I must chime in here as well and state my extraordinary satisfaction with Rome Total War. Since it's release I've lost countless hours of my life, completely losing myself in its gameplay. My social life is effectively 'on hold' and the number of items on my 'to do' list continue to grow unchecked. Rome really is one of the best games I've ever played and its strategic/tactical system is the best of its kind. Furthermore the degree to which the game can be modded is astounding. There are already several substantial mods available and the modding community has made great progress deciphering the game's numerous files a scant four weeks after its release! All this bodes well for RTW having a long, fulfilling life on our hard drives.

However with regard to certain issues (i.e. tactical/strategic AI, various bugs, etc.) RTW is somewhat of a step back from the last patched version of MTW:VI. It simply leaves some of us wondering, "Wow! CA simply excelled in doing A, B & C but how on earth did they overlook D, E & F?" Much of the more sensible criticism is aimed at issues which are either not easily modded or are hard coded and unmoddable. Unfortunately, some of these issues could have a profound effect on the long term playability of the game unless they are fixed.

The good news is given CA's track record for implementing fan suggested tweaks and features into previous TW titles there is no reason for any of us to think that this will stop with Rome. I sincerely hope this is the case because I want to play this game for a very, very long time!

If you don't have it, get it, get it NOW!