The Total War Game Series

[LookingGlass]

So tonight I started my first game in the Total War series, Rome, and played a few hours.

It's got a bit of a learning curve (I haven't played anything much like it before) and the battlefields are a bit boring (partially due to the time in which it was created) but it's good. Very good.

Is it the best in the series? What do you think of the rest of the games in the series? I'm keen to try Shogun 2 after this... do I need to play the original first?

 

[Hobo Joe]

They're not linked so you won't have to play the first. Rome's my personal favourite in the series, but then I'm in love with Roman History in general.

 

[Wayneguard]

I like the medieval period games the best (although I haven't played shogun) but they're all pretty much the same. Just go with whichever time period you like best.

 

[aakibar]

The graphics are better with each generation personally I agree Rome is the best and I hope they reboot it soon. All in all a great series glad you liked it

 

[ruben6f]

I hated rome total war, I loved the the roman times, the number of units factions and the gameplay, but there are little things in battle that ruin the game.
too bad my pc sucks because I really want to try empire total war, I love the setting

 

[Hawk of Battle]

I've only really played Rome myself, so I can't compare it to the others much.

Just recently started playing Rome again as well. Carthage are pissing me off with all their ships, but I guess that's historically accurate so I can't really complain. Of course then the senate went and gave me a mission to attack fucking GAUL and I lost a sizable army up there, so fuck the senate, I'm building a shitton of ships and I am STRANGLING the hell out of Carthage until I can get more forces down there to finish them off.

My last game as Brutii went better though; I got as far as nearly taking Rome. I'd bought Scippis only town in Italy and had ships all through the med ready to wipe out all their fleets and blockade all their ports in 1 turn, effectively taking them out of the game, and I had Juliis forces in northern Italy outnumbered 2:1, ready to take all of their settlements there. I even paid Germania to start attacking Julii several turns before too. And best of all the civil war wouldn't have been my fault; the war would be started by the senate declaring me a traitor for not giving back Scipiis town which I LEGALLY BOUGHT!

It was the perfect plan. Unfortunately the save got wiped and I never got to finish.

 

[The Madman]

My personal favourite of the series so far is Medieval 2: Total War, but really it's more a matter of personal preference over the quality of any one game as they're all damned good.

Honestly just go with whichever have the setting and style which intrigue you most and don't forget to look into the mod community as there's a whole library of improvements out there to look into. I really like the Stainless Steel mod for Medieval 2, but there's lots out there for every game save Shogun 2 since Creative Assembly never did release any mod tools for it... not that it will hold people back I suspect, mod tools for Empire weren't released until just recently yet even before that there were mods coming out.

 

[RuralGamer]

Rome is good, but not particularly balanced well. Personally my favourite is still Shogun 1, mainly because of its simplicity, allowing you to play it regardless of what else you're doing (except battles of course). Empire and Napoleon are only good if you like shooting rather than close combat-orientation. Beware of Napoleon and Shogun 2; the AI are unfriendly (i.e. aggressive and often able to surprise you) and both games have quite challenging campaigns, although they are both fun. Medieval 2 is one you might want to be weary of because of the AI's strange behaviour, but overall it is a satisfactory game. Rome is probably my favourite out of the newer ones (in other words, the campaign map doesn't play like a weird version of chess).

As mentioned previously, there is no real difficulty curve between games (with the exception perhaps of the two newest ones). Play Rome a lot and you'll enjoy it, just don't trust your allies not to back-stab you and beware Egypt, the Pontics and occasionally the British; they have early access to chariots which seem to confer them supremacy over the other AI. Oh and beware the Romans if you aren't playing as them; once the Marian reforms occur, the other AI can't seem to beat them. I'd advise that once you complete the campaign and unlock the other playable factions (or mod the files to unlock them immediately), experiment with the various fighting styles in skirmishes; if there's one thing I love about Rome, its that many of the factions fight in completely alien ways to one another (Parthian cavalry FTW).

 

[RobCoxxy]

I loved Rome Total War.
Shogun 2 is damn good but I just lack the love I had for Rome

 

[Tensacloud]

Rome has the largest variety of land war, Midieval 2 added religion as an important piece, Empires made naval warfare on a battlefield level and raidable trade routes, and Napoleon gave artillery usefulness and redid cities so that one couldn't overpower every city in their empire.I haven't played Shogun 2, but none of the games require you to have played the others first, and i don't recommend playing Midieval 1 or Shogun 1. Since you've already played Rome, it will just be frustrating. Oh, and as for boring terrain, well that's what the world is like. Wait for a non-historical version of the game if you don't like boring terrain.

