Total War: ROME II - Emperor Edition

How should i put this?? Total war rome II is worse for the severely autistic military history nerds, than crack or cocaine, in an amazing way; its suprinsingly hard to get bored of playing this 2013 game for some reason, especially with the content the dlcs unlock. It will take you a frankly stupid amount of time to experience everything the game has to offer, from ever factions perspective; no two saves are the same—never ever. The game itself is probably the gateway drug to autistic ancient military games, but playing it there is never an unfun moment, especially considering that it has workshop suport. IF you do try this game out, DEI (devide et impera) is a must have after the first 100 hours of getting to know the mechanics of the base game; the mod itself is probably the most comprehensive and detailed mod i have ever see; and i think it would be safe to call it total war Rome 3—an absolute must have. Due to the fact that singleplayer battles can be paused at any moment, and or slowed down, makes total war rome 2, the perfect intro to tactics and battle strategy. I would vividly recommend this magnum opus of a game, to every person who has a bonner for ancient military history.

I bought this almost on day 1 and it was a rough release with rocky updates. It was fixed eventually and it's a great Total War 10+ years later with so much replay value with all the high quality mods around.

Fun Roman era based game lots of epic battles to be had really recommend this game

game crashes frequently, cant use multiplayer, random buggs of not loading in map (i have a good graphics card, so its weird, even though it should run it it crashes)

What the hell is going on with the game's optimization? My PC is much better now, but the performance has gotten a lot worse. Run the benchmark at max settings and see for yourself.

About to win the Battle of Teutoburg Forest on legendary difficulty, then a cutscene starts and everything except the hud turns black. No way to fix. 12 year old game that costs a fortune yet so many critical technical issues remains unfixed. Practically a scam.

Tragically this game is no longer playable for me. There is a new bug from sometime in the past year that means that for anything other than offline custom battles my game will freeze when a battle loads. This makes campaigns pretty lame, and multiplayer no longer a thing that exists for me. There is a work around, but it requires me to close the game, delete some files, and then relaunch, a 5 minute process, for every battle, and even then if it doesn't work I have to hold down the power button on PC, not even command line can taskkill Rome2 when this bug occours. Truly a shame as this was by far my favourite modern Total War.

In the grand theater of historical strategy games, few names carry as much weight as Total War: ROME II. When it launched in 2013, it was a staggering mess of bugs, odd AI, and broken promises. But like the empire it portrays, it clawed its way back from near-collapse. And with the Emperor Edition, ROME II isn’t just improved—it’s finally worthy of the name it bears. Set during one of the most turbulent and storied periods of antiquity, ROME II puts you at the helm of an ancient empire (or aspiring one) and asks a simple question: how will you dominate the known world? With the Emperor Edition, the game’s massive Grand Campaign is more refined than ever. Politics, diplomacy, and internal faction struggles now feel like genuine challenges, not half-baked systems. Your Senate might betray you. Your generals may gain too much power. Your allies can turn on a dime. This isn’t just a war game—it’s a simulation of the chaos of rule. The inclusion of the Imperator Augustus Campaign is also a standout addition, offering a more focused narrative set during the Roman civil war following Julius Caesar’s assassination. It’s a tense, multi-front struggle filled with betrayal, ambition, and Augustus’s rise to power—a brilliant alternative for players craving historical drama. Visually, ROME II still holds up remarkably well, especially when zoomed out to admire clashing phalanxes or cavalry breaking through crumbling lines. Sieges are dramatic, naval engagements are massive, and unit diversity across cultures—from Roman legions to Egyptian chariots—is impressive. However, the AI remains a weak point, especially in real-time battles. Enemy units can still behave oddly—sending troops piecemeal into your lines, getting stuck, or failing to defend walls properly. It’s better than launch-day chaos, but not quite the gold standard. That said, the sheer scale and spectacle of Total War battles still create unforgettable moments. Watching a disciplined Roman cohort hold a bridge against barbarian hordes? Goosebumps. Every time. One of ROME II’s most underappreciated strengths is its province system, which emphasizes regional control, infrastructure, and resource specialization. Each province offers trade-offs: more money or public order? Culture or conquest? You don’t just expand—you manage, and the Emperor Edition improves that balance with smoother UI, better diplomacy, and more sensible economic progression. The reworked politics system in the Emperor Edition adds meaningful stakes to your internal affairs. Civil wars can erupt if you ignore your rivals, and choosing between ruthless domination or political finesse affects your long-term survival. It’s a slow burn, but a satisfying one. The Emperor Edition wasn't just a patch—it was a full-blown reimagining of a game nearly broken at launch. With overhauled systems, free DLC content, new campaign maps, and an improved tutorial, it transformed ROME II from a cautionary tale into one of the most complete experiences in the Total War catalog. It's still not flawless. Naval combat remains clunky. Diplomacy can feel arbitrary. And modern Total War games (Three Kingdoms, Pharaoh, Attila) offer some deeper mechanics. But ROME II delivers something few others do: the feeling of commanding history itself. Total War: ROME II – Emperor Edition is a prime example of a redemption arc done right. Once ridiculed for its failures, it’s now remembered—rightfully—as a deep, cinematic, and rewarding strategy game with staying power. If you’ve never played it, or only remember its buggy beginnings, now is the time to return to the Republic—or crush it beneath your boot. Pros: -Massive and historically rich campaign map -Engaging internal politics and province management -Epic-scale battles with cinematic flair -Loads of factions, cultures, and playstyles -Emperor Edition fixes and adds significant content Cons: -AI can still be frustratingly dumb in battle -Naval combat lacks polish -Diplomacy lacks nuance compared to modern titles -Some legacy clunkiness in UI and animations ROME II – Emperor Edition isn’t perfect, but it is grand. It delivers the fantasy of ruling the ancient world—and the burden of maintaining it. For armchair emperors, it remains one of the most ambitious strategy games ever made. Rating: 8/10

