It didn't take long, but we soon came to a point within our Total War: Rome II empire-building where it would have been much nicer to just build a big wall around our smattering of conquered lands, put up a "Go Away" sign or two, and live out the rest of our days in boredom and serenity.

Gorgeous battles and strategic map visuals; naval combat; built-in Wikipedia-like help system; compelling tactical elements within general combat

Too many factions; turns take forever; micromanagement abounds; city-building lacks depth; army-building lacks urgency; graphical hog

Rome has always been the ideal setting for the Total War series. It has plenty of powerful empires, each with its own strengths and opportunities and, in gaming terms at least, a fairly even chance to rise to dominance throughout Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East.

Rich historical setting; Cinematic battles; Rewarding complexity

Perplexing interface; Erratic AI

Allow me to break the convention that a review should consist of an introduction, a middle and a conclusion by jumping the gun, saving you some time and giving you the bottom line.

Belgians; Seasonal effects

Bad AI; Barely any new stuff; Still no SLI support

Rome: Total War 2 gives me an excuse to bellow commands at the top of my lungs Commands that would otherwise be deemed as insane or maybe a little eccentric, at the very least. It has been quite a while since Total War title has given me this level of immersion.

The campaign map has been improved; Each faction feels completely individual; The online matches are as tense as ever; Hearing Brian Blessed's voice

The battle AI has some issues that need to be dealt with; The multiplayer campaign has some issues with speed

Total War: Rome II is, alongside Europa Universalis IV and Football Manager 2013, one of the most awaited games of the fall season and I am happy to report that the new title from developer The Creative Assembly and publisher SEGA will probably eat up hundreds of hours of my life.

+ Tactical depth; + New province mechanics; + Joint naval - land battles

- Some AI issues; - End turn can take long to complete

Dave goes to war with the latest in the Total War series.

+ Incredibly deep; + Good tutorial; + Nice visuals; + Lots of multiplayer options

Can be intimidating; Issues spectating online matches; Occasionally dumb AI

Picture, in your mind's eye, a testudo . If you're up on your Roman history, you'll know that I'm referring to that ancient Roman formation in which soldiers tightly align their shields to protect themselves from every angle as they advance.

339 hours. That's how long I've played Empire: Total War. Shogun 2 is no slouch either, at 139 hours. I didn't play the original Rome or Medieval 2 on Steam, but I assume those numbers would be comparable. I'm not a Total War master, but Total War: Rome 2 is hardly my first rodeo.

Creative Assembly has yet again produced another engaging and time-eating RTS that joyfully lets you create some of the earliest civilizations in a matter of days. The new features should allow many first-time RTS gamers to jump right in and find hours of enjoyment while the expert strategist of...

After a focused, elegant and relatively small-scale return to Japan with Shogun II , hopes were high for Creative Assembly's next Total War title. They couldn't have chosen a more exciting era to cover than the rise of Rome.