# Rome: Total War
**Rome: Total War** is a 2004 strategy game by the British developer The Creative Assembly that combines a turn-based imperial campaign with large-scale 3D real-time battles. It is the third game in the Total War series, set during the late [Roman Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-republic) and the early Roman Empire across Europe, North Africa, and the [Near East](https://www.edgepedia.org/near-east), and it was published by [Activision](https://www.edgepedia.org/activision) in the fall of 2004.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) • [2](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/About_Rome%3A_Total_War.html)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Developer / publisher | The Creative Assembly (England); Activision, fall 2004[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) |
| Series position | Third Total War game, after Shogun: Total War and Medieval: Total War[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) |
| Setting | Late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire; Europe, North Africa, and the Near East[2](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/About_Rome%3A_Total_War.html) |
| Core structure | Turn-based campaign map plus a new 3D real-time battle engine rendering thousands of soldiers[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) |
| Turn length | Each turn represents 6 months, so battles occur in winter as well as summer[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) |
| Starting factions | Three Roman houses, the Brutii, Julii, and Scipii, until a victorious campaign unlocks others[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) |
| Reception | Metascore of 92 on Metacritic from 58 critic reviews, all positive[4](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rome-total-war/critic-reviews/) |
| Remaster | Total War: ROME REMASTERED, released April 29, 2021, with 38 playable factions and cross-platform multiplayer[5](https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED?l=english) |
## Gameplay
The game has two connected layers. The turn-based campaign is used to conquer cities and provinces, construct improvements, manage settlements, and move armies across a strategic map as the empire expands.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) When armies meet, the battle can be resolved automatically or fought in real time on a 3D battlefield, where the player sets formations before the fight and then commands maneuvers such as flanking, ambushes, phalanxes, and cavalry charges.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) • [6](https://sietch.net/Downloads/The_History_of_Real_Time_Strategy.pdf)
The campaign and battle maps are integrated: environmental features present at a battle's location on the campaign map, such as snowy mountains, appear in the battle itself and can be used for military advantage.[2](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/About_Rome%3A_Total_War.html) Weather matters tactically. Cavalry-based armies fare better in snow than infantry, and bad weather adversely affects archers, so waiting for poor conditions before attacking can be worthwhile.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/)
Each turn represents six months rather than the year of earlier Total War games, which allows winter campaigning.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) A full campaign, in which the player must control 50 regions and conquer or outlast the [SPQR](https://www.edgepedia.org/spqr), takes roughly 30 to 40 hours depending on difficulty.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) The diplomacy system offers a wide range of deals, for example offering 100 denarii for trade rights or demanding 1,000 denarii in exchange for attacking a faction's enemy.[6](https://sietch.net/Downloads/The_History_of_Real_Time_Strategy.pdf)
**Factions and units.** The game features more than 100 types of soldiers from 20 factions, all based on real warriors.[7](https://www.wired.com/2004/05/rome-first-a-game-now-on-tv/) New players are restricted to the three Roman houses, the Brutii, Julii, and Scipii, until they complete a victorious campaign; Roman troops are professional, resilient, and have the best discipline of any faction, so the restriction doubles as a training ground.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) A compulsory tutorial campaign precedes the main Imperial campaign and introduces the strategic and tactical systems gradually.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/)
**Sieges and historical battles.** Siege battles are the standout tactical sequences, with siege weaponry, sapping under walls, the [testudo formation](https://www.edgepedia.org/testudo-formation), and fire arrows from defenders, in battles that can involve ten thousand men or more.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) Standalone historical battles include the Battle of Teutoburg Forest, the Siege of Sparta, and the [Battle of Carrhae](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-carrhae).[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) • [6](https://sietch.net/Downloads/The_History_of_Real_Time_Strategy.pdf)
## Reception
Rome: Total War received universal critical acclaim, with a Metacritic metascore of 92 based on 58 positive critic reviews and no mixed or negative ones.[4](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rome-total-war/critic-reviews/) GameSpot's review called it "the very definition of an epic strategy game" and the best in the series to that point, crediting a new 3D graphics engine that made battles featuring thousands of soldiers better than ever.[1](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/) VideoGamer's review scored it 9/10, praising its accessibility, large-scale battles with tactical depth, and presentation, while criticizing jarring voiceovers and repetitive general speeches.[3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/) Later retrospectives note persistent weaknesses in the series' formula that Rome shares, including weak or inconsistent AI, technical glitches, and underwhelming naval combat.[8](https://www.ratemygame.co.uk/game/rome-total-war)