This game is actually madd fun to play, not only in single player but also multi player. would 100 percent recommend this to people who loves BC and AD history.

---{ Graphics }--- ☐ You forget what reality is ☐ Beautiful ☑ Good ☐ Decent ☐ Bad ☐ Don‘t look too long at it ☐ MS-DOS ---{ Gameplay }--- ☑ Very good ☐ Good ☐ It's just gameplay ☐ Mehh ☐ Watch paint dry instead ☐ Just don't ---{ Audio }--- ☐ Eargasm ☐ Very good ☑ Good ☐ Not too bad ☐ Bad ☐ I'm now deaf ---{ Audience }--- ☐ Kids ☑ Teens ☑ Adults ☐ Grandma ---{ PC Requirements }--- ☐ Check if you can run paint ☐ Potato ☐ Decent ☑ Fast ☐ Rich boi ☐ Ask NASA if they have a spare computer ---{ Game Size }--- ☐ Floppy Disk ☐ Old Fashioned ☐ Workable ☐ Big ☑ Will eat 15% of your 1TB hard drive ☐ You will want an entire hard drive to hold it ☐ You will need to invest in a black hole to hold all the data ---{ Difficulty }--- ☐ Just press 'W' ☐ Easy ☑ Easy to learn / Hard to master ☐ Significant brain usage ☐ Difficult ☐ Dark Souls ---{ Grind }--- ☐ Nothing to grind ☐ Only if u care about leaderboards/ranks ☐ Isn't necessary to progress ☑ Average grind level ☐ Too much grind ☐ You'll need a second life for grinding ---{ Story }--- ☐ No Story ☑ Some lore ☐ Average ☐ Good ☐ Lovely ☐ It'll replace your life ---{ Game Time }--- ☐ Long enough for a cup of coffee ☐ Short ☐ Average ☑ Long ☐ To infinity and beyond ---{ Price }--- ☐ It's free! ☐ Worth the price ☑ If it's on sale ☐ If u have some spare money left ☐ Not recommended ☐ You could also just burn your money ---{ Bugs }--- ☐ Never heard of ☑ Minor bugs ☐ Can get annoying ☐ ARK: Survival Evolved ☐ The game itself is a big terrarium for bugs ---{ ? / 10 }--- ☐ 1 ☐ 2 ☐ 3 ☐ 4 ☐ 5 ☐ 6 ☐ 7 ☐ 8 ☐ 9 ☑ 10

Love the Total War series as a whole, but I can't recommend this game after getting soft locked out of a campaign after playing it for about 20 hours. That and you basically have to buy a ton of DLC to play the game, only a few good factions to actually play in the base game, only buy on gigantic discount and realize you might lose your progress at any point just because the game doesnt want to work.

good gameplay. good units. good Campaigh. good combat. good AI. good mods. good everything. very good game. overall? very good.

Total war. Amazing. Could always complain. There's always something that could be made better. A tweak, some change... And it wold all be "My opinion"based on a brilliant group of minds that came together. To bring into existence a masterpiece that our childhoods didn't know it desired. I applaud you SEGA/CA. Thank you.

