Reviews

These are all of the reviews by online publishers of Rome: Total War (to the best of our knowledge). The reviews are ordered by the name of the site that published the review.

Note: This page is not yet completed. Due to the sheer volume of reviews that need to be added it’s taking some time.

3D Avenue Review – 95/100
October 5, 2004

Rome: Total War is just what this series needed for it to go down in the books as one of the best of all time. Combining a powerful turn based engine for the management, and an insanely enjoyable RTS engine for the battles, Activision and The Creative Assembly have produced what could easily be the best strategy game of 2004. With the few issues aside, the gameplay is almost never ending, but it is also quite challenging and involved, so it isn’t for everyone, but even if you have an ounce of strategy gaming in you, you will love Rome: Total War.

Ace Gamez Review – 10/10
October 29, 2004

A new breed of superlative is needed to even begin describing how truly revolutionary and fantastic Rome: Total War really is. Medieval was a strategic masterpiece but the superiority of Rome makes Medieval look positively, well medieval in comparison. Creative Assembly have exceeded all our expectations with this title and simultaneously blown all the opposition into virtual oblivion. Rome: Total War is a true chef-d’oeuvre and deserves the attention of all gamers, not just strategy aficionados. Donning sandals has never felt so good!!

AVault Review – 4.5/5
October 14, 2004

Rome: Total War is not only a superlative addition to the Total War series, but right now it’s the front runner for the best strategy game of this year. It seamlessly combines real-time and turn-based gameplay, gives the player ultimate control of their experience, and provides a level of depth that verges on bottomless. It’s got a couple of snags in the AI implementation, but you can work around the AI so that’s not a deal killer. Hopefully the little nags will get hammered out in a future patch or two. Overall, Rome: Total War is an armchair general’s dream come true and shouldn’t be missed by anyone who loves a good strategic experience.

Computer & Video Games UK Review – 93/100
October 15, 2004

Mesmerising. Cerebral. Intuitive. Epic. Breathtaking. A masterpiece. Rome: Total War is all of these things. In fact, I’m almost tempted to leave it at that and simply send you skipping off to the shops to pick up a copy, safe in the knowledge that in a few days your eyes will be weeping blood from monitor glare, bladder haemorrhaging as you succumb to that all-consuming urge to play for just half an hour more. Of course, I’m not going to do that. After all I couldn’t do that to you after all we’ve been through now could I? Course not.

Cyber Gaming Net Review – 4.75/5
December 1, 2004

Real-time and turn-based strategy games are a dime a dozen, but Rome: Total War is the best of both worlds. Not only does Rome eclipse every strategy title before it, but it also crushes nearly every other PC game this year. You absolutely cannot afford to let this one slip by during the chaotic holiday season.

Daily Game Review – 9.5/10
October 12, 2004

Rome: Total War is a superb game that easily consumes your day, evening, night and next morning. In other words, play this game with caution if you succumb easily to the desire to conquer the world. DailyGame will not be held responsible for any neglected responsibilities to friends or family. If you love RTS games, buy RTW. If you love turn-based games, buy RTW. If you love … just go get the game.

G4 Review – 5/5
October 27, 2004

As this series has grown and evolved, it was always clear that the developers were on to something. With the release of Rome: Total War they’ve never been closer to achieving their vision of the perfect strategy game.

Game Chronicles Review – 9.2/10
October 11, 2004

Whether you are a history buff, RTS gamer, basement wargamer, or weekend general looking for the perfect place to test your latest strategies, Rome: Total War is easily one of the best RTS games of 2004 and certainly the best of the Total War series. It has something to offer everyone and you owe it to yourself to play this game.

Game Daily Review – 4.5/5
September 27, 2004

Creative Assembly has done it again with their latest addition to the Total War series. Rome: Total War takes you back to ancient Rome, before the empire reached the height of its power. The game then gives you the power to rewrite history and conquer the known world in the name of Rome. You will have opportunities to make alliances, crush opposing kingdoms, and eventually gather enough popularity to take out the Roman Senate and become emperor of Rome. All this with the view that gives the player a true sense of what it was like to command thousands of infantry on the battlefield.

