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Rome: Total War
Developer	Creative Assembly
Publisher	Activision - Original Sega - Current
Version	1.5
Released	September 22, 2004
Genre	Real-time tactics, Turn-based strategy
Mode(s)	Single player, Multiplayer
Ratings	ESRB: Teen (T) PEGI: 12+
Platform(s)	Windows
Media	3 CD - Original 1 DVD disc - Gold edition
System requirements	1.0 GHz Processor, 256MB RAM, GeForce 2/Radeon 72xx series with 64MB VRAM, 2.9 GB hard drive space[1]
Input methods	Keyboard, mouse

Rome: Total War (often abbreviated to RTW or Rome) is a critically acclaimed strategy game comprised of turn-based strategy and real-time tactics parts in which the player fights historical and fictitious battles within the Roman era. The game was developed by Creative Assembly and released on September 22, 2004.

The game features large-scale battles of ancient armies with thousands of warriors. The main innovation is a brand new high-quality 3D graphics engine able to render over thirty thousand men on a single battlefield. Another prominent feature is the integration of the strategic and tactical views - the landscape for the battles is the same as seen on that particular spot on the strategic map where the armies meet.

The player can take roles roughly equivalent to those of generals such as Hannibal Barca, the brilliant Carthaginian general during the Second Punic War, the Gallic warlord Vercingetorix, and Julius Caesar. Among the playable factions are three Roman families (Julii, Brutii, Scipii), which are available from the start of the game, and the free Greek city-states, Carthage, Gaul, Britannia, Germania, Parthia and the successor states of Alexander the Great's Empire: the Seleucid Empire and Ptolemaic Egypt, all of which must be unlocked before they can be played. Like Medieval: Total War, there are also many non-playable factions, including Dacia, Numidia, Scythia, Armenia, the Pontus, and Spain, which can be enabled by making a minor change to one of the game files. Despite a degree of factual inaccuracy in order to facilitate artistic license, the historical setting of the game gives it a potentially educational content.

The gameplay is similar to that of its predecessors, Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War, although there are some changes to the mechanics of sieges and city fights have been added. Most notable is that players now move their units with movement points; in previous games units were moved by territory.

Prior to its release, a preliminary but completely workable version of the game engine was used in two series of TV programs: Decisive Battles by the History Channel where it was used to recreate famous historical battles, and Time Commanders by BBC Two, where teams of novice nongamers commanded ancient armies to replay key battles of antiquity. The game engine was fine tuned specifically for these television shows by military historians for maximum historical accuracy.

On September 27, 2005, an expansion to Rome was released, entitled Barbarian Invasion, which takes the action to the later period of the Roman Empire, beginning in 363, and ending in 476.

As a special offer for subscribers to their email newsletter, on June 16, 2006, Creative Assembly unveiled a second, downloadable expansion to Rome entitled Alexander; it was released to the general public on June 19, 2006. Although the game is usually only available as a download, it has since been made available on retail sale as part of compilation packages. This expansion focuses on the campaigns of Alexander the Great.

Contents 1 Gameplay 1.1 Factions 1.1.1 Roman factions 1.1.2 Barbarian factions 1.1.3 Hellenic factions 1.1.4 Carthaginian factions 1.1.5 Eastern factions 1.1.6 Miscellaneous 1.2 Family 1.2.1 Family traits on the battlefield 1.3 Agents 1.4 Mercenaries 2 Historical inaccuracy 3 Music 4 Reviews and awards 5 Demo 6 Expansions 6.1 Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion 6.2 Rome Total War: Alexander 7 Modifications (Mods) 8 See also 9 References 10 External links

The game revolves around the player who takes control of a faction of the era. One can build armies to conquer nearby provinces by besieging and capturing that province's capital. While doing so, players can build certain buildings within their cities to move up through the tech tree to train more advanced units, increase a province's income, or keep the population happy. Fleets at sea can also ferry troops, and blockade enemy ports, thus cutting down income from trade. The ultimate goal, as in previous Total War games, is to conquer 50 provinces and capture Rome from the Senate, becoming Emperor.

It is possible to be able to play all factions by a simple mod of the games files, however some may contain minor faults or bugs. Factions are described in parentheses what their playable status is by default. All civilized factions can build paved roads, but only Roman factions can build highways.

