Jack Lusted, the Creative Assembly's lead unit designer, explained that instead of the single 'Rebel' faction of the original Rome: Total War they designed a large number of smaller factions, including one for each of the Greek city states. Creative Assembly has made naval units bigger in size, so instead of building one ship per construction, a player can have a formidable navy in shorter time.Ĭreative Assembly also seeks to capture the uniqueness of different cultures and fighting forces in the ancient times. Navies can also conquer poorly guarded coastal cities by themselves. Legions can now attack the enemy's ground forces and cities, while naval units provide supporting fire or ram each other far away in the seas. Amphibious attacks are one of the few new concepts that are available in Rome 2 Total War. This reflects the naval strategies of the classical era, where coastal cities were conquered and destroyed in great invasions of infantry disembarking from warships. Creative Assembly has introduced mixed naval and land combat for land battles and city sieges for the first time in the company's history. Navies play an even more important role in Total War: Rome II than in its predecessor. This probably means that players will still be able to determine the composition of individual cohorts, even though they will be building entire legions at a time unlike in previous Total War titles where the player had to build all units of an army separately. Players can also customize legions by choosing their weapon loadout. Additionally, rather than solely assigning traits to generals and family members as with previous Total War games, the player can now assign traits to legions as they become hard-bitten veterans through their years of combat experience and conquest. These decisions will then affect the way the campaign plays out, such as turning the Roman Republic into the Roman Empire. The Creative Assembly is expanding on this mechanic, with each decision leading the player down a path which leads to a consequence the player must deal with. This allows for a much more thorough and accurate terrain cell system, with cells as small as one pixel per meter on the battle map possible.Īs with Total War: Shogun 2, the player is prompted with several decisions.

Furthermore, the campaign map is rendered with the battle map engine. Along with new animations, lead designer James Russell stated in an interview that combat in Rome 2 was to be a 'complete meatgrinder', as opposed to individual unit combat animations in Shogun 2. This is realized using facial animations for individual units, adding a deeper layer of humanity and realism to the battles, that allow the player to connect more easily with their armies and its troops. Creative Assembly has stated that they wish to bring out the more human side of the war this way, with soldiers reacting with horror as their comrades get killed around them, and officers inspiring their men with brief heroic speeches before siege towers make contact with the walls of the enemy city. The choices of the player will influence the AI's attitude toward him or her.Ī new graphics engine powers the visuals of the game, encompassing a new lighting system, particles that cast and receive shadows,and new unit cameras that allow players to focus on individual soldiers in a unit on the battlefield, which in itself may contain thousands of combatants at a time. The AI is said to be more 'intelligent' and cunning as ever. Creative Assembly acknowledges the various anomalies in previous games, where the AI could perform strange or even suicidal actions, such as small factions declaring war on the whole Roman Empire. The diplomacy system is claimed to be revamped with a better artificial intelligence, so players can also plan their way to power diplomatically. The game has a larger campaign map than Rome: Total War, and apart from encompassing the extent of the Roman Empire and its environs, features new territories stretching further to the eastern edge of the map. The campaign allows the player to take control of the Roman Republic and, if they choose, transform it into an empire. Rome 2 Total War, like its predecessor, is set in Classical Antiquity. 2.11 Rise of the Republic Campaign Pack.2.4 Hannibal at the Gates Campaign Pack.

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