Total War: Rome II

Total War: Rome II is a 2013 strategy game developed by Creative Assembly and published by SEGA for Windows, macOS and Linux. The eighth main entry in the acclaimed Total War series and a sequel to the beloved 2004 Rome: Total War, it returns to the classical ancient world, letting players command one of many playable factions, from the Roman factions to Carthage, the Greek states, Egypt, barbarian tribes and Eastern empires, in a grand campaign for Mediterranean dominance. Like the series as a whole, it combines two layers: a turn-based grand-strategy campaign of empire management, diplomacy, economy, politics and expansion across a sprawling map, and spectacular real-time battles in which thousands of soldiers clash on land and, newly expanded for this entry, in combined land-and-sea engagements. Ambitious in scale, Rome II suffered a troubled launch marred by performance problems, bugs and AI shortcomings that drew heavy criticism, but Creative Assembly supported it with extensive patches and free updates over the following years, culminating in a substantially improved 'Emperor Edition'. Over time it grew into a well-regarded entry, particularly for fans of the ancient setting, bolstered by numerous expansions and campaign packs. Total War: Rome II stands as a sprawling, eventually polished realisation of antiquity-spanning grand strategy.