As much as i want to like this game it is what killed the studio, soulless husk that is only interesting untill mid-game. Boring mind-numbingly repetitive gameplay after you become powerful enough to steamroll everyone late game, the campaign is ridiculously long for some reason with objectives requiring you to conquer some bum-fuck region on the other end of the map. Real time battles are okay but not as good as shogun 2 where total war peaked and then fell off a cliff with this and all the other dlc-peddling slop they shat out. Its ok on sale and the campaign with a friend is pretty fun but that goes for most things. Do not buy the dlc, its not worth it, aside from the campaign ones which are kinda cool (at least the ones ive played like Rise of the republic, hanibal at the gates, caesar in gaul etc.)

game's broken and constantly crashes

When I listen to an ancient history podcast I always come back for a campaign. Its a classic.

been playing this and other total war games for years. now none of the them will launch. steam and the game maker were no help and told me to kick rocks. hundreds of dollars down the drain

ours Played: 590 Recommended: As strongly as Caesar ignored the Senate I’ve spent 590 hours conquering the known world, and I still can’t pronounce “Epirus” with confidence. Rome II is the game where you start out dreaming of empire—and end up rage-declaring war on Syracuse because they wouldn’t trade fish. I’ve: Let my best general die to rebels because I forgot winter existed. Bankrupted my economy to build aqueducts no one asked for. Invaded Egypt just because the campaign map looked too neat. Been betrayed so many times by Carthage I now hold personal grudges against Tunisia. 48/188 achievements unlocked, and every one of them was earned with blood, sweat, and questionable diplomacy. Sure, the game launched rougher than a barbarian’s bath towel, but now it’s smoother than a Gaul’s freshly razed village. And don’t let the "Emperor Edition" name fool you—this game doesn’t hand you an empire. You’ll crawl across it, burn it down, then annex it in the name of glory... or because you misclicked. 10/10. Would wage 400-turn civil war again just to hear the narrator say “This is a time of great strife…” one more time.

it is good game do wish it like already had greek hoplites like spartan one buts still elite very diffrent because im used to muskets but im learning day by day

was enjoying it, but hten it becomes unplayable after time, games just freeze trying to load in a battle, basically on my campaign im now forced to start over as it wont allow me to engage the enmy as the battle freeze the game upon trying to start it otherwise a great game but has many unfixed issues

While disastrous at launch, its one of the best total war games in my opinion, it is really good, best if you get it on a sale

This game is super amazing but on modern PC's it crashes ALL THE TIME. FIX THE DAMN GAME AND I'LL GIVE IT 10/10

one of my favorite total war games. campaign is fun and enjoyable. battles play smooth and graphics look lovely.

Amazing game even 12 years later. Highly recommend downloading the divide et impera (DEI) mod. It adds a ton of historic unit types, realistic logistics and recruitment systems that create a much more immsersive and strategic experience. Highly recommended

Of all the modern Total War games, this one and Shogun 2 are the best. Eagerly waiting for Medieval 3 and Empire 2...

I would say this is in the top 5 games total has made over the years, how big the map is, skill tree is easy to navigate and structured well, characters are great; 10/10

Absolutely incredible, massacring barbarians never gets old.

if your looking at this game to play in 2025, you probably already know what your getting into. It's a Classic. To me, its one of the greatest Strategy PC games of all time. No magic or fantasy settings, but it's got the political and settlement building that makes you question every choice you make. especially on higher difficulty. after all these years, its still a very enjoyable Map conquering good time!

I know the game was the worst at launch, but its super good with mods in 2025

First RTS game I have played, unless you consider Mount and Blade RTS, and it has been fun. The gameplay is interesting, looks very nice for such an old game, and the tutorial wasn't mind-numbingly boring. I just wish the game explained a bit more about the economics of provinces and such. Diplomacy and management are a bit too simplistic for me, but it isn't too important. The most important thing for me was the combat, which I enjoy. Multiple types of units, like light and heavy infantry, all with unique advantages and vulnerabilities, with even more unique differences between nations' soldiers of each type. Makes combat interesting and gives a lot of agency to the player, so battles that should be unwinnable can be won, unless you autoresolve, of course.

favorite game, its what got me into history and whatnot, and into other total war games, some things are lacking, but still love the game, so many mods, I hate tylis campaign,

Really great game for those deeply invested in the Total War genre or strategy games as a whole. I remember recently getting my first Total War game (Rome: Total War) on my tablet when they made it mobile and it was quite fun. Strategy was easier too from my view without having to move your mouse up or side by side to see other parts of the battlefield. There are a multiple amount of nations to play as with mostly separate and unique unit rosters, cultures, characters, etc. It's a full overhaul of Rome I & II from what I can say, and especially with new cities/towns scattered along the map with an extended eastern map in Mesopotamia, Arabia, and Iran. If you really like ancient strategy games I suggest you get this one!

