• Up to 10,000 men on screen at once are yours to command
• A century-spanning campaign the charges players with managing the economic, civil, religious and military arms of their empire
• Unprecedented scale and detail make Rome: Total War one of the definitive historical war game

• Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion (Prima Official Game Guide)
• PC Gamer (1-year)

Rome: Total War Gold puts you in command of the ancient world's greatest armies. Storm clouds will gather over Europe, Asia and North Africa as you lay siege to civilizations using powerful war engines. Prepare your army and develop strategies for victory, then enjoy wealth and power unlike any who came before you. Gold Edition features the original Rome: Total War and its expansions, The Barbarian Invasions.

Customer Rating:
Summary: really shocked...
Comment: I usually dont write reviews about the products i buy but because how much I hated this game i want to share how much and why i hated this game.
in every game where you take care of a country and its army, I think the producers are chellanging themselves with a real tough one. for the buildings you gotta be careful not to limit the player with few spots he can build buildings on them which is something i really hate, like Lord of the Rings: battle of middle earth. I love it more when you manipulate the advanced 3D graphics, like C&C series and black and white and many other games, constructing buildings in this game takes the worst way ever which is statistical way where you order them to build by clicking a button and somehow it's built somewhere in your city and they show you little picture telling you that you got it. and then you can visit your promised building by waiting 1 to 2 minutes to load your stupid city. That really reminds me of some MS-DOS games i played when i was kid except they didnt take that long to load.
moving to the army leading. First, this is a strategic game, not chess. I dont want to move my armies represented by one man. wither you got China-conquering army or one dog you're still moving one tower-big man except the stupid color in the flag of the army. and your man can't reach or cross many points and you will realize that late because of the stupid turns-idea. I had to reach some city within 3 turns to complete me mission but because there was a river, i had to go around the mountins which took me 6 turns. Even in the battle mood, i cant contorol my men 50 enemy dogs killed 20 knights and 80 soldiers. while they were running around. Seriously, I felt i was playing FIFA and my players were just missing the ball. my archers never looked like they knew there is a battle going on unless you get a REAL CLOSE look on them, you can know if they are using thier arrows by watching the blue bar for how many arrows left with them to see if it is decreasing.
bottom line, here are some alternatives:
if you like Rome games, get Ceaser.
if you like to get a close look on your army fighting get Black and White.
if you like old ages cities, get black and white, age of empires.
if you like to play strategic games with chess stones, get heroes.
if you like to play a GAME, try anything else, this one is full of glitches and program mistakes...

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Customer Rating:
Summary: For the love of Jake
Comment: I bought this for my husband for Christmas, not because I love it when he spends tons of time playing this game, but because I love him. And Honestly, I've got it good, it's pretty rare that he'll play computer games, and I have my own time killers that I play too, so I felt it was only fair to get this for him. He'd had a copy before but then lost it when we moved from our first place, so I got him this one. He really enjoys it for both the strategy involved as well as the historically based battles and the visual elements. I have to admit, it is kind of cool . . . But I'm just not a war person, so I doubt I'll ever play it myself.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Still the best Game
Comment: I have been playing this game since it first came out years ago. I tried some other games but continue to come back to this one. This game can be played again and again with a different experience each time. Still after all these years one of the best games on the market and a great value at the current price.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Best RTS After AoE
Comment: After playing Shogun: Total War, I moved into Age of Empires. Don't get me wrong that Empires is probably one of the best PC games available to normal humans, but it grew tiring destroying the same things over and over, and before I knew it, I had found myself in a gaming rut.

That's when I stumbled onto Rome: Total War on one of my late-night Amazon expeditions. At the asking price (around $15), how could I say no?! I rushed home from work 2 days later and installed it immediately. What I found was gameplay similar to Shogun, but with new features, armies, and a whole new experience. For those who are "history buffs" such as myself, you will find an appreciation in the developers ability to describe history without sacrificing much accuracy in favor of gameplay. And for those who are looking for a brutal, violent recreation of a scene right out of Gladiator or 300, you can always go to "Custom" or "Quick Battle" and get your kill on in about 5 minutes. I will admit that some controls take a little getting used to, as well as an understanding of unit abilities and basically learning the ropes in the Art of War, but you'll be literally stuck to your computer for atleast 4 hours at a time, and considering that the in-game helpers (Marcus and "Lady" as I dubbed her) are more than willing to assist you in affairs of combat and state, you will pick it up in actually no time at all.

As a student of war (Army), I enjoy military history as well as battlefield tactics. And while this is 100% perfect, its about a 99.5 in my book. The ability to move certain troops and to launch ambushes, flank maneuvers, and counter-attacks made me feel just like Hannibal or Patton. There's literally nothing more satisfying than using light infantry and shock cavalry to lure your enemy into a dreaded double-envelope or to see them run in terror at your General or your ferocious wardogs.

Buy this game.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Great Campaigns, Great 3D battles.
Comment: In Rome: Total War, you play on 2 maps. The Campaign Map, and the Battle Map. I haven't tried Barbarian Invasion yet, but I do enjoy Rome without it so far. That said, what I say here may be inaccurate if you install Barbarian Invasion.
In Rome, you play as a Roman Faction: the Julii, the Brutii, or the Scipii. You have to order the production of buildings, units, and fortresses. You build armies as you go around and conquer settlements, and defeat enemies. The battles on the battle map are really fun, incorporating strategy with sheer force. The graphics are not bad, but in the Battle Map, if you zoom in enough, you really know the people are fake.Rome has a good tutorial and easy enough controls.(Come on, It's just clicking mostly) The time I do find myself frustrated is when it loads the battle map. (It may take up to Half an Hour on my computer, but no more than that) But in the end, the battles are good enough to keep me playing. Also, you will definitely be challenged in this game. I dont care how much experience you have had with RTS/Empire Builder games, this is a challenging game. You can negotiate with rival factions, assassinate generals, and spy on armies and settlements. Multiplayer, has much to be desired, however. Really, you shouldn't get this game for the multiplayer.

Pros:
-The game is a challenge, and doesn't get boring for a while, definitely good replay value
-Involves lots of cunning/strategy
-Battles are fun on Battle Map
-Very involved game

Cons:
-Multiplayer and Random Battles are boring
-No 3D Battle Maps at sea
-Long time to load

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