Voted that it was worse in error. The ai is much better on the battlemap and improved on the strategic map level.. It is more more aggressive, and its conduct of sieges is better, though units which lose siege engines do not retire back to the main formation. That said, the ai could do a better job of concentrating its units. The hordes sometimes seem to prefer settling in a poorer Germanic territory rather than heading for Rome. But I have only played on the lower difficulty levels so far with BI. I only really say that it is better, but to what degree is not clear yet.