A Review of Invasio Barbarorum Ultra Gloriam Romae (Mod for Rome Total War)
Ultra Gloriam Romae is another mod in the Invasio Barbarorum series of mods for the original Rome Total War. In terms of its place within Invasio Barbarorum, it’s the mod with the campaign that starts at the latest date – 463 AD. It is a campaign where the Western Roman Empire is in complete shambles, and rebuilding it would take a Herculean effort. Meanwhile, the Sassanid Empire in the east is growing more and more powerful and is increasingly becoming an existential threat to the Eastern empire, though the situation is much less dire. In this review, we’ll take a look at all the aspects of the mod and see if its up to the task of portraying this fascinating era. Spoiler alert: despite the apocalyptic feeling you get when playing this mod as the Western Roman Empire especially, it is absolutely epic and hilarious at the same time.
The Setting
Invasio Barbarorum Ultra Gloriam Romae has two campaigns – the default one that begins in 463 AD and a provincial campaign that starts in 434 AD. Personally, I find the later start date, 463, to be far more interesting – you take control of the Western Roman Empire in its death throes as the rather weak emperor Libius Severus. You start out with a couple of armies and an economy that’s ok. A few of your cities have low public order. You go to recruit some units and what do you see… huge upkeep costs! Basically, you have to recruit and disband as necessary, or just use what you have at the start, which isn’t much. In 463, the Western Romans are staring defeat in the face, in the form of internal instability, constant Vandal attacks from the southwest, the Ostrogothic kingdom in the northeast, the Burgundians in the northwest and the Visigoths in Gaul and Iberia. Ultra Gloriam Romae really allows you to visualize how much the Roman Empire had declined – you basically control a rump state that is comprised of most of Italy and that’s it. Your enemies are more powerful and more stable in general.
In the east, things don’t look quite as grim. The Eastern Roman Empire has several rich provinces, including Egypt, Asia Minor, Syria, Greece, and Thrace, and the Hunnic threat has been mostly pacified. The Sassanid Persians are the main foes that the Eastern Romans face in this mod, and they are formidable with their powerful cataphracts able to outfight most of the cavalry the Romans can muster. The map is smaller than the ones in Ruina Romae and Restitutor Orbis, which I am ok with. Those mods also try to portray the conflicts the Sassanids had on their eastern front, but since this mod is definitely more focused on Rome it feels like a proper scope for the map here. Having played so many mods with giant maps however, it does feel somewhat cramped.
The 434 campaign is also quite interesting as you have such interesting figures as Emperor Valentinian III and the famous general Flavius Aetius on the campaign map. The Western Empire is not quite in its death throes yet here, and there are definitely more rays of hope, though the threats are still many. The Vandal invasion of North Africa threatens to cut off a major source of the Western Empire’s food supply and the Burgundian and Hunnic attacks in Gaul are simply crushing. 434 AD is when Attila took power, so good luck.
The graphics in Ultra Gloriam Romae are a mixed bag in my opinion. A lot of the units, 2d art and loading screens don’t seem quite as good as those found in Ruina Romae and Restitutor Orbis. However, it still looks quite good for a Rome Total War mod.
This mod has its own soundmod included for both the music and the voices, which is great and really changes it up from vanilla Rome Total War and Barbarian Invasion. I have to say that the music included is absolutely hilariously epic and over the top. I personally think it’s great. I even think I heard some Pirates of the Caribbean music in there during a battle. The soundmod for the voices is also great.
The Battles
Much like the other Invasio Barbarorum mods, Ultra Gloriam Romae has good looking units, but they don’t look quite as polished as those in the other IB mods I’ve played. The battle mechanics are also pretty similar to the other IB mods. IB battles tend to be more fast and furious than battles in mods such as Roma Surrectum, SPQR and Europa Barbarorum, and I find this to be a nice change of pace. As I get older I definitely prefer faster, more action packed battles, and the IB mods deliver these in droves. Combined with the epic music and soundmod for the sounds of battle, I think I’ve enjoyed the battles in Ultra Gloriam Romae more than any mod I’ve played recently. Take a look and a listen:
Conclusion
While there are some aspects of Ultra Gloriam Romae that don’t seem as polished to me as they are in other Invasio Barbarorum mods, the campaigns in Ultra Gloriam Romae, especially the default one that begins in 463 AD, are great and feel epic. When combined with the somewhat over the top soundtrack and soundmod, it makes it feel like this mod in particular is what Barbarian Invasion should have been. The somewhat unpolished 2d graphics and loading screens almost add to its charm – the Western Roman Empire is dying and you have to save it by crushing the overwhelming armies of Rome’s foes with your tiny armies and unmatched tactics. Go download Ultra Gloriam Romae, and be entertained. I leave you now with a video of a custom battle I just fought to showcase the sights and sounds of a battle between Western Rome and the Burgundians. Enjoy.
A Review of Invasio Barbarorum Vltra Gloriam Romae
(text review in spoilers below)
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Originally Posted by Leon Katakalon
Outstanding review
