Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition

How should i put this?? Total war rome II is worse for the severely autistic military history nerds, than crack or cocaine, in an amazing way; its suprinsingly hard to get bored of playing this 2013 game for some reason, especially with the content the dlcs unlock. It will take you a frankly stupid amount of time to experience everything the game has to offer, from ever factions perspective; no two saves are the same—never ever. The game itself is probably the gateway drug to autistic ancient military games, but playing it there is never an unfun moment, especially considering that it has workshop suport. IF you do try this game out, DEI (devide et impera) is a must have after the first 100 hours of getting to know the mechanics of the base game; the mod itself is probably the most comprehensive and detailed mod i have ever see; and i think it would be safe to call it total war Rome 3—an absolute must have. Due to the fact that singleplayer battles can be paused at any moment, and or slowed down, makes total war rome 2, the perfect intro to tactics and battle strategy. I would vividly recommend this magnum opus of a game, to every person who has a bonner for ancient military history.

Fun Roman era based game lots of epic battles to be had really recommend this game

I bought this almost on day 1 and it was a rough release with rocky updates. It was fixed eventually and it's a great Total War 10+ years later with so much replay value with all the high quality mods around.

Total War: Rome II is like a beautiful war elephant: majestic, powerful, absolutely massive—and sometimes prone to trampling your hopes and dreams because it got confused by a bush. Let’s get this out of the way: yes, when it launched back in 2013, Rome II was a hot mess. I’m talking day-one bugs, suicidal AI generals, flying soldiers, and legions whose idea of military strategy was forming a human traffic jam on a siege ladder. If you’ve read any early reviews, you’ll remember the critics’ mood ranged somewhere between “deeply disappointed” and “dear God, what have you done to Rome.” But we’ve come a long way since then. Numerous patches, DLCs, and an Emperor Edition later, Rome II has become a genuinely fantastic Total War experience—if a little quirky, like a general who insists on giving speeches in pig Latin. Gameplay? Glorious. There’s nothing like zooming out and seeing your empire stretch from Britannia to Egypt, then zooming in to watch your Hastati stab Gauls in the face while screaming in Latin. The real-time battles are huge, chaotic, and cinematic as hell. Sometimes your troops even do what you tell them to. Sometimes. Campaign mode? It scratches every strategic itch you’ve got. You manage cities, balance taxes, crush rebellions, backstab allies, marry off your cousin to a Greek guy for trade benefits, and occasionally lose a province because you forgot to build public toilets. The AI? Improved from launch, but still hilariously stupid at times. Enemy factions will do things like siege your capital with a single unit of slingers or declare war from across the map while being gang-piled by six other factions. I respect the confidence, honestly. Diplomacy? Still has the emotional maturity of a toddler. “You gave us gold and protected our people for 60 turns? Cool. Now die.” But it's part of the charm. In Rome II, you don’t win friends. You conquer future problems. Graphics? Still solid for its age. Watching a full cohort hold the line while cavalry slams into the flanks is pure ancient warfare eye candy. And if you don’t zoom in to watch flaming pigs charge elephants at least once, are you even living? Now, is it perfect? No. Some of the DLCs are overpriced, the UI occasionally forgets it's supposed to be user-friendly, and yes, the AI still has its “I'm going to send one unit at a time into your fortress and hope for the best” moments. But none of that stops me from sinking 300+ hours into uniting Italy under my glorious potato-optimized rule. Final verdict? Total War: Rome II is a complex, occasionally janky, but deeply satisfying war sim that lets you paint the map red while roleplaying as Julius Caesar with control issues. It's not flawless, but it is fun—and that’s what counts. It’s like Civilization’s messy, stabby cousin with a PhD in betrayal and a minor in supply chain logistics. 9/10. Would cross the Rubicon again. And this time, I’ll bring siege weapons. Veni, vidi, rage-quit-eti.

ours Played: 590 Recommended: As strongly as Caesar ignored the Senate I’ve spent 590 hours conquering the known world, and I still can’t pronounce “Epirus” with confidence. Rome II is the game where you start out dreaming of empire—and end up rage-declaring war on Syracuse because they wouldn’t trade fish. I’ve: Let my best general die to rebels because I forgot winter existed. Bankrupted my economy to build aqueducts no one asked for. Invaded Egypt just because the campaign map looked too neat. Been betrayed so many times by Carthage I now hold personal grudges against Tunisia. 48/188 achievements unlocked, and every one of them was earned with blood, sweat, and questionable diplomacy. Sure, the game launched rougher than a barbarian’s bath towel, but now it’s smoother than a Gaul’s freshly razed village. And don’t let the "Emperor Edition" name fool you—this game doesn’t hand you an empire. You’ll crawl across it, burn it down, then annex it in the name of glory... or because you misclicked. 10/10. Would wage 400-turn civil war again just to hear the narrator say “This is a time of great strife…” one more time.

game crashes frequently, cant use multiplayer, random buggs of not loading in map (i have a good graphics card, so its weird, even though it should run it it crashes)

About to win the Battle of Teutoburg Forest on legendary difficulty, then a cutscene starts and everything except the hud turns black. No way to fix. 12 year old game that costs a fortune yet so many critical technical issues remains unfixed. Practically a scam.

