The Total War series will be making a return to the setting of Rome. Its return to Rome will also see the introduction of amphibious warfare, colossal battlegrounds and the most realistic portrayal of ancient battlefields never before seen—neither in a game, nor any other medium.
The game’s creative director Mike Simpson says that Total War: Rome 2 is being developed as a part of a grand vision that spans the global sandbox campaign to the drama of individual units on the battlefield.
“From the immense reach of the sandbox campaign right down to the human-level drama of a single warrior on the battlefield, we’re aiming for an unprecedented level of detail and scale,” he said in an interview with PC Powerplay.
More than just a simulation of war, players will be able to flex their military might, or resort to diplomacy—or even subterfuge—to attain dominance over the ancient world.
The same magazine in which Mike Simpson spoke about Total War: Rome 2 contains exclusive information about the game, and features the invasion of Carthage.
Not unlike the Siege of King’s Landing in the Game of Thrones, a massive fleet of Romans besiege the port city of Carthage. Some of the ships provide ranged support, while others serve as landing craft for Roman marines, who make an amphibious landing upon the shores and come under fire by ballistae.
The marines board abandoned siege towers from earlier attempts to scale the city’s walls and the game focuses on Scipio Aemilianus, the historical figure, who lead the invasion of Carthage and burned it to the ground.
The goal of these marines is to capture various points in the city of Carthage—offering a change from the previous games, in which sieges always turned into bloody mosh pits in the middle. Both sides now have good reason to split their armies or focus their firepower on specific points on the map.
Likewise, line of sight now plays a major role in on-the-ground strategy, and players can use streets for cover and even take to the rooftops.
Combat in Rome 2 has been enhanced in both macro- and micro levels. Ground combat feels more personal and intense, while zoomed-out combat provides a realistic overlay of everything that’s going on in the battlefield. According to the developers, it’s all made possible with the new engine that’s powering the game.
The developers are also toying with the possibility of river combat, like invasions from the Danube and the Rhine—two locations in which many historical battles took place.
Total War: Rome 2 is set for a 2013 release and is exclusive to the PC.