Rome includes three playable Roman factions: the Julii, the Brutii, the Scipii, and the unplayable Senate, although it can be played in the Battle of Asculum, one of the game's historical battles. The three factions start out allied to each other and the Senate, and may not attack each other, but can bribe each other's units. Each Roman faction can also view the others' map information in real time, a benefit not accorded to any other alliance. Even after the inevitable civil war, all Roman units are visible to a Roman player. However, the factions generally function independently, and a player controlling a Roman faction will rarely lend direct assistance to a Roman ally unless the player is somehow threatened.

All three factions receive missions from the Senate, which are non-compulsory. However, completing Senate missions will increase the player's standing with the Senate and reward the player with rare and exotic units such as elephants. Players in good standing with the Senate will receive progressively greater rewards for completing missions. Failure to complete missions reduces the player's standing with the Senate, and the Senate may demand that future missions are completed or else a penalty will be incurred. In extreme situations, the army of the Senate may declare war on the faction that isn't following its orders.

In addition to Senate standing, Roman factions must keep an eye on their popular standing. In general, popular standing tends to increase as a faction gains more territory; the public likes a conqueror. However, the Senate will get worried when a faction accumulates too much power. At a certain point, the Senate will request that the player's faction leader commit suicide. As with any Senate demand, the faction may accept or refuse— if it accepts, the faction leader dies and the heir becomes the new faction leader, giving the faction a few more years of Senate toleration before the demand is repeated. If the demand is refused, the Roman factions are plunged into civil war. The player may also initiate civil war once his popular standing is high enough by simply attacking another Roman faction. When playing as a non-Roman faction, the Roman civil war does not occur.

Roman armies focus on superior, well-disciplined and well-armored infantry and relatively weak cavalry, as compared to the other factions. The game simulates the reforms of Gaius Marius, which tend to take place sometime between 240 B.C. and 180 B.C. (rather than the historical time of 107 B.C.). Prior to the reforms, the army is made in the traditional hastati-principes-triarii model. After the reforms the army is made up of the famous legions, and better cavalry and ranged units are unlocked.

In addition, each of the three playable Roman factions has a different starting area, as well as regions into which they expand. Each has different temples to build as well as their own type of gladiators, which can be fielded in battle:

• The Julii start out in the northern portion of the Italian peninsula, and they focus on fighting barbarian tribes to the north, especially in Gaul. They also get Samnite gladiators, and can build temples dedicated to Ceres, Bacchus and Jupiter.

• The Brutii start out in the south of the peninsula, and they usually focus on the Greek factions to the east. They have access to Velite Gladiators, and temples for Mars, Mercury and Juno. They focus to fight the Macedons and Greeks to the east towards Anatolia.

• The Scipii begin in Sicily as well as Capua, and usually focus on fighting Carthage, Numidia and Egypt to the south. Their temples can be dedicated to Neptune, Vulcan or Saturn. They have access to Mirmillo Gladiators, and the Temple of Neptune, when upgraded, ultimately gives access to special ships, such as corvi (raven), quinqueremes and deceres.

If the Senate faction is manually unlocked and played by a human player, its role in Roman policy is ignored. Senate missions no longer exist, there are no Senate officers, and there is no Senate or popular standing. If the player attempts to go to the Senate screen, which normally tells Roman factions about these four things, the game crashes. Another thing to note is that the provinces under control of the Senate faction will never revolt, no matter how low public order is. The Senate faction requires all factions to be destroyed, including Rebels, which makes completing the campaign more difficult than other factions.

Barbarian factions have certain unique disadvantages and advantages. Unlike more "civilized" factions, they cannot build stone walls nor roads better than dirt paths, which inhibits their strategic movement. More importantly, their technology is limited to only three city levels, as opposed to five for civilized factions, thus they tend to achieve their most advanced units quickly. Though barbarian armies are naturally disorganized, barbarian soldiers are superior fighters compared to the soldiers of other factions.

• Gaul (unlockable) starts out with a very large territory mainly in modern France, northern Italy and part of Spain. The Gauls have good swordsmen and archers, but little cavalry. The Gauls also have a tendency to break alliances formed with Roman Nations, but ally with the other barbarians in the game.