Tragically this game is no longer playable for me. There is a new bug from sometime in the past year that means that for anything other than offline custom battles my game will freeze when a battle loads. This makes campaigns pretty lame, and multiplayer no longer a thing that exists for me. There is a work around, but it requires me to close the game, delete some files, and then relaunch, a 5 minute process, for every battle, and even then if it doesn't work I have to hold down the power button on PC, not even command line can taskkill Rome2 when this bug occours. Truly a shame as this was by far my favourite modern Total War.

Its so much better than all the other total war games, goated although not enough free campaigns (2) too many dlcs. the only thing that could make this game 10/10 is more free campaigns, maybe a bigger map

I got bored mid campaign as Rome, steamroled everything with hastati then legionari and so on. Finished it but did not enjoy it. - battles are ok, cavalary is boring, units looks same - city building is soulless - client states are useless, i wish i could do more with them like give them territory because bordergore is killing me - civil war and whole family diplomacy is... I am speechless... it is shit - not gonna pay for dlcs to replay game in different color

amazing map amazing combat great graphics for its time for sure worth the money on sale

What can be said for this game that already hasn't been said.If you like Roman history if you like strategy game,warfare,conquest,destruction,if you like to crush your enemies, see them driven before you, and to hear the lamentations of their women, then this game is for you. Absolutely recommend 10/10.

Great historical game play plus superb graphics. Hours of strategy and fun.

This game is sweet you should get it. takes a little bit to learn how to play but its fun. if i catch you running Rome I will find you and destroy you!

great game love how a group of untrained javlinmen (from the Celtic tribal land) can beat a trained and upkept army with years of combat, atop of that its elite cavalry units feared throughout the land as being some of the greatest! FUCKING DOGSHIT GAME I PRAY FOR ZEUS, HERA, ARES AND SON OF ATHENA, THE HERO ODYSSEUS TO STRIKE YOU AND YOUR WRETCHED COMPANY DOWN βάλλ’ εἰς κόρακας

It used to be a wonderful game, which has turned to shit now

Runs fairly well on an AIO PC, and so far the gameplay and UI are smoother than the first Total War. I'm still getting used to it, and so far it's engaging.

not good. nobunaga's ambition for the old nintendo is a better war game

My favorite game of all time, I love the way that your strategy and tactics can completely change the tide of a battle, this game does require a lot of time to master, but it's really fun.

Regarding Total War in general i'm still pretty new, i've only ever played Atilla (250 hrs) before this, but coming to Rome II after Atilla is a breath of fresh air. The only gripe I have about this game is party factions always hate the way you play, but that's probably just the way the AI is programmed. Not to mention, what is cooler than absolute decimation of other countries using Rome's superior units lol

I think that the healthbars of units are pure bs, but the game itself is pretty fine anyway.

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☑ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☐ Workable ☐ Big ☑ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☑ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☑ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☑ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☐ Worth the price ☑ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10

Love the Total War series as a whole, but I can't recommend this game after getting soft locked out of a campaign after playing it for about 20 hours. That and you basically have to buy a ton of DLC to play the game, only a few good factions to actually play in the base game, only buy on gigantic discount and realize you might lose your progress at any point just because the game doesnt want to work.

good gameplay. good units. good Campaigh. good combat. good AI. good mods. good everything. very good game. overall? very good.

Total war. Amazing. Could always complain. There's always something that could be made better. A tweak, some change... And it wold all be "My opinion"based on a brilliant group of minds that came together. To bring into existence a masterpiece that our childhoods didn't know it desired. I applaud you SEGA/CA. Thank you.

As much as i want to like this game it is what killed the studio, soulless husk that is only interesting untill mid-game. Boring mind-numbingly repetitive gameplay after you become powerful enough to steamroll everyone late game, the campaign is ridiculously long for some reason with objectives requiring you to conquer some bum-fuck region on the other end of the map. Real time battles are okay but not as good as shogun 2 where total war peaked and then fell off a cliff with this and all the other dlc-peddling slop they shat out. Its ok on sale and the campaign with a friend is pretty fun but that goes for most things. Do not buy the dlc, its not worth it, aside from the campaign ones which are kinda cool (at least the ones ive played like Rise of the republic, hanibal at the gates, caesar in gaul etc.)

game's broken and constantly crashes

When I listen to an ancient history podcast I always come back for a campaign. Its a classic.

been playing this and other total war games for years. now none of the them will launch. steam and the game maker were no help and told me to kick rocks. hundreds of dollars down the drain

it is good game do wish it like already had greek hoplites like spartan one buts still elite very diffrent because im used to muskets but im learning day by day

was enjoying it, but hten it becomes unplayable after time, games just freeze trying to load in a battle, basically on my campaign im now forced to start over as it wont allow me to engage the enmy as the battle freeze the game upon trying to start it otherwise a great game but has many unfixed issues

While disastrous at launch, its one of the best total war games in my opinion, it is really good, best if you get it on a sale

This game is super amazing but on modern PC's it crashes ALL THE TIME. FIX THE DAMN GAME AND I'LL GIVE IT 10/10

one of my favorite total war games. campaign is fun and enjoyable. battles play smooth and graphics look lovely.

