14 DAY TRIAL // There are plenty of changes introduced in the recently launched Emperor Edition for Total War: Rome II, some of which change the core nature of the Grand Campaign of the strategy title developed by The Creative Assembly, but the main addition to the experience is the new Imperator Augustus campaign.
The situation at the start is relatively easy to explain: Julius Caesar, who has managed to become the best general and politician of the Republic is dead, assassinated just as he was transforming it into an Empire, and the entire faction is on the brink of chaos.
When most people think back to that period in history, they tend to remember the struggle between Octavian, the adopted son of Caesar, and Marc Anthony, his closest companion, which has been depicted in books, movies and television series.
The two sides are the most attractive when one fires up the Imperator Augustus campaign in Total War: Rome II – Emperor Edition, but I have decided to choose another route.
I initially contemplated choosing to play as Pompey, but since I was young I saw him as a rather weak commander who could not have led Rome (I admit recent historical research does not necessarily confirm this intuition).
So I finally settled on Lepidus, the sometimes forgotten third member of the Second Triumvirate.
An unlikely Roman leader
Lepidus was one of the early supporters of Caesar and worked in Rome in order to secure his appointment as dictator even as the general was away from the city and fighting the armies of Pompey in Greece.
After the death of the great general, he was given the leadership of Spain, and when the great leader died, he was coopted in the Second Triumvirate and claimed the position of Pontifex Maximus.
Unfortunately, he was all too willing to give up his legions and never managed to create a solid connection with his troops, which meant that he was the first rival that Octavian and Anthony eliminated.
Total War: Rome II gives losers a chance
In the Emperor Edition-based Imperator Augustus campaign, gamers can choose to try and rewrite history by winning the civil war as Lepidus, although the task might be a little harder than with other Roman factions.
His starting position includes the coast of Spain and North Africa and he has a number of strategic moves open to him, including a quick invasion of Sicily or a move through Gaul.