• Britannia (unlockable) starts out in control of Great Britain, with a considerable foothold in the form of Belgica in mainland Europe. Its available units include chariots, frenzied swordsmen covered in intricate woad patterns, and units that hurl severed human heads covered in quicklime to demoralize enemies.

• Germania (unlockable) begins to the northeast of Gaul and the east of Britannia, in what today would be considered the Netherlands and northern Germany. Germanic forces include powerful Gothic Cavalry, strong but undisciplined infantry, including the only barbarian unit able to organize into the phalanx formation, and a few different units of axemen, who are especially effective when fighting armored units (such as Roman infantry). The Germanians can also train berserkers, which are the most powerful infantry unit in the game, after building a Sacred Circle of Donar.

• Spain (non-playable) begins on the Iberian peninsula (Spain), and represents the Iberian tribes who fought against the Gauls and Carthaginians, and later resisted Rome. They have solid infantry units, including units which throw javelins prior to a charge, and others which are similar to Carthaginian units, but they have relatively few cavalry and ranged units.

• Dacia (non-playable) relies mainly on heavy infantry, notably the superior falx-wielding troops available early on in the game. They are also the only Barbarian tribe along with the Scythians allowed to get siege weapons. They are located in eastern Europe around modern Romania.

• Scythia (non-playable) is overwhelmingly composed of horse archers. Historically, the Scythians were a small tribe by the time of the game's start, and the Sarmatians had largely taken over the steppes. Sarmatians do, however, appear in the form of heavy cavalry mercenaries. The Scythians control an extensive territory in Eastern Europe, corresponding roughly to modern Ukraine and the surrounding area.

The Hellenic factions are located mainly in the Balkan peninsula and around Anatolia and also in Ptolemaic-Egypt. Hellenic armies tend to focus on extremely strong infantry which utilize the superior phalanx formation at the expense of cavalry, other forms of infantry and sub-standard archers.

• The 'Greek Cities' (unlockable) start with a handful of colonies scattered around the Mediterranean and Aegean. Its troop selection consists of hoplites along with good ranged units (although they are within a short distance of Crete, which provides excellent archers) and relatively weak cavalry. The Greek Cities can also field Spartan Hoplites which, although expensive, are some of the best troops in the game (however, their recruitment is limited to Sparta and Syracuse).

• The armies of Macedon (non-playable) focus largely on the Macedonian phalanx and shock cavalry, including the Companion cavalry led by Alexander the Great. However, due to certain bugs with the game's handling of charging units, the Companion Cavalry is not as powerful as was originally intended to be. Macedon begins with territories in what is today FYROM and Greece.

• The Seleucid Empire's (unlockable) main force is similar to that of the Macedonians, containing the same powerful Macedonian phalangites and shock cavalry (including Companion Cavalry), with elephants. However, its armies can also contain hoplites, scythe-armed chariots, war elephants, cataphracts, and Roman-style legionaries, giving it the most diverse troop selection in the game. The Seleucid Empire encompasses a strip of territory running from the Aegean coast to Mesopotamia. However the Seleucids are sandwiched between several different factions and under AI control it is usually destroyed by a combination of Egypt, Pontus and Parthia before it can deploy its powerful late-game units. The Seleucids are challenging to play but very rewarding.

• Thrace (non-playable) is a Greco-Barbarian faction, with both Greek and Barbarian troops; they begin the game in modern Bulgaria and Romania, along the western coast of the Black Sea. Perhaps the strongest Thracian troops are Bastarnae, who wield the rhomphaia or falx, however, the Thracians also have access to powerful phalanx infantry. Like both the Greeks and Barbarians in general, Thrace has little in the way of cavalry.

• Egypt (unlockable) troops tend to be lightly armored due to the climate of the area. While historically the armies of Ptolemaic Egypt should be quite similar to those of the Greek factions (consisting mainly of phalanx troops), the Egyptian army consists primarily of large units of bowmen, spearmen and various types of chariots. In the game Egypt's location begins in today's Egypt, Israel (Iudia/Judea), Lebanon and Cyprus. When under AI control, Egypt generally destroys the Seleucid Empire and becomes the dominant power in the East.

