Which RTW to choose?

[Brandy Blue]

I am thinking about buying RTW, and I see three versions advertized:

Rome Total War Gold Edition

Rome Total War (by Sega, 2006)

Rome Total WAr (by Activision, 2004)

Can anyone please explain what the differences are between these? Thanks.

[Phoenix]

Rome Total War Gold Edition includes the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack and has the most recent patches included usually (some are only patched to 1.4). The only difference between the other 2 are dates published and patches included (I'm guessing the 2006 version would be patched to 1.2 or 1.3).

[Brandy Blue]

Thanks.

[SubRosa]

I would go for the most recent version of the game you can find, as it may not require patching that way. Beware RTW Gold in that some pressings of it shipped with RTW at 1.5, but BI at only 1.4. Installing BI would then roll back RTW to version 1.3, making it necessary for you to patch both back up to 1.5 and 1.6 respectively. I have one of those copies, and it sure came as surprise to me.

You might want to look at Total War Eras as well. It comes with RTW and all the expansions, as well as MTW and STW and all their expansions as well. They are all at the highest version levels so no patching for any is needed. They also ship in dvds, so you do not have to sit there change out multiple cds when you install them.

[peacemaker]

yeah, i got one with RTW 1.5 and BI 1.4

I would say Eras or the most up-to-date version, because there have been lots of complaints about RTW gold not being able to connect MP

[Omanes Alexandrapolites]

I would go for the most recent version of the game you can find, as it may not require patching that way. Beware RTW Gold in that some pressings of it shipped with RTW at 1.5, but BI at only 1.4. Installing BI would then roll back RTW to version 1.3, making it necessary for you to patch both back up to 1.5 and 1.6 respectively. I have one of those copies, and it sure came as surprise to me.

Just to say, that only applies to the dual CD-ROM version (by, I think, Activision) - not the single DVD-ROM edition (by SEGA).

You may also be interested, Brandy Blue, in the Rome Anthology (amazon.co.uk for UK users, amazon.com for US/international users). As well as containing fully patched R:TW and BI, it also contains the Alexander Expansion too.

As well as this, if you come across them, it is notable that the white label editions of the game are fully patched with nothing additional needed. They come in separate editions, although there also is a Gold Edition containing R:TW and BI.

[pevergreen]

There is a dual CD-ROM? Mine is spread over 3 CDs, and was purchased before 2006. Just to clear up any confusion.