Game Zone Review – 9.3/10
September 26, 2004

for anyone who enjoys playing games that have a lot of good entertaining action, a great and historical background, and plenty of opportunity to show the rest of the Mediterranean world from back in 684 A.D. just how kind or cruel a dictator you really can be, then this is the game for you. Strategy buffs should most certainly look into grabbing this one off the shelf, and anyone who enjoys Roman or ancient history should definitely go out and grab a copy of this when possible. Sure, wizards and trolls are a lot of fun, but Rome: Total War shows why real life history can be even more enjoyable when done right.

GameCell UK Review – 10/10
October 25, 2004

To wrap up, Rome Total War is a massive game with far too many nuances and touches for me to cover here. It’s so good that you can play it as an arcade style combat simulator or as a time-consuming, tactical world building campaign that will keep you enthralled for months. Indeed, you may find that building up your family tree and eventually trying to wrest the seat of power from the Roman republic more interesting than the glorious battles themselves. Without a doubt it is for me a total package and the greatest strategy game of MMIV. It came, it saw, it knocked my conkers off.

Gamers Europe Review – 9.5/10
February 17.2005

I’m beginning to run out of superlatives (and Shakespearean plays) to describe Rome: Total War and that’s before I even mention the excellent and popular online mode, which simply tops off the whole experience. Like Romeo and Juliet, I was deprived of my love for so long, but the third Total War has made the franchise accessible to all but the most casual of gamers. There is no Comedy of Errors, only the occasional A.I. glitch. Love’s Labours Lost? Definitely not, every moment of labour is truly rewarded. For Rome: Total War, Alls Well That Ends Well.

Gamer’s Hell Review – 9.1/10
October 7, 2004

Rome: Total War is quite simply the best strategy game now available. A new standard has been set for the genre and the industry as a whole. No other game so expertly combines a cerebral challenge with visceral thrills.

Gamers Temple Review – 95/100
November 29,2004

Total War series began in Feudal Japan, passed through Medieval Europe, and has now arrived in Ancient Rome. The gameplay has always been solid, but with every iteration the series has improved upon itself and in Rome: Total War (RTW) it is firing on all cylinders. If you’re a strategy gamer you’ll love the game’s blend of strategic empire building and real-time tactical battles featuring thousands of troops. There’s a lot of depth to this game and you’ll enjoy spending hours exploring it all.

Gamespot Review – 9.1/10
September 23, 2004

Ultimately, this is a deeply satisfying strategy game that can appeal to game players of all types. If you’re looking for a complex, addictive, conquer-the-world campaign, you can look forward to the imperial campaign, which is good for countless hours of gameplay all on its own. Meanwhile, if what you want are realistic, cinematic-style battles, you can dive into the historical battles or the skirmish or multiplayer modes, or have the computer manage all the details in the campaign and just join the battles. And if you’re looking for both, then you’ll probably find Rome: Total War to be perfectly sublime blend of the two.

Gamespy Review – 4.5/5
September 22, 2004

The bottom line is, if you love strategy, and prefer a little historical realism instead of fantasy units, this is your game. There’s nothing else like it on the market. Sure, it might be a little complex for the casual gamer, and it might be a little rough in places, but Rome is as deep and as satisfying as they come. Veni, vidi, vici!

Gaming Age Review – A-
October 18, 2004

The latest in a line of war games combining strategy and empire building, Rome: Total War combines the two in an ambitious fashion. Attempting to be almost two games in one, Rome features huge, full-scale battles that happen in real time and require planning and quick thinking, but there’s also a turn-based aspect that challenges you with building an empire one piece at a time. When a game tries to be this all-encompassing it usually does a mediocre job across the board – dabbling in many areas but excelling in none. This is not one of those games.