The Carthaginian factions are found in northern Africa, led by Carthage. Their armies tend to rely on speedy, but good cavalry and various types of infantry of varying quality.

• Carthage (unlockable) has a variety of units which include a good mixture of infantry, high quality cavalry and powerful elephants, but a poor selection of ranged troops, including a notable lack of archers. They begin with territory in modern Tunisia and the surrounding area, along with colonies in southern Spain, Sicily and Sardinia. Carthage is a very rich faction. However under AI control Carthage rarely gains much territory and is usually destroyed by a Roman faction.

• Numidia (non-playable) has speedy javelin-throwing light cavalry and other javelin-based units, as well as some light spear-armed infantry and their own legionaries. Their kingdom lies west of Carthage's African lands.

The Eastern factions represent the major states of the Middle East not ruled by the Diadochi (Hellenistic successor states). Their armies tend to heavily rely on high quality cavalry, and sometimes evince some Greek influence due to Alexander's recent conquest of the area (which occurred some 50 years prior to the start of the game).

• Parthia's (unlockable) specialty lies with mounted units, such as Persian cavalry, and the horse archer. While their cavalry is extremely powerful, they have virtually no infantry of value, which can make sieges difficult. Historically the Parthians inhabited central Asia east of the Caspian Sea or more commonly Iran; in Rome, they still do, but also start with territory north of the sea. Ironically, while the introductory cutscene for Parthia emphasizes their potential for wealth, the first few turns are very difficult financially for them.

• Armenia (non-playable), like Parthia, focuses mainly on cavalry. Armenia is the only faction with cataphract archers and Eastern heavy infantry, the latter being capable of the Macedonian phalanx. They also have their own copies of Roman legionaries. Armenia, in the game, is located in the mountains of what is today Armenia, Georgia and eastern Turkey.

• Pontus' (non-playable) troops include fast-moving, javelin-armed cavalry as well as phalanx troops and chariots. In the game Pontus start location is in today's north-east Turkey.

The Rebels are a unique faction. Rebels can be informally divided into three groupings based on how they operate on the campaign map: Brigands or Pirates, Deserters or Freed Slaves, and Independent Kingdoms or Rebel Cities. Note that with cheats involved, the rebels become a playable faction.

• Brigands and Pirates will attack and rob factions for money in one or more ways; Brigands will sit on roads, blocking trade there and ambushing armies that walk by. Pirates will attempt to cut sea-trade routes and blockade ports. Brigands and Pirates will grow in strength the longer they are allowed to roam freely, and may threaten important armies or generals if not destroyed quickly.

• Deserters or Freed Slaves are troops or slaves previously belonging to a faction which abandon their homes. They tend to hide out in the countryside and do not usually rob factions for money, although this is not a rule. Freed slaves usually consist of large numbers of peasant units, along with some basic non-military or quasi-military fighting units such as gladiators or town-watchmen. Deserters tend to be more dangerous and well-organized, with many professional military units; they move in formation and are not quick to flee or back down when threatened. Sometimes, Deserters may have a Rebel General with them, a non-faction member military leader, and when one is present, Deserter armies can be larger and more dangerous than an army without, sometimes attempting to burn cities.

• Independent Kingdoms or Rebel Cities are Rebel-faction cities, and the only differences between them are their origin and their military capabilities. Independent kingdoms are independent, non-faction cities which have existed independently since the beginning of the game and have never been conquered; they usually have some very basic military units like Militia Hoplites or Town Watch, although if left unconquered, they may grow and develop a stronger military presence. Examples of Independent Kingdoms are Athens, Petra in Sinai, and Tara, a town in Hibernia (Ireland). Rebel cities, on the other hand, are cities which once were run by a faction, but which have revolted and come under their own management. The numbers and quality of the troops spawned through a revolt depends on the size of the settlement and the level of buildings present. For example, a Huge City will spawn more and better quality rebel troops than Towns or Large Towns.

• Amazon Rebels are exclusively situated in the province of Hyperboria, which, in the game, is located far to the north (in what is now Russia) and is difficult to reach due to intervening terrain. They have their own very powerful unique units, including Amazon chariots and gigantic war elephants called "Yubtseb ('bestbuy' backwards) elephants".

