14 DAY TRIAL // Total War: Rome 2 will be the best PC game of the year, according to the development team at The Creative Assembly, and the E3 2013 hands-on time I spent with the game is a sign that they might be right.
The strategy game takes gamers back to the Ancient world and developers are showing the campaign map for the first time at the trade show, with a re-designed look that offers more immersion and more information at the same time.
There's more detail to explore than ever before and the game world is now made up of provinces that are themselves built out of regions.
Players who control enough territory will be able to use edits in order to influence the attitude of the population on a local level.
Internal politics are also revamped, with the Roman faction featuring cutthroat competition between families, with generals, important public persons and the Senate all crucial for those who want to keep power.
Total War: Rome 2 legions are now able to gain experience independent of their commander, which allows players to choose traditions that enhance specific attributes and make them more effective on the battlefield.
I have played a battle on the Nile using both the Roman and the Egyptian armies and I am happy to report that the game looks beautiful and seems solid from a tactical standpoint.
I have managed both land armies and navies, using the famed Roman legions but also more exotic units like war elephants.
The A.I. seemed capable of defending itself and even managed to route some of my units when it had a numerical advantage.
The one problem that the game still has is that it uses a number of ahistorical units for the Egyptians, which might trouble some history lovers.
Total War: Rome 2 will be launched on September 3 exclusively on the PC.