The Total War franchise sets a pretty high bar when it comes to turn-based strategy. Concerning the best entry in the series, many fans will cite Rome: Total War as their favorite. Released in 2004, the game proved to be a massive commercial and critical success. Two DLCs followed in its wake: Alexander, based on Alexander the Great's campaigns, and Barbarian Invasion, which focused on the twilight of the Roman Empire.
The announcement of Total War: Rome Remastered was met with quite a bit of excitement from diehard fans of the original. Many consider the first game superior to its sequel, which received some divisive reactions from fans and critics alike. With a host of new features and visual upgrades, replaying this vaunted classic should be just as engaging as it was seventeen years ago. Check out this page from the Steam Store for the full lowdown.
6 High Resolution Visuals
The first and most obvious difference from the original concerns the visuals. It's no secret that graphics from 2004 are difficult to look at on modern hardware. Throughout the years, mods have picked up some of the slack in this regard, but nothing beats a devoted remaster.
Total War: Rome Remastered will feature 4K optimization, which promises to offer stunningly crisp visuals for those ancient battlefields. Ultra-widescreen capabilities and native UHD resolution support are also included. In addition, many buildings, objects, unit models, and weather effects are rebuilt from scratch so that even little details look amazing.
The campaign map is redone as well, incorporating much more vibrant colors that really make the surrounding environment pop.
5 Includes All The Original DLC
A proper remaster of such a classic title wouldn't be complete without all the relevant DLC. Total War: Rome Remastered will include both the Alexander and Barbarian Invasion add-ons as well as an original copy of Rome: Total War. The Alexander expansion focuses on the exploits of the famous Macedonian general who managed to defeat the fearsome Persian Empire with brilliant ease.
Barbarian Invasion shifts the focus back on Rome. Much like Total War: Attila, this expansion deals with the disintegration of the Roman Empire as it faces both massive internal and external challenges. Keeping the ship afloat will be a difficult test of skill for any experienced strategy gamer.
4 UI Improvements
It's important, especially for strategy games, for information to be easily accessible. Running a large empire in a Total War game can often be difficult as players have to manage public unrest, resources, agents, armies, navies, and much more. Knowing how to find all these sprawling pieces makes faction management a whole lot easier.
Total War: Rome Remastered brings more modern UI enhancements into the fold. The in-game camera has been tweaked to offer the player more flexibility in how they want to view things from the strategic level. New map overlays and summary screens makes certain information, like diplomacy, security, and construction options, more visually accessible.
On the battlefield, the tactical map has been made more user-friendly, making command decisions easier to execute. A beefier in-game Wiki also contains a wealth of useful information.
3 New Factions
Compared to more modern titles in the series, Rome: Total War didn't contain a huge roster of factions. In addition, not all the factions included in the game were playable by normal means. Mods were needed to unlock certain factions that weren't meant to be played.
Total War: Rome Remastered will feature 38 playable factions spread across the base game and the DLC. Most of the factions that were unplayable in the original release will now be unlocked, offering a much better variety in terms of gameplay.
2 New Agents & Quality Of Life Improvements
In addition to armies and navies, Total War games also offer a variety of recruitable agents that can aid the player in a more "behind the scenes" manner. The original Rome: Total War's roster of agents included assassins, diplomats, and spies.
That basic roster remains the same for Total War: Rome Remastered, but with one addition. Merchants, which were introduced in Medieval II: Total War, make an appearance. Their function is to add greater income to the player's treasury by trading valuable resources on the campaign map.
Unlike the original, agents in the remastered version can be assigned missions, which they will automatically execute. It serves to eliminate the annoying micromanaging that's often required in the older titles.
1 Cross-Platform Multiplayer
Although the games in the Total War franchise are primarily geared for single-player experiences, the multiplayer component hasn't been completely forgotten. The multiplayer capabilities of video games have improved drastically since 2004 and the remastered version seeks to improve upon its original shortcomings.
Thus, Total War: Rome Remastered will include expanded multiplayer functionality. More specifically, the game will actually feature a cross-platform component. Users can battle each other regardless of their choice of PC, whether it be Windows, macOS, or Linux.