It is one of the most beautiful and enjoyable strategy games that encourages you to play it again and again, and it has amazing music.

Different from Shogun 2 and Medieval 2 and definetely needs DEI mod for it to be fun but it's a really fun game

Total War: Rome II is, without a doubt, one of the most captivating strategy games I’ve ever played. My 122 hours on Steam are just a fraction of the time I’ve poured into this masterpiece. For me, Rome II isn’t just a game—it’s a nostalgic journey. I grew up with it long before Steam, spending countless hours conquering empires and rewriting history.

Sent a screenshot of the game to someone, system crashed, printed morse code and died. 10/10

great game wish sparta wasnt pay to play but other than that great

The is really fun and I have always enjoyed multiplayer. Some of the maps are designed great and detailed. Definitely recommend this game.

Good game but it's old so you might need to work through some bugs.

Great game. You can make it pretty challenging, and there is a lot to master. As you get better, you can start with challenged factions with weaker and limited types of units. Great game, really superb. The changes and DLC are improvements keeping it's original fun!

good game - slightly confusing politics maybe but plays well

Open and versatile. The newer games could do much better if they followed the same game mechanics

Fun game, great replayability

Well that was an hour of my time I will never get back. That was absolutely awful! Coming from the original nothing made sense. I couldn't even figure out what I was building. Will literally never play this game again

I especially like the Strategy employed by the game. The combat AI takes into account armor and weapon upgrades. The AI also terrain and map features into account when resolving battle.

Great game, love the multiplayer atmosphere. Definitely worth getting the DLCs specifically Wrath of Sparta and the Greeks DLC.

This game is pretty good if you enjoy playing as major factions like Rome, Carthage, or the Seleucids. Some of minor factions are a lot less fun imo, but some people find enjoyment in playing them. I personally had fun with Syracuse, but had trouble with a few other factions. This game goes on sale pretty often as do its many dlc's. There are many guides online that discuss which Dlc's to buy, so I highly suggest looking at those as well when you make the purchase. The base game is plenty enough though as it has the vast majority of fun factions already, and it also comes with the Imperator Augustus side campaign. Give this game a chance if you are interested in the series.

Turd game. improved graphics, same idiotic AI as 20 years ago, same difficulty increase by AI cheating, same erratic decision-making from AI. It's worth maybe 20 euro at most, for the graphics and history.

I mean.... its good. The release was really bad but that's ancient history now, I still come back to this game and run a campaign now and then. Graphics still hold up for a game of this scale and genre imo.

🛡️ Total War: ROME II – Emperor Edition is a richly detailed and grand-scale strategy game that immerses you in the brutal politics, massive battles, and cultural conflicts of the Roman era. 🎮 Gameplay The game blends two strategic layers seamlessly: A turn-based campaign map where you manage cities, diplomacy, economy, and armies. Real-time battles where you control thousands of troops across diverse terrains and weather conditions. The Emperor Edition improves many of the original’s flaws: ✔️ Reworked politics and civil war mechanics ✔️ Better UI and visuals (especially in unit models and campaign lighting) ✔️ Includes all free DLCs and balancing patches ✔️ Major improvements to AI (still not perfect, but less suicidal than launch version) 🧠 What makes it deep and satisfying: Army composition and unit positioning truly matter — flanking and morale are key. City management requires balancing public order, food, and tech. Espionage, family politics, and agents add another layer of realism. ⚠️ What might frustrate new players: Steep learning curve AI can still act odd in sieges Some UI elements can feel clunky, especially for managing large empires Endgame can drag out due to repetitive battles 🎨 Visuals & Audio The updated graphics are still solid for a 2013 game. Unit animations in battles are cinematic, and the soundtrack fits the Roman epic theme beautifully. 📈 Replayability With over a dozen playable factions (Rome, Carthage, Egypt, etc.), and multiple ways to achieve victory, every campaign feels different. Mods also add incredible longevity. 💬 Final Verdict: If you love grand strategy and historical warfare, this game is a must-play. Emperor Edition finally delivers the experience Rome II promised at launch — ambitious, immersive, and deeply strategic. ⭐ 8.5/10 – Now lives up to the Total War name. Best enjoyed slowly, like fine wine.