• The Gladiator Uprising are units independent of region/location and may appear in revolting settlements that have an Arena or above. Gladiator Uprising armies are comprised mainly of gladiator units and are noticeably more difficult to defeat in comparison with standard Rebel armies. An example of a historical gladiator uprising would be that of Spartacus.

• Jewish Fanatics are units that are created whenever Jerusalem revolts against the faction that rules it. They are good all round infantry with high morale. This, combined with the fact that Jerusalem is a large city with good defences and that they are spawned in quite considerable numbers, can make suppressing the uprising very difficult if there are no nearby armies.

• Helot Uprising are a group of slave rebels that overthrow Sparta, generally having high morale.

Each faction starts with a set of family members comprised of that faction's leader, his spouse, their children, including a faction heir, any of their spouses, and any grandchildren. Only the male members of the family are controllable once they are 16, at which point they reach adulthood and become "full" family members. They govern provinces when stationed in a city, and when fielded upon the world map, can command armies in the field, recruit available mercenaries and construct watchtowers or forts. Male family members can be added to the family by the following methods:

• The birth of a son. However as mentioned, he must reach age 16 before he becomes playable.
• Marrying one of the faction's daughters
• Adoption by one of two methods: a candidate for adoption proposed by a male faction member or the adoption of a "man of the hour", the captain of a force sent against rebel units in the field who emerges victorious. These two methods imply that the candidates have extraordinary abilities.
• Bribing an enemy general by a diplomat. If an enemy force led by a captain is bribed, it disbands unless the troops are an exact match of the same type as the faction making the bribe (e.g. a Brutii diplomat bribing a Scipii force), at which point they are added to the faction's army. But a Britannic diplomat for example, can not add a Gallic warband to the Britannic army through bribery although they are the same troop type. This is because the graphics of the two factions are different and therefore it is not an exact match.

Conversely, male family members can be lost by a family by the following methods:

• Death of old age
• Assassination
• Natural disasters
• Plague/disease
• Death in battle

The death of a female family member dying of old age is also depicted by an in-game message.

In the absence of generals commanding field armies, captains are the commanders by default. Admirals fulfill a similar function for fleets. Neither are family members, but appear in the list of forces when displayed.

Family members can acquire traits depending on their actions in battle or when governing a city. These can have positive and negative effects on their command, management, and influence statistics, as well as their command performance and how a province they govern operates. They can also acquire ancillaries by the same actions. These are members of a general's retinue who can number up to eight. They can be traded between one family member to another when they are in the same army or city.

A family member's traits can also be seen on the battlefield (more hit points, more valour etc.), you can see some traits through the speeches that generals give before a battle. The speeches can also show the faction a general belongs to, Roman generals tend to give the player more battle advice, barbarian generals tend to emphasize the importance of slaughter. Here are some of the speeches:

• Today is a good day to die! Today is a great day to meet the Gods! So let us send the enemy screaming to meet their Gods today!
• Victory is near at hand! If all do their duty, it will be OUR victory! Bend your backs to your tasks, and all will be well!
• We go now to our bloody business.
• And remember this above all: our Roman Gods are watching! Make sure they are not ashamed!
• Today the carrion birds feast! But they shall feast on the flesh of our enemies; not on good, Roman flesh!"
• I want to see blood! I want to BATHE in their blood! I want to bathe in their blood for a week! Now, KILL THEM ALL! (from "bloody" or "bloodthirsty" Roman generals)
• And for any man of you who comes through this battle mostly unharmed, you shall be my sister, and there shall be free frocks and jollies for all time, you'll see! (from a "dangerously mad" Roman general)
• I do not fight with a cool head today, I admit it. My eyes see only a red mist. I do not want them to run from battle, I want their heads on our pikes by evening! (from a Roman general with "angry")
• They have been led here by mewling infants instead of leaders, now they will pay the price! (if the enemy general is incompetent or there is no general)
• How terrible it must be to face us; the sons of the wolf and the bear! Even now fear works in the bowels of our foes!(From Barbaric Generals, especially Germanic)

There are three available agents that can be used by factions: spies, diplomats, and assassins. Agents also acquire traits and specific ancillaries, which can be traded amongst them only. They can independently cross over into other territories (neutral and hostile alike) without triggering a transgression message that happens when an army attempts to do the same. They can also be attached to an army, at which point they travel with the army until detached to operate independently.

