I didn't buy this game for years because of all of the complaints about the UI. I didn't think better graphics would be enough to make the game worth it, especially at full price. However, when it went on sale for $6, I finally picked it up. After the first couple of hours hating the UI, I realized I was entirely addicted to the game and couldn't stop playing it.
Here is a summary of what I liked and disliked about it. I'm assuming here that you've played the original Rome: Total War:
[u]Liked[/u]:
- More panels with information/more detailed information
At the start of your turn, your recruitment/construction reports now show if the city has another unit or building queued up. Unfortunately, the report disappears if you load a save, so make sure you always look through your report before exiting the game.
- Better graphics
- Same music and voice lines (except for merchant, which is new)
- Reminder/alert if in the last three turns you haven't moved a unit or your city hasn't built something
- Receive a copy of the original Rome: Total War and Alexander (the expansion) if you don't already have it. If you hate the UI but like the bones of the game, give the original a try!
- Runs much more smoothly than the original. Menus pop up instantly and are very responsive, but loading screens on my SSD take as long as the original game.
- There used to be a limit on how many turns' worth of moves you could send a character or army. Now, it seems to be unlimited, so you can send your army clear across the map if you want. This was one of my favorite additions/fixes!
- New menu that allows you to sort your cities or characters by various filters
- Bunch of QoL features and information
[u]Disliked[/u]:
- UI is annoying and took a while to get used to
- Army AI pathing in battles seems a little weird at times
- The UI to move followers between people is a real pain, BUT you can move between anyone, even if they aren't in the same city (takes a few turns for the follower to travel if the people they are following are far apart)
- A few random bugs. Some were serious than others. Serious bugs included an army that was stuck floating on the water like Jesus, except it couldn't move (or attack or be attacked). Another bug happened when I combined two fleets, and the army loaded onto one of the fleets vanished entirely. Another time, I disbanded a merchant but was never able to replace him because the city still thought he existed. Saving frequently is highly recommended just in case you run into anything game-breaking.
- Multiple freezes and several outright crashes. There is one fairly reliable crash that involves telling a merchant to go somewhere if you have selected him from the Character screen. Don't do that. It's better to select him, close the Character screen, and then tell him to go where you want him to go. Of course, if you need to do that 10 times in a row to 10 different merchants, that's really annoying, but at least the game won't crash that way. Please save often! Treat it like Skyrim. :)
- At least one achievement is bugged and impossible to get on the current version of the game. The only way to get it is to roll back to an earlier version. Thank you for your guide, CeDan3!
Overall, I am very happy with the game and glad I finally got it. The UI is kind of annoying, but they've made it better since the original reviews were made. There are so many QoL changes that alone make it worth getting, and the new graphics + more stable client make it an absolute steal at $6.