## Television and cultural use
The game's engine was used outside gaming before the title even shipped. The [History Channel](https://www.edgepedia.org/history-channel)'s *Decisive Battles*, a 13-episode, half-hour series debuting July 17, 2004, used Rome: Total War to visually re-create key confrontations in Roman history, with all footage created in the game's battle editor and choreographed to match the historical events.[7](https://www.wired.com/2004/05/rome-first-a-game-now-on-tv/) In one episode the engine depicted the [Battle of Cannae](https://www.edgepedia.org/battle-of-cannae), showing how Hannibal's crescent-shaped formation trapped and destroyed a larger [Roman army](https://www.edgepedia.org/roman-army) through double envelopment.[7](https://www.wired.com/2004/05/rome-first-a-game-now-on-tv/) The Creative Assembly also lent its technology to the BBC series *Time Commanders*.[7](https://www.wired.com/2004/05/rome-first-a-game-now-on-tv/) • [3](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/)
## Legacy, remaster, and ports
Rome: Total War shaped the series that followed. Medieval 2 arrived quickly after 2004's Rome, in 2006, and the core Total War mechanics have seen only iterative changes since Rome's release rather than significant redesign.[9](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/the-25-year-history-of-total-war-from-an-experimental-side-project-made-between-ps1-sports-games-to-medieval-3-now-more-than-ever-we-are-focusing-our-technology-on-the-future-of-total-war/) • [10](https://www.pocketgamer.com/rome-total-war/review/) The game also sustained a large modding community, with projects such as Europa Barbarorum, which reworks the game toward the barbarian invasions with considerable levels of historicity, and Iberia: Total War, based on the conquest of Hispania; the community was large enough that a dedicated forum, Total War Center, formed around the series.[11](https://repositori.udl.cat/server/api/core/bitstreams/eba3ef7e-9570-4049-8105-337fccd94e7d/content) Warhammer mods for Rome and Medieval 2 later helped demonstrate the audience for the [Total War: Warhammer](https://www.edgepedia.org/total-war-warhammer) series.[12](https://www.pcgamer.com/best-warhammer-games-every-warhammer-game-ranked/)
**Total War: ROME REMASTERED**, developed by [Creative Assembly](https://www.edgepedia.org/creative-assembly) with Feral Interactive, was released on April 29, 2021 for Windows, macOS, and Linux.[5](https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED?l=english) The remaster adds 4K optimization, ultra-widescreen support, high-resolution models, updated weather and lighting effects, an overhauled UI, modernized battle controls, and a new Merchant agent; it unlocks the armies of 16 previously locked factions for a total of 38 playable factions, and introduces cross-platform multiplayer between Windows, macOS, and Linux, a first for the series.[13](https://www.feralinteractive.com/en/games/rometwremastered/linux-mac/) • [5](https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED?l=english) The game has also been ported to iPad and mobile platforms, where the campaign and real-time battles carry over with touch controls.[10](https://www.pocketgamer.com/rome-total-war/review/)
## References
1. [Rome: Total War Review, GameSpot (Jason Ocampo, September 23, 2004)](https://www.gamespot.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/1900-6108207/)
2. [About Rome: Total War, Total War Wiki](https://wiki.totalwar.com/w/About_Rome%3A_Total_War.html)
3. [Rome: Total War Review, VideoGamer (Andrew Kirkcaldy)](https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/rome-total-war-review/)
4. [Rome: Total War critic reviews, Metacritic](https://www.metacritic.com/game/rome-total-war/critic-reviews/)
5. [Total War: ROME REMASTERED on Steam](https://store.steampowered.com/app/885970/Total_War_ROME_REMASTERED?l=english)
6. [The History of Real Time Strategy (PDF)](https://sietch.net/Downloads/The_History_of_Real_Time_Strategy.pdf)
7. [Rome: First a Game, Now on TV, WIRED (May 17, 2004)](https://www.wired.com/2004/05/rome-first-a-game-now-on-tv/)
8. [Rome: Total War Reviews, Score, Pros & Cons, RateMyGame](https://www.ratemygame.co.uk/game/rome-total-war)
9. [The 25-year history of Total War, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/games/strategy/the-25-year-history-of-total-war-from-an-experimental-side-project-made-between-ps1-sports-games-to-medieval-3-now-more-than-ever-we-are-focusing-our-technology-on-the-future-of-total-war/)
10. [Rome: Total War review - A legion inside your iPad, Pocket Gamer](https://www.pocketgamer.com/rome-total-war/review/)
11. [Imago (Universitat de Lleida repository, on Total War modding)](https://repositori.udl.cat/server/api/core/bitstreams/eba3ef7e-9570-4049-8105-337fccd94e7d/content)
12. [Every Warhammer Fantasy game, ranked, PC Gamer](https://www.pcgamer.com/best-warhammer-games-every-warhammer-game-ranked/)
13. [Total War: ROME REMASTERED, Feral Interactive](https://www.feralinteractive.com/en/games/rometwremastered/linux-mac/)
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