Preview at gamespot!

[Leet Eriksson]

Here is the preview:

http://www.gamespot.com/pc/strategy/...6105481-2.html

Interestingly, Blind Kings list of historical battle mentions at least some 21 or so battles, but apparently they reduced it to 10 here is the quote directly from the preview:

In addition to the campaign game, Rome: Total War will ship with at least 10 historical battles. We've known about the Battle of Teutoburg Forest for a long time, but some of the new battles that we've learned of include the Siege of Gergovia, the Battle of the River Trebia, and the Battle of Telamon. If you're an ancient history fan, then some of these should certainly pique your interest. And, of course, Rome: Total War still has a robust multiplayer mode that will let you and your friends battle it out with thousands of units.

And btw there is no mention of the historical campaign from MTW, i always thought that was a nice addition...but anyways. enjoy the preview.

[Papewaio]

In Shogun: Total War, fans felt that the pace and flow of the game was hampered by the way events were presented in a separate, virtual throne room, so those aspects of the gameplay were integrated directly into the campaign map of Medieval: Total War.

I think the STW Throne Room feature was one of the things that was better then MTW. It along with the movies added an atmosphere that made STW feel far more polished. Also it was an option so you could always turn it off or skip the movies... I dislike lazy players and I disaprove far more of lazier reviewers.

Meanwhile, one of the criticisms of Medieval: Total War was that the campaign map could become horribly cluttered with armies, assassins, princesses, emissaries, bishops, cardinals, and all the other unit types in the game.

Couple of key strokes and these all disappear on the map. You can cycle through the stragtegic pieces, castles and armies so that you can have the combination you want to view at the moment. Very easy keys to use and they rotate the selection in both directions. Honestly some reviewers spend too much time playing DiabloII.

Another cool feature of Rome: Total War is that when you begin a game, you can select two different difficulty levels: one for the campaign map and the other for battles. This means that if you're the

That sounds good. I just hope one of the levels will be Beserker... no more AI staying at home.

We found that controlling all the action in Rome: Total War is easy, thanks to the control scheme. Admittedly, the camera controls in Shogun and Medieval were a bit awkward and clumsy, so Creative Assembly reworked them for Rome.

Instant RTS command??? Teleporting camera...

Meanwhile, another benefit of the 3D engine is that you can zoom down and watch as each man fights for his life.

I liked watching the ashigaru fight for their lives in the winter (thats 4 turns per year) up close and then the spray of blood left on the field. The 3D engine doesn't allow this, it just means it (should) look better then ever.

As a result, battles had a tendency of turning into huge, incompressible scrums when all the sprites coalesced into a big lump on the screen.

Actually I have to say the current demo looks more like a lump then the more refined formations of Shoggie. It is also very hard to see Carthage units banners on a snow field. It is then incredibly hard to tell your units from those running away from either side as their banners turn white.

One of the goals for Rome: Total War was to make the game playable without having to read the manual

Which is not a greater statement of dumbing down I don't know. At least we have the likes of the reliable Froggy to write a far more useful manual then the out-of-date-before-it-gets-the-one-and-only-patch-TW book that you have to buy separately to find out how to work your armies.

[RJV]

Couple of key strokes and these all disappear on the map. You can cycle through the stragtegic pieces, castles and armies so that you can have the combination you want to view at the moment. Very easy keys to use and they rotate the selection in both directions. Honestly some reviewers spend too much time playing DiabloII.

But didn't that only get introduced in the patch (or VI)? If it wasn't in the original game don't expect the reviewers to be aware of it.....

Cheers,

Rob.

[Papewaio]

Its not in VI... as I don't have that...

[RJV]

Its not in VI... as I don't have that...

Must have been the original patch for MTW then. It certainly wasn't in the game as originally released.

Cheers,

Rob.

[Steppe Merc]

I wish they could get a hardcore TW player to do these kind of things. I mean, he likes the new camera? And they always complain at the complexities of the past games, wich is what gave it the fun and flavor for me.

[Stuie]

"Complex"? The only thing complex about MTW was keeping track of where all your special units were - princesses, diplomats, spies, etc. etc. That DID NOT make the game fun. The fact that they have replaced dragging all these units around with a couple new screens for managing your family and your diplomacy is a good thing, IMO. Sounds like diplomacy has been seriously beefed up, too. That was the main thing lacking in MTW for my money.

As for liking the new camera... well, we know we can change that.

[Alexander the Pretty Good]

Did anybody look at those screenshots?!?

My computer is going to catch fire if I engage in a battle like that.


And yeah, it seems the people at Gamespot must be impatient, nervous, shooter-game-playing types to find MTW complex. Even the agents weren't that bad (either turn off the agents or just don't build that many!). We already knew most of this stuff, anyway, like the new-and-improved diplomacy and the families and stuff.

Some preview, eh?