 

[LookingGlass]

Am I correct in thinking that Rome (and presumably the others) has a "losable" campaign... for lack of a better word. So, can you get to a point where you're just screwed and will never be able to "win" the campaign?

It seems that if you don't make particularly good decisions in building up your empire and if you lose a lot of guys during battles you're just going to end up defeated and "lose" the campaign.

 

[RhombusHatesYou]

Is it the best in the series?

Most people will choice either Rome or Medieval 2 as the best in the series.

What do you think of the rest of the games in the series?

I personally prefer Empire and Napoleon. The weapon tech suits my prefered play style.

I'm keen to try Shogun 2 after this... do I need to play the original first?

Christ no. Shogun 1 is the original Total War game and the gameplay has changed massively since then.

 

[Spacewolf]

I've only really played Rome myself, so I can't compare it to the others much.

Just recently started playing Rome again as well. Carthage are pissing me off with all their ships, but I guess that's historically accurate so I can't really complain. Of course then the senate went and gave me a mission to attack fucking GAUL and I lost a sizable army up there, so fuck the senate, I'm building a shitton of ships and I am STRANGLING the hell out of Carthage until I can get more forces down there to finish them off.

My last game as Brutii went better though; I got as far as nearly taking Rome. I'd bought Scippis only town in Italy and had ships all through the med ready to wipe out all their fleets and blockade all their ports in 1 turn, effectively taking them out of the game, and I had Juliis forces in northern Italy outnumbered 2:1, ready to take all of their settlements there. I even paid Germania to start attacking Julii several turns before too. And best of all the civil war wouldn't have been my fault; the war would be started by the senate declaring me a traitor for not giving back Scipiis town which I LEGALLY BOUGHT!

It was the perfect plan. Unfortunately the save got wiped and I never got to finish.

The best way to bribe other roman towns is to give them to an enamy as a gift in exhange for some money or somthing then just invading them as they will be ungarrisoned, and since you didnt take the town from another roman faction your sorted with the senate

 

[LookingGlass]

Another question:

What game do you want to see next in the series? Rome 2? A new time period and setting they haven't touched on yet? A futuristic setting?

What do you think the series could/should add in the next installment?

 

[Soviet Steve]

For Rome: Total War fans, until the second one comes out I know of an excellent total conversion mod which completely overhauls it, adds much to the historical accuracy and uses every single faction slot on playable factions. They press the engine to its limits but overall it's a very enjoyable experience if you like the historical setting moreso than the asterix & obleix/hollywood depiction of the original Rome.

Here's the website for it if you're interested:
http://www.europabarbarorum.com/

There's also one for medieval 2 kingdoms in the works but that'll be a while before its released.

Oh and my favorite in the series is Rome, though only due to the mods.

 

[Best of the 3]

I've been playing RTW again after a long break and I love it. I already have a love for Romans which helps. THeo nly problem I always have, my cities always start losing me money and it forces you to be either very diplomatic and getting trading rights with just about everyone. Or taking over cities to get the money from them. The battlles are easy -ish though. Can't really talk, I'm on the easiest difficulty.

I don't think you'll need to play the originals to enjoy the new ones like SHogun 2.

My favourite would be RTW seeing as it's the only one I played.

 

[Tharwen]

Rome is my favourite. I can't even tell you why, I just love it more than the others.

Every few months I spend a few days playing through a new campaign and I always get bored before playing to the end, but it's still great fun every time. It has a firm place on my top 5 list of games.

 

[schizow]

like the whole serie but if I had to pick it would be Medieval 2 or shogun 2

 

[drakythe]

I've personally only played Medieval 2, but I got the gold edition for like 12 dollars from amazon. Plus M2:TW has some awesome Total Conversions, Like a Lord of the Rings mod. If you're computer can run it, Shogun 2 seemed to snag universally great reviews.

 

[USSR]

Personally, I loved Napoleon.
If you can, grab the GOTY Napoleon+Empire edition on steam for $10 on steam before time runs out D: