So, I'm returning Rome Total War after many, many years.
Installation
I could buy a new copy of the game on STEAM, but since I own the CDs (It even still had the poster of the campeign map in the box!) I tought I would give them a try first. I was a bit worried that one of the three CDs wouldn't work any more, since it was a bit scratched, but it worked just fine.
Installation did take some time though, for a game of only a couple of GBs, that could probably be downloaded and installed from STEAM in under the half hour it now took. But count that part of the nostalgia .
Updated to v1.5 without issues and ready to go!
Laughed at pixelated intro movie .
Changed the video settings to Max and played the tutorial.
First campaign (Brutii)
I decided I would first try one of the Roman factions (actually only the Roman factions were unlocked at the start anyway).
So I picked the mighty Brutti. I don't remember the difficulty setting, but it was a walk in the park.
At first I was a good boy and followed the Senates missions. But when the Senate wanted me to block some port on the other side of the map I told them to shove it up their ***.
I captured some more towns in Greece and the Senate were now adoring me (weird people those senators, you ignore their advice and they love you more....).
By the time I had conquered Greece, my fellow Romans had only just conquered Sicily (Scipii) and the cities south of the Alps (Julii). My treasury was overflowing with cash so I could build anything I wanted, buy huge armies or just bribe entire enemy armies. Macedon, Greece and Trace pleaded for mercy, but wouldn't get any and were utterly defeated.
Thus it came to pass that the Brutii now controlled a large empire. The battles were ever so more in my favour, most of the times I fielded twice as many men. Auto-resolve was quite usefull in those cases. I didn't wait for the civil war (I still remembered that it would take place at some point). Since I clearly remembered more than I originally thought I decided I would try a different faction on a higher difficulty.
Second campaign (Greek Cities, Hard campaign - Normal Battle difficulty)
For my second campaign since my return to the game, I picked the Greek Cities. I was feed-up with the lady-advisor, so she had to die for my new campaign. I was feeling confident after my victories with the Brutii, so I upped the difficulty to Hard campaign with Normal battle difficulty, since I was less confident in my battle experiences).
Now I had some serious fun with the Greeks! .
I rushed to capture Athens from the rebels and sent a small force to capture Crete. My diplomats talked for hours with Macedon to try to get an alliance, but they wouldn't have any of it. War was inevitable and they probably knew it.
of the defence of Syracuse
Time after time, the Scipii attacked Syracuse, but time after time the Phalanx held in the small streets of Syracuse. The streets turned red from blood and great songs would be written of the courage and valor of the defenders. Eventually Syracuse did fell to the Scipii and I promised to take revenge on scipii everntualy. However losing Syracuse was a great loss to the economy. Around the same time the Brutii captured Thermon. My 'ally' Macedon was still sitting idle, not aware of the Roman threat. This could not be tollerated and unfortunatly they had to go, to make sure the Greeks would have a fighting chance against the Romans. In the following years, I annexed the Macedon territories and pushed the Romans from Greece.
of Sparta and their mighty hoplites
Sparta had now grown to city size and was capable of producing Armored Hoplites with extra chevrons experience. The newly recruited hoplites would pass through Corinth for extra sharpening of their weapons and refitting of extra Armor (+1 attack, +1 armor). These warriors provided the backbone of my armies, combined with some Creetian archers and Greek Cavalry (damn, their cavalry is terrible.....) Seriously appart from flaking and killing routed enemies their cavalry is not very usefull. But this was just a minor nuisance, as the Phalanx WOULD_NOT_BREAK. The Brutii had no answer to the Phalanx and tought it was a good idea to sent in their cavalry in a frontal charge against my hoplites . Needless to say, that
didn't work out so well for them. I almost fell pity for them, but then I remembered the sacrifices in the streets of Syracuse.
Return to Syracuse
My spies told me the Scipii had moved on to take Carthage and left Syracuse relatively undefended. The time had come......
Before the Scipii knew what hit them, Syracuse was back in Greek hands.
REVENGE!
Carthage campaign (Very Hard campaign - Normal Battle difficulty)
Not all stories are ones of success. Maybe a bit overconfident after my Brutii and Greek successes, my campaign as Carthage was incredibly intense, yet short-lived.
In the first couple of turns everything went as planned. I secured an alliance with Spain, build up my forces/ cities and everything went according to plan. But fortunes can change rapidly.....
In a few turns time, the Julii sent a force to Sardinia, Scipii skipped Syracuse and went for Lilibaeum instead and the Brutii landed a considerable force in Thapsus (WHAT, Brutii in Thapsus??!!!)
Things got even worse, as Spain betrayed me and caught me off guard and threw me out of Spain.
Now I was left with Carthage and Palma. Palma was useless as I had no recruitment buildings there. Carthage held for a while, but the Iberian infantry/peltasts proved no match for the Hastati. With only Palma left and most of my family members dead, I forfeited that campaign.
What did I learn?
- Roman heavy infantry rocks and their cavalry is also more than capable.
- Once you get (modern day) Greece, you're rich
- Phalanx + flanking with Cavalry = DESTRUCTION (Alexander knew what he was doing!)
- Most of Chartage's early infantry is cheap in recruit/upkeep, but rubbish. They rout at the first sign of battle. I would gladly pay a bit more to get some half-decent infantry or Phalanx.
- No archers as Chartage?!
- Their Round shield cavalry is actually quite good considering their low cost/upkeep (330/110)
What I still don't quite get:
- Getting good generals (5+ stars) is quite easy, just win a lot of battles. Getting good administrators (administrator skills/influence) to control my cities is a completly different story. Any advice to 'level' up those?
I haven't decided on my next faction for a campaign yet; Any suggestions? retry Chartage? try the Seulicids? Is Macedon playable?