• Spies can be recruited once a city has reached a level 2 trade structure. The spy's role is to gather intelligence on the composition of field armies and to infiltrate cities and determine what buildings it has and what forces are garrisoned there. They can be killed when attempting to infiltrate a city, by being discovered after they have infiltrated unless they escape, or by an assassin. They also serve in a counter-espionage role when either in a city or attached to an army that the faction controls. This improves public security, which helps detect other spies. There is a spy in the field at the start of the game.

• A diplomat can be recruited once a city reaches a level 2 government. The diplomat makes treaties with other factions regarding trade rights, map information, and alliances. They can also present peace offers, make demands and bribe enemy armies, cities or other diplomats. Diplomats can negotiate with cities and any field army. There is a diplomat in the field at the start of the game.

• Assassins can be recruited once a city is built up to a certain point that it has a level 3 trade structure. They can assassinate enemy commanders and agents and sabotage buildings in enemy cities. They can be killed when attempting to infiltrate a city or if discovered by their target's bodyguards. They are the only agent not in the field at the start of the game.

On the campaign map, generals (family members, not captains) can hire mercenaries for a certain amount of gold when the option becomes available. Infantry, cavalry, and missile troop types can be hired. Mercenaries cannot be trained by any faction and can only be hired in certain regions; for example, Samnite mercenaries can only be hired in Italian provinces. They are usually suited for the local terrain that they are hired in and can be used for various purposes, such as augmenting an army's strength, sustaining a campaign, or garrisoning a settlement. All mercenaries have their own frequencies which affect how often they appear to be hired, and some are more geographically distributed across more than one region than others. Although mercenaries can be used for many different purposes and allow a flexible management of an army, they do have their disadvantages. Mercenaries cannot be retrained other than improving their weapons and armor. Thus their losses cannot be replenished although they may gain experience. Settlements assaulted by mercenaries also receive less cash than usual as they always take a share of the plunder. If a general hires mercenaries frequently, he acquires the mercenary captain ancillary.

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• The three playable Roman factions are named after three of the most notable Roman figures, Gaius Julius Caesar, Marcus Junius Brutus, and Publius Cornelius Scipio Africanus. There were no "Scipii" or "Brutii" families. Both were cognomina - a third name that labeled one as a member of a specific family within a larger clan. The family of Marcus Junius Brutus would have been the "Junii", while Scipio Africanus would have belonged to the "Cornelii." (NOTE: Sometimes a family had also been named after the cognomen of a famous family member. For example, the form "Scipiadae" would be plausible (cf. Vergilius Aeneis VI. 843). This stratification into specific families is difficult, however, since during the Republic there were so few noble Roman families, and they were constantly intermarrying. See Roman Naming Convention for more information.

• The three-faction Roman system in the game is entirely ahistorical. In fact, the Roman Republic was ruled exclusively by the Senate, which had substantially more power than is reflected in the game, and the various assemblies. Individual families might rule small provinces, but expansions to the empire would have been assigned to new governors, not left to the generals who conquered them. Generals, too, were selected by the Senate and assemblies, and the roles of governorship and generalship were not as conflated as they are in the game. There were cases where influential politicians such as Julius Caesar could quite possibly serve as both generals and governors, but they would only occur during the later Republic.

• The primary reason for the three-faction system is to simulate the civil war that ultimately resulted in the end of the Roman Republic. Furthermore, while the Julii may in some ways be said to be Imperialists because Julius Caesar became the first dictator perpetuus, the precursor to the modern understanding of Roman Emperor, Brutus was thoroughly Republican and is in fact famous for having killed Julius Caesar after he was granted absolute power through the office of dictator perpetuus by the Senate; and theoretically speaking, the family of Brutus would not have imperial ambitions anyway.

