But for fans of the franchise, the new title may fall short of expectations, offering little in the way of substantial improvements over 2004s excellent Rome: Total War.Sporting a real-time strategy combat engine hidden inside a sedate, turn-based strategy shell, M2:TW does both genres well enough to be good games in their own right, making the combination of the two all-but-irresistible.Moreover, the games combat system, with its truly epic-feeling battles, may be the best RTS battle system seen in PC gaming to date.
In the games Grand Campaign, you will lead of one of Europes fledgling nations to total domination of Europe, Asia, and the New World. Strategic decisions, such as managing settlements, moving units about, or keeping tabs your neighbors, take place on the Campaign Map, which has the look and feel of a Civilization game. As you upgrade cities, its possible to see the countryside around them change from empty grassland to farmland and see the roads fill up with wagons trading goods to and from your ports. While its possible to spend many happy hours on the Campaign Map, it serves another purpose -- to build mighty armies to crush other nations. ![]() On the battlefield, its possible to see an astonishing level of detail, right down to the faces of your men. By skillfully maneuvering your troops, its often possible to defeat a numerically superior force. Unlike unit-based RTS games, such as Age of Empires III, your units wont necessarily stay and fight to the death, but will break and run, spreading panic to others and turning a close battle into a rout. The game does a magnificent job dropping you into the thick of battle, and its easy to get chills from these conflicts, especially when youre trying to form up your pikemen as gothic knights bear down on you and trebuchets in the distance rain numinous fire down on you. A potential downside with M2:TW is that youll need a hefty computer to get the most out of it -- all of those mud-spattered helmets and grimacing men come at a steep computing cost. Also, you cannot manage naval battles at all, perhaps understandable given M2:TWs fanatical focus on land-based battles. Minor flaws aside, M2:TW stands with the very best PC strategy games. While other titles may do RTS or strategy better than this game, none offer the sterling synergy of both as M2:TW does. Graphics: Incomparably complex battles, rendered and animated to bloody perfection. Sound: The combat effects and voices are well done, but some variety on the Campaign Map tunes would have been nice. ![]() For years the Total War franchise, with its unique mix of gameplay, has enjoyed continued success among hardcore strategy gamers. A very elaborate turn-based strategy game sits on top of a brilliant real-time battle mode. The latter realistically renders massive battles with hundreds and hundreds of individual soldiers, simulating true-to-the-era tactics and unit morale. Good planning and strategy in the turn-based game will give you the troops and equipment youll need when it comes time to fight, and similarly, awesome performance on the real-time battlefield can help you make miracles happen on the turn-based map. Its a winning combination, and once again it pays off with a solid strategy game. ![]()
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