A Review of Invasio Barbarorum: Ruina Romae
The massive overhaul of Rome Total War Barbarian Invasion, Invasio Barbarorum: Ruina Romae, was released last year and it definitely deserves some attention. In this video, I’ll be reviewing this fantastic mod that leaves the vanilla Barbarian Invasion expansion in the dust, and honestly in a lot of ways is better than Attila Total War’s take on the fall of the Roman Empire and the Hunnic invasions. Let’s get into it.
The Setting
The campaign begins in 410 AD, which is a very interesting start date. You have several factions to choose from and all of them offer different playstyles and are interesting in their own right. The Western Roman Empire offers you the standard experience you expect from this time period, and it truly is Ruina Romae at the start. First off, you have the large Gallo-Roman rebel empire to contend with in Gaul. You also have a ton of Visigoth armies to deal with in Italia that are knocking on Rome’s door. Your Iberian possessions are in serious trouble due to the presence of Germanic Suebi and Iranian Alan hordes. Add the Huns to all this and you have a real party going on. You have to pick and choose your battles and figure out how you’re going to survive.
The Eastern Roman Empire is in a better position, though it still has to contend with Hunnic invaders and Germanic tribes as well. Additionally, the Eastern Romans have a large enemy to the east, the Sassanid Persian Empire.
Not everything is set in stone for the other large faction in the game, the Sassanids. To the east, they have nomadic incursions to deal with as well, in addition to the large Kushan kingdom. To the west, you start at war with the down but not out Arsacid Kingdom of Armenia.
Those are the larger factions that start out on the defensive in Ruina Romae. Of course, the other factions are also playable and offer vastly different experiences. Factions like the Suebi or the Ostrogoths are both trying to survive nomadic incursions and carve their own place in the post-Roman world at the same time, and utilizing your armies to quickly create a large kingdom is key to stabilizing your economy and your new state. The Gallo-Romans have it very tough, both having to bare the brunt of several Germanic incursions in addition to the Huns and Alans, while beating back Western Roman attempts to retake Gaul. The Kingdom of Armenia has been torn to pieces by war with the Romans and Persians since the rise of the Sassanids, and while you start out with a decently sized kingdom and a good standing army, you’re staring down the formidable Sassanids right from the start. The Alans have an interesting start position, with a kingdom in the Caucasus as well as a horde in southern Gaul.
Of all the starting positions, the Frankish kingdom seems to have the easiest time, since they are not directly in the line of fire of the Germanic and Hunnic hordes and can bide their time for a short while as the empires fight the hordes.
The Graphics
There are two areas where I find Ruina Romae and the other Invasio Barbarorum mods really shine graphically – the 2d art and the units. The 2d art in the game is very well done and immersive, making you feel like the game was made from the ground up to represent the late Roman period. Compare it to Barbarian Invasion, which feels like a basic mod campaign for Rome Total War. Attila Total War, which tries to cover the same period, tries to portray the period in a dark way, making it feel like the start of the Dark Ages, but Ruina Romae actually makes it feel like a new beginning in this regard. The map looks nice and colorful, and while it is extremely hectic and the opening battles are numerous and epic, it doesn’t quite have an apocalyptic feel, which I actually don’t mind at all. If you want a campaign of destruction, you have many options, including the Suebi, the Alans, the Visigoths, the Huns and a few others. If you want a more traditional Total War campaign where you start out small and with limited resources and have to build up your kingdom, then Ruina Romae provides this experience as well with the Frankish and Armenian campaigns. If you want the typical Barbarian Invasion experience where you’re trying to hold your empire together in the face of internal instability, Germanic and Hunnic hordes, then those campaigns are there for you too (the Gallo-Romans await).
Variety in Gameplay
I’ve seen a lot of people complain about certain mods recently since a lot of mods give every faction access to basically every kind of unit – heavy cavalry, heavy infantry, heavy archers, strong horse archers, etc. The main complaint is that it ruins the standard vanilla feel of Rome Total War, where each faction has clear strengths and weaknesses. In Ruina Romae, it really maintains that feel of each faction having a unique roster with clear strengths and weaknesses. The Alans and Huns are cavalry heavy and must rely on auxiliaries for infantry support. The empires of course have their strengths and weaknesses, but they have the advantage of having tons of provinces with a large pool of auxiliaries to recruit. The Germanic factions tend to be infantry heavy. In this way, Ruina Romae in a lot of ways maintains the Rome Total War feel, with each faction having clear strengths and weaknesses.
Conclusion
Ruina Romae is a mod with a campaign that really changes up the gameplay of Rome Total War. There are so many factions to choose from, with diverse and unique unit rosters that give you a very different experience based on who you choose to play as. If you prefer building up your empire slowly, you have a few factions to try including the Frankish Kingdom and Armenia. If you prefer playing as a barbarian horde and destroying large empires, then the Suebi, Burgundians, Alans and Huns have you covered. If you want to try your best to survive against unimaginable odds, then you know who to play.
In any case, Invasio Barbarorum Ruina Romae is a great mod that looks great and has good and diverse gameplay, both in battles and on the campaign map. I highly suggest you give it a shot if you want an excellent late Roman period experience.
A Review of Invasio Barbarorum Ruina Romae from a Long Time Fan
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Originally Posted by Gäiten