Gaming Illustrated Review – 96/100
October 4, 2004

As you can imagine, Rome: Total War takes Game Technology to a new level. This is simply one of the finest RTS game ever made. R:TW is a MUST HAVE game for 2004. We’re already thinking this title will be the winner of the RTS Game Of The Year for 2004! Rome: Total War (R:TW) is a brilliant creation that advances the technology of gaming and significantly raises the bar for the Gaming Industry – Winner of Gaming Illustrated’s “Special Achievement Award for 2004” for advancing game technology. This is a MUST HAVE GAME, with stunning graphics, depth, detail and playability. This game provides a new level of challenge and enjoyment that other games will now be judged against. Run, don’t walk, and get this game.

Gaming Nexus Review – October 12, 2004

Rome: Total War has to be seen to be believed. It’s not perfect, but it’s close enough on a multitude of fronts to receive our Gaming Nexus Editor’s Choice Award. Don’t sleep on this instant classic. Strength and honor!

IGN Review – 9.4/10
September 22, 2004

Rome: Total War has been one of the most highly anticipated games of the year. We at IGN have been looking forward to it since we first saw the potential inherent in the design of Shogun: Total War. The Creative Assembly enlarged on the series since then with Medieval: Total War before finally giving us the Classical Age game that we so desperately craved. Better still, they’ve done so in a way that surpasses even our amazingly high expectations. Don’t believe me? Read on…

PC Gameworld Review – 90%
November 7, 2004

Rome: Total War is a fantastic game that everyone should pick up. It sucks you in and holds on for hours. I think anyone with the slightest interest in RTS games would find it well worth their money.

PGNx Media Review – 9.3/10
October 8, 2004

Rome: Total War is an ideal strategy game as it combines two rather different gameplay approaches into one very cohesive package. If you really care about all the small details in running an empire, the game allows you to live that out without having to step foot in battle. If all you want to do is battle, let the game manage the campaign details. Or simply recreate a classic battle or enter multiplayer. Rome: Total War provides many hours of enjoyable gameplay and is certainly one of the best strategy games to come along in a long time. This is a very large game and there is so much to write about that I needed to draw the line somewhere. The bottom line is that if you’re even remotely interested in strategy games, of both the turn-based and real-time nature, you should at least try Rome: Total War.

Thunderbolt Review – 10/10
October 11, 2004

Rome: Total War is hard to fault. I’ve been playing it for days and days, but haven’t found a single thing that’s annoying or counter-intuitive in the slightest. The way the campaign and combat aspects link together is well designed and implemented, the core battle gameplay is brilliantly executed, the graphics are superb, the lifespan lengthy, the audio of the highest quality and it’ll even teach you history without you realising it. It has so much depth and aptitude that you’ll find yourself drawn in for hours, which will quickly turn into days, months and, dare I say, years. There’s been so much effort put into every single aspect of the game that it’s hard not to admire the hard work of the developers behind it. Rome: Total War goes far beyond what many games do and never ceases to impress.

UnderGroundOnline Review – A+
October 19, 2004

Rome: Total War is just what this series needed for it to go down in the books as one of the best of all time. Combining a powerful turn based engine for the management, and an insanely enjoyable RTS engine for the battles, Activision and The Creative Assembly have produced what is easily the best strategy game of 2004. With a few issues aside, the gameplay is almost never ending. But it is also quite challenging and involved, so it isn’t for everyone, but even if you have an ounce of strategy gaming in you, you will love Rome: Total War.

Worthplaying Review – 9.3/10
October 1, 2004

In its finished state, RTW seems to be everything we were promised it would be. As a total game experience, it is enchanting, and sometimes even astounding, if you have a machine that can handle it well. If you like the strategy of civilian development and battles of conquest, or if you are into complex strategic multiplayer gaming, it’s going to be really hard for you not to like this game. RTW truly redefines the Total War series as the leader in its genre.

Yahoo Games Review – 9/10
September 26, 2004

Rome: Total War is the culmination of where the series has been leading. Finally, the campaign elements and the 3D combat have merged into a game that’s practically perfect in almost every way. Rome awaits and it wasn’t built in a day — let’s see how long it takes you to conquer it.