Which to play

[West Brom]

i just ordered rome:gold edition off play.com, which has the barbarian hordes and original rome game, so i was wandering which would you suggest i play first bearing in mind ive never played total war before.

[Shadows]

I would suggest playing RTW first. It has a proluge cmpaign that will teach you the basics. and RTW alone will keep you occupied for a long time. BI is very similar in game play though. THe only real differences are new factions, the hordes and an altered campaign map. There are others, too though. But RTW is the better one to start with IMO.

[orange slice]

Play RTW first it'll help you get better at the game play, and other aspects

[Aemilianus]

In my opinion RTW is better as well. BI is designed for those that know the game better, and it is a bit more advanced in the way of problems and tactics. I would also suggest beginning as a Roman faction, as they are the easiest to win with and give you the hang of the game much better.

[NobleNick]

I would have to vote RTW also; since, after reading the reviews and what some people have said on this forum, I felt that BI was not worth the extra price, right now.

Many suggest that the Julii campaign is the best to start with, and I would agree. The Brutii and Scipii campaigns both take more varied skills and are, to put it bluntly, more interesting. If you do the Julii first, it AND the Brutii and Scipii short campains will all be interesting; but if you do Julii after the other two, you might find the first two a bit hard, and the last a bit boring. Given all that, I would suggest the following progression:

1.) At least an hour or two on the training campaign.
2.) Julii SHORT campaign with Normal unit size (default) and N/N difficulty (also default). And set advice to HIGH.
3.) Brutii SHORT campaign with Large unit size and N/H difficulty
4.) Scipii SHORT campaign with Large unit size and N/H or H/H difficulty

The term "SHORT" campaign is a misnomer: These games are NOT short; just shorter than the regular length campaigns. Depending on how you play, each of the "SHORT" campaigns could take easily take you over 40 hours to complete.

Remember that you need to set the unit size and difficulty BEFORE you start the campaign. Also, remember that all playable factions except the three Roman factions are locked when you start the game. Any playable (but locked) factions that you destroy in these short campaigns become unlocked for subsequent games.

[Avgvstvs Octavian]

Play the game the way history took place.

1. Start with RTW vanilla and play an entire long campaign with Rome. Conquer the world the way it was ment to be. Take the game as far as you can. (you can also try other factions, as you don't need to stay with Rome the entire time).
2. Play BI as one of the factions that is directly involved in attacking and bringing the downfall of Rome.

This way you get to see what this game was actually made for, the ancient world on your PC.

[John Wayne]

RTW is the best to start out with! BI should either be forgotten, or put aside until later. Your choice.

[Legionary Jezza]

RTW because for begginers it has a training thing called the "sons of mars". Which will guide yuu through all the things you need to know like battles managing your cities e.t.c.