Amazing game even 12 years later. Highly recommend downloading the divide et impera (DEI) mod. It adds a ton of historic unit types, realistic logistics and recruitment systems that create a much more immsersive and strategic experience. Highly recommended

Of all the modern Total War games, this one and Shogun 2 are the best. Eagerly waiting for Medieval 3 and Empire 2...

I would say this is in the top 5 games total has made over the years, how big the map is, skill tree is easy to navigate and structured well, characters are great; 10/10

Absolutely incredible, massacring barbarians never gets old.

if your looking at this game to play in 2025, you probably already know what your getting into. It's a Classic. To me, its one of the greatest Strategy PC games of all time. No magic or fantasy settings, but it's got the political and settlement building that makes you question every choice you make. especially on higher difficulty. after all these years, its still a very enjoyable Map conquering good time!

I know the game was the worst at launch, but its super good with mods in 2025

First RTS game I have played, unless you consider Mount and Blade RTS, and it has been fun. The gameplay is interesting, looks very nice for such an old game, and the tutorial wasn't mind-numbingly boring. I just wish the game explained a bit more about the economics of provinces and such. Diplomacy and management are a bit too simplistic for me, but it isn't too important. The most important thing for me was the combat, which I enjoy. Multiple types of units, like light and heavy infantry, all with unique advantages and vulnerabilities, with even more unique differences between nations' soldiers of each type. Makes combat interesting and gives a lot of agency to the player, so battles that should be unwinnable can be won, unless you autoresolve, of course.

favorite game, its what got me into history and whatnot, and into other total war games, some things are lacking, but still love the game, so many mods, I hate tylis campaign,

Really great game for those deeply invested in the Total War genre or strategy games as a whole. I remember recently getting my first Total War game (Rome: Total War) on my tablet when they made it mobile and it was quite fun. Strategy was easier too from my view without having to move your mouse up or side by side to see other parts of the battlefield. There are a multiple amount of nations to play as with mostly separate and unique unit rosters, cultures, characters, etc. It's a full overhaul of Rome I & II from what I can say, and especially with new cities/towns scattered along the map with an extended eastern map in Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Iran. If you really like ancient strategy games I suggest you get this one!

It is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable strategy games that encourages you to play it again and again, and it has amazing music.

Different from Shogun 2 and Medieval 2 and definitely needs DEI mod for it to be fun but it's a really fun game. At least campaign-wise; the diplomacy is better than i prior games, the politics system is a nice touch despite being simplistic and in the beggining confusing af. The campaign map is beautiful and the province system though a bit scary at first you get to enjoy it after trial and error. The biggest problem however that this game has is with the battles. It's worse than in Shogun 2, Medieval 2, Rome 1; morale doesn't make sense with units taking waaaay to much work and time to route, archers and artillery have barely any ammo (15), using tactics is not as rewarding and meaningful where the most meaningful factor in winning a battle is with having higher quality units, naval is a huge downgrade from Shogun's, using geography to your advantage like hills, forests and such barely gives an advantage as it did in prior games like Shogun 2 and Medieval 2. All in all I can't think of anything the combat in this game does well besides maybe setting an ambush or a fort on the campaign map, it's just a complete downgrade where I'd rather play Rome 1's battles honestly. It's a TW game so if the combat is a downgrade from the older games even when modded then that's a huge issue. In conclusion I'm leaving a positive review as in the 110 hours I've played it has mostly been a fun experience playing as Sparta, Ireland, Rhodos, and Syracuse. However I won't be returning any time soon; the predecessors reign supreme. If you autoresolve battles in TW games then this game is for you. If you're a battle aesthete then this game is not for you; trust me I really tried to enjoy them and make them fun only to fail.

Total War: Rome II is, without a doubt, one of the most captivating strategy games I’ve ever played. My 122 hours on Steam are just a fraction of the time I’ve poured into this masterpiece. For me, Rome II isn’t just a game—it’s a nostalgic journey. I grew up with it long before Steam, spending countless hours conquering empires and rewriting history.

Sent a screenshot of the game to someone, system crashed, printed morse code and died. 10/10

great game wish sparta wasnt pay to play but other than that great

The is really fun and I have always enjoyed multiplayer. Some of the maps are designed great and detailed. Definitely recommend this game.

Good game but it's old so you might need to work through some bugs.