Civ 3 player curious about Rome Total War

[CivRulesAll]

It isn't too graphic at all... no blood or anythingl. The only thing you might not like is the "Exterminate Populace" option, which has screaming, and a tiny picture. Nothing really. It isn't as violent as Medieval II: Total war, which has blood on some soldiers after they fight a while. Rome Total War is a great game, and I started playing it at age 10. Nothing horrible about it. I recommend you see it for yourself first. Maybe watch some videos on youtube and stuff.

 

[Jos Ballenbak]

It is so peacefully, it looks as if the dead people are sleeping!

Spoiler :

TO EVENTUALLY TURN INTO ZOMBIES!!!!

 

[Brohz]

RTW is not a bad game, but BE WARNED: If you either know a lot or just have some some idea of history of that period, and PARTICULARLY EGYPT, it is likely thet at some point you will feel your intelligence being insulted.
I think the developers just didn't make much effort to give RTW a decent historic background (unlike Shogun and Medieval).
When I have to fight those "The mummy returns" egyptians, I just autoresolve the battles so I don't have to see them.
There are great mods out there that make RTW worthwhile, so you should get it, as it is a different experience than CIV.

 

[W|M]

Get Europa Barbarorum, it's the best and most realistic one.

 

[sophie]

Get Europa Barbarorum, it's the best and most realistic one.

I think the kids would probably find it overly complex/boring. Not even I wanted to read 5 pages of text on some random unit when I was 9 (ok maybe just a little bit).

 

[CELTICEMPIRE]

I never understood why Egypt was so powerful, they seemed to be in decline at the time, but RTW is still a fun game.

 

[sophie]

I never understood why Egypt was so powerful, they seemed to be in decline at the time, but RTW is still a fun game.

Ummm....

 

[Dachs]

I never understood why Egypt was so powerful, they seemed to be in decline at the time, but RTW is still a fun game.

The career of Ptolemaios III Euergetes disagrees with you.

 

[Murky]

I never understood why Egypt was so powerful, they seemed to be in decline at the time, but RTW is still a fun game.

It wasn't that Egypt was on the decline, it was more than Rome was expanding at a much faster rate and was much more militaristic. If you were them, would you want to fight the Romans or become their puppet state(getting rich supplying grain) instead?

 

[Brohz]

Get Europa Barbarorum, it's the best and most realistic one.

ROME TOTAL REALISM is simpler than EB, but a great improvement over vanilla.
EB is quite heavy on the CPU also.

 

[Dachs]

Yeah, but RTR has the chief disadvantage of sucking dick. Honestly, only a couple of the RTR modmods are really worth playing.

 

[Brohz]

It is a matter of taste, of course. The Rome Total War engine has many limitations in terms of modding (the fixed number of factions and the AI, which is very poor) compared to Civilization IV or the ones by Paradox (Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Victoria, etc), so any MOD you play is gonna suck in some way.

 

[darkborg]

I have seen kids as young as 7 playing the imperial campaign, but the youngest I've seen complete one is age 12. The ones under about 12 quickly grasp the basics, but do not yet understand how things are connected, to play well. They are generally able to play the battles, but making key troop formations, matchups, and mobility are not usually accomplished. I have seen an 8 year old able to successfully feint, and use the the Hammer-Anvil, cavalry flanking, etc. But buildings, diplomacy, corruption, even basics like troop experience and battlefield choice, are usually not part of their thinking.

Its not a bloody game, but there are concepts like Slavery and Genocide that an adult should consider, and explain historically. Also, concepts like hunting down and butchering fleeing troops with cavalry, for instance, can be an issue.

 

[LightSpectra]

It is a matter of taste, of course. The Rome Total War engine has many limitations in terms of modding (the fixed number of factions and the AI, which is very poor) compared to Civilization IV or the ones by Paradox (Europa Universalis, Hearts of Iron, Victoria, etc), so any MOD you play is gonna suck in some way.

Europa Barbarorum is more realistic, so it's an educational experience. Besides that, EB is generally considered to have better AI and gameplay mechanics.

 

[Dachs]

Well, not better AI. It's kind of impossible to make the RTW AI any better, because nobody's cracked the AI files for it. So you still get dumb crap like auto-war with all of your neighbors, for instance.

But yeah, EB is superior and improves on RTW in every way in which it is possible to improve on RTW.

 

[LightSpectra]

Are you sure about that? I thought there were ways to indirectly change the AI's behavior.

 

[Dachs]

Nah, what usually happens is that the AI is given compensation for its stupidity. The usual tagline is "you have a brain, the AI has money".

This will be mitigated in EB2 if it ever comes out.