Starting in the center of Italy is a big advantage

Sep 20, 2014 21:05 GMT  ·  By

Octavian is the man who in real life managed to secure the legacy of Julius Caesar, defeating his rivals and becoming the first leader of the new Roman Empire, as able a leader of armies as he was a politician and a backroom dealer of information and betrayal.

Starting as him in the Imperator Augustus campaign is, in many ways, the equivalent of setting the difficulty to easy because the faction he commands has access to a number of well-developed provinces, including the one focused on the city of Rome itself, and begins with the ability to quickly mobilize.

Played right, Octavian can move fast towards Lepidus and take him out of the game, especially if the invasion starts both on land and sea, while only losing a little ground to Anthony in the East.

The only major problem for the faction is the possibility of getting attacked from more than one side, by both Romans and barbarians, but the choice is perfect for those who are new to the Total War series or just want to see the improvement The Creative Assembly added in Emperor Edition for Rome II.

Marc Anthony and Cleopatra

Lepidus is challenging and Octavian is easy mode, and it seems that Marc Anthony is designed to give gamers the option of carving out a powerful empire before actually turning to the West in order to actually take Rome over.

The player can use Greece and allied Egypt as a base in order to expand towards Asia because most of the opposing factions in that area are rather fragmented and unable to oppose a determined Roman push.

The Parthians, with their capable horse archers and powerful melee cavalry, can be a problem, as they were in the real world, but carefully selected armies and generous use of agents can make them easier to subdue.

If Marc Anthony can secure the East while Octavian becomes the leader of the West, the Imperator Augustus campaign can create a situation that actual history would need a few hundred years to generate: two sections of the Roman Empire that are facing off against one another.

Total War as a series has always managed to approximate history enough to create very interesting and plausible situations, and Rome II is no exception to that rule.

The Marc Anthony campaign is probably the more interesting one, but I will stick with Octavian for a while in order to see how a united Rome looks.