• In addition, although perhaps more trivially, the names are declined incorrectly. While the plural of Julius is indeed Julii, the plural of Brutus is Bruti, not Brutii. Likewise, the plural of Scipio is Scipiones, instead of Scipii. Latin words are, in general, wholly or partially Anglicized in pronunciation; velites (Classical Latin /weːliteːs/) is pronounced /vɛlɪtes/ instead of the expected /vɛlɪtiz/ (compare the ending sounds of the English word indices). Similarly, the C in principes is pronounced as a hard [k] as in Classical Latin instead of the [s] expected for English. See Latin declension and Latin pronunciation.

• As for the Hellenic factions in diplomacy, if they accept an unreasonable offer, they are reported to say "it may shame a Helot". In fact the only faction that have a connection with these Helots are the Greek Cities, because the Spartans enslaved Messenia and its inhabitants, the Helots. So other Hellenic factions such as Macedon, Thrace, the Seleucid Empire should not speak of these Helots, but perhaps of other minorities in their own respective realms.

• One of the key events of the game for the Roman factions is the Marian Reforms, instigated by Gaius Marius. Although the events and details of the reforms are not themselves inaccurate, the reforms do not usually occur in 107 B.C., as in history, but instead often occur over 100 years earlier, as the date of the reforms is not hard-coded in the game, but is instead dependent upon other factors. Note that if the reforms occurred at 107 B.C. in game, it would leave a relatively small amount of game-time to actually take advantage of the new troops, before the game ends in 14 A.D. In reality, the reforms changed the structuring of the Roman army, and the land qualifications required to sign up. Within the game, the reforms unlock the more elite troops of the Roman factions, for example the Legionary Cohorts and Urban Cohorts. The post-reform troops are also portrayed as wearing much more armor than troops of the era actually wore.

• Some of the units are ahistorical as well. For example, the Urban Cohorts are depicted as the highest elite of the Roman Army, but in fact were a combined fire brigade and night watch. Besides that, the urban cohorts were almost never deployed on the battlefield and if they were, they were only of honorary significance. The arcani, portrayed as in the game as heavily armoured pseudo-ninjas, are probably based on a group of agents provocateurs and spies known as areani in Roman Britain hundreds of years after the game takes place.

• The Romans are not the only factions with ahistorical units. Druids, like those used in-game by the Barbarians, were in fact excused from military service in Celtic culture, being vital to the operation of organized village life.^[2] A totally invented unit is the British Head Hurlers, who hurl decapitated heads coated in quicklime. Severed heads were a valuable trophy in Celtic culture, and would never have been used as ammunition. The phalanx formation which the Germans employ in the game is also ahistorical, since Roman authors are emphatic that the only military formation employed by the Germani was the wedge, and the idea of pikes as Germanic weapons is contradicted by archeology as well as Tacitus (Germania Ch.6). The huge armored war elephants with howdahs, although perhaps the most spectacular unit in the game, were never used by Carthage; historic sources and depictions on coins all document small (perhaps 2.5 m/8.35 ft at the shoulder) North African Elephants with only a mahout.

• The Egyptian military and culture is heavily influenced by the ancient Egypt of the New Kingdom than that of the Ptolemaic Egypt. Culture would have been of a Greek style with soldiers being identical to those of the other Diadochi and Macedonia.

• Some units, such as wardogs and flaming pigs, were used on rare occasions, but not to the extent with which they can be used within the game. Also, Berserkers were not around during the time setting of the game. Berserkers were only used by the Vikings during the Viking Age.

• Further the Macedonian "Royal Pikemen" are depicted wearing a shield with a lambda upon it. In fact the Spartans wore the lambda on their shield as it stands for the region Laconia where they came from. The Macedonian faction emblem also has a lambda upon it.

• As for character names, some Roman characters (including captains) are named Augustus. In fact this title as a cognomen was first held by Caesar Augustus and the following emperors, but it did not actually represent any sort of constitutional office until the 3rd century under Diocletian. Besides, the title surely wasn't held by any lesser men such as regular family members and military officers.

• Some settlements on the steppes are named after the tribe that lived there, for example Tribus Getae, are wrongly entitled with "Tribus". This word is the etymon of the word tribunus, which has the meaning of a tribune, and was a title shared by 2–3 elected magistracies and other governmental and/or (para)military offices of the Roman Republic and Empire. They represented certain groups of the Empire, such as the people (tribunus plebis) and the military (tribunes militium). If the Romans wanted to label a settlement according to the tribe living there, they would do so by using genus. The same for settlements labeled with locus, meaning place in Latin.

