I'm new to strategy games...

**The_Doctor** · 02-28-2006, 21:27

You could borrow the game off a friend or play it at their house before buying it.

By the sounds of things they should have some experience, so they can introduce you to it.

**ace_genral** · 03-01-2006, 00:04

Welcome to the.org darkone and shall you have a millon posts.

**BelgradeWar** · 03-01-2006, 00:13

Well, if you get hooked to TW series, you're pretty much done with standard RTS games...which is not a bad thing:)

**tibilicus** · 03-01-2006, 00:13

Welcome to the .org darkone!

**Csargo** · 03-01-2006, 03:51

Welcome to the org. darkone. You said you were new to these games you might want to start with MTW or STW I think it would probably be easier but thats just my opnion

**The_White_Knight** · 03-01-2006, 11:59

Originally Posted by Russiancsar

Welcome to the org. darkone. You said you were new to these games you might want to start with MTW or STW I think it would probably be easier but thats just my opnion

I think the opposite: RTW's 3D campaign-map and combat seems much more accesible for new players than the risk-styled MTW campaign with rather difficult bitmap-battles.

And welcome darkone!

**econ21** · 03-01-2006, 12:27

To the original poster - you have come to the right place. I don't think there are better strategy games than TW, at least if you are interested in wargames and/or military history.

I think RTW: Gold edition would be a good buy. Graphically, RTW is much improved on the earlier TW games (I recently reloaded STW and was amazed at how much more basic the soldiers are) and so is probably more immediately appealing to a newcomer. I agree with The White Knight that the freer style campaign map is also easier to handle than the Risk-style one of the older games (got my butt handed to me when I retried STW).

The RTW Gold edition gives you the expansion pack added in and it is a very nice expansion, IMO. Barbarian Invasion adds a whole new era of history and some interesting variants on the standard RTW factions (you can play a declining WRE or a footloose up and coming Hun horde, for example).

I would recommend starting off as Roman (say, Julii) in RTW. You get some nice strategic direction from the Senate missions; you have powerful troops and there is a little extra chrome for the Romans (longer prebattle speeches).

One thing to bear in mind also is that there are some amazing mods for RTW if you start to find it gets old or is too easy. Rome Total Realism and Europa Barbarorum both make the gameplay and units more historically accurate, as well as more challenging.

**darkone** · 03-01-2006, 16:07

Thanks for the great welcome guys! One last question though... How good is RTW online? I didn't even know it was a online multiplayer game until I read it on the games site (www.sega.com/romegold). I love playing games online, and hope that the online community for RTW is still going strong. I have a feeling like this game is going to consume so much of my time.