issues with the AI
- Still requires a solid machine to run smoothly
Conclusion
The Imperator Augustus alone can eat up tens of hours of gameplay with its ten factions and interesting strategic challenges set in one of the most interesting moments of the Roman period in history.
The Grand Campaign has also been improved in plenty of ways, although civil wars are still a little weird and there are still some weird movements from the Artificial Intelligence during tactical battles.
Those who get bored of these modes can engage in the solid multiplayer modes or play single battles, and there are always community-made mods which enhance the title in interesting ways.
Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition is a good buy for all strategy fans who have at least a passing interest in history and in reliving or re-writing it.