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The original music soundtrack for the game was composed by Jeff van Dyck, who received a BAFTA (British Academy) Interactive Awards nomination for his work. His wife Angela van Dyck features in some of the vocals; Angela also wrote the lyrics for the song Divinitus, which lyrics are in Latin. The game's most notable collaboration between Jeff and Angela van Dyck is the song Forever, which plays while the game's credits are rolling. Forever was originally meant to be the game's main menu song.

Rome: Total War has been critically acclaimed by many reviewers and is generally regarded as one of the best strategy games of 2004, winning numerous awards and high scores from gaming websites and magazines alike.

• PC Gamer (UK): All time 5th best PC game "95%"
• IGN: Editor's Choice Award, 4th Best PC Game of all Time.^[3]
• PC Gamer (US): Editor's Choice, Best Strategy Game of 2004
• GameSpot: Editor's Choice, Strategy Game of 2004
• Adrenaline Vault: Seal of Excellence
• GameSpy: Editor's Choice
• E3 2003 Game Critics Awards: Best Strategy Game
• X-Play: 5 out of 5
• PC Powerplay: 95%

A demo of the game was released on August 23, 2004 and is freely available for downloading. It features a playable version of the Battle of the Trebia, with the player taking the role of Hannibal.

Main article: Rome Total War: Barbarian Invasion

Barbarian Invasion was the first expansion pack for Rome Total War. It was released on Sep 30, 2005. It allowed the player to take part in the fall of the Roman Empire, and the events which came after it. There were also a lot of new features in the game such as general loyalty, religion, hordes, and sacking cities. It was also commended for the fact that it did not have any unlockable factions, all the playable factions were available from the start.

Main article: Rome Total War: Alexander

The Alexander expansion puts the player in the role of Alexander the Great and replays his conquests and battles.

There have been many mods made for Rome Total War. Some of them which edit the skins, units and campaign of the game to make it more realistic.^{[citation needed]} Others Move the game's focus to a different time and place.

Darth Mod: Brings a new level of strategic challenges with an improved AI competitive behavior, especially in the battlefield.

Europa Barbarorum: Designed to be a definitive, historically accurate, full conversion of Rome: Total War.

Extended Greek Mod: Designed to give the Greeks more depth.

The Fourth Age: Total War: Based on the works of J.R.R. Tolkien, the mod aims to recreate Middle-earth on the Total War engine.

Napoleonic: Total War: A Full conversion of Rome: Total War to the Napoleonic era.

Rise of Persia: Based on the rise of the Achaemenid Empire, the map covers Italy to Southern India

Roma Surrectum: Full conversion of Rome: Total War featuring 35 legions and geat gameplay

Rome: Total Realism: Mod aiming to make Rome: Total War more realistic

SPQR: Total War: is a total modification for RTW. The changes encompass all areas of gameplay with added focus on the Roman military machine and the system of recruitment and training of both pre-Marian units and Legions. Special care has been given to the battlefield experience which features the longest battle times of probably any existing mod making tactics an essential component of the game. Definitely not for people accustomed to blitzkrieg tactics both on the battle map and the campaign map.

Troy: Total War: Based on the Trojan era of Greek history. Includes both historical fact and mythical fiction.

Warhammer: Total War: A mod based on the popular Warhammer game. It currently has no campaign maps and does not feature Lord of the Rings Warhammer or Warhammer 40000. First released on 1st of December 2007

• List of factions in Total War games

Official

• Official website
• Official forum

Other

• Rome: Total War at the Open Directory Project
• Rome: Total War forum
• Several Rome: Total War music files from Jeff van Dyck's official site
• Strategic Command Center: Rome: Total War Strategies, Mods and Forums

Total War video games v • d • e
Medieval: Total War series:	Medieval: Total War (Viking Invasion)  • Medieval II: Total War (Kingdoms)
Rome: Total War series:	Rome: Total War (Barbarian Invasion • Alexander)
Shogun: Total War series:	Shogun: Total War (Mongol Invasion)
Empire: Total War series:	Empire: Total War
Other:	Spartan:Total Warrior • Viking: Battle for Asgard