Rome Total War Alexander Review

Few people throughout the history of mankind can claim to be the one who influenced the present world. Alexandros III Philippou Makedonon is one of them. Better known as Alexander the Great, he succeeded his father King Philip at a tender age of 19. Soon after subduing rival factions in Greece, Alexander commenced on a long campaign to conquer the whole world. After trampling all over Rome, Creative Assembly has now turned towards Greece to take their hit series to an altogether new level.

First things first. This game is absolutely for those who are bored by thrashing the barbarians in the previous games. The difficulty of the game totally overwhelms a casual player. This single campaign expansion attempts to reproduce the pace of the last years of Alexander as he subjugated one king after the other in a campaign that was completed in 12 short years.

Regarding gameplay, not much has been changed in the expansion. A new map is featured stretching from Greece in the left to parts of India to the right. Taking the swiftness of Alexander’s campaign into account, the player is given just 100 turns to complete the game. The game starts with Alexander ascending the throne of Macedonia in 336 B.C. The urgent task before the player is to quell the rebellion in Greece and be the supreme master of the peninsula. After establishing your authority over the Greeks, you will have to turn your attention to the vast empire of Persia. Soon after defeating the vast army of Persia (if ever), you march into the final frontier of Alexander’s empire, India. The objective of the game is to capture and hold at least 10 of the 30 cities at the end of the final turn. This is easier said that done.

In most of the battles, the enemy forces outnumber you. And having a very good AI does not help things. Of the four factions featuring, you are able to control only the Greek faction. The other three are Indian, Barbarians and Persians. Diplomacy is non-existent in the game. If you are a cautious player who likes to play it safe by consolidating his position after capturing cities, then this game is not for you.

The 100-turn time limit means that you have very less time to spend on building economies. The best option is to burn the captured cities and use the money to buy mercenaries.

Apart from the single campaign, there are about 6 extra scenarios included in the game. These scenarios speak this life of Alexander before the death of his father from Chaeronea to Hydaspes. These battles are locked at the start except the first one. So in order to unlock the first one, you will have to vanquish your enemy in the previous scenario.
Graphics and sound are similar to the previous game though they have been tweaked a little. Each unit has been given extra care with detailed looks. Now cavalry have got boeotian helmets and leopard pelts on them.

The multiplayer option is the star of the game. An added tournament mode means that you can now play a series of battles at a time with friends online.

Priced at just $14.95 (Rs 675), the game is available on a download option only. It can be downloaded at Sega. If you want it on a CD, then you will have to shell out an extra $10 (Rs 450) to Sega who will then send you a copy of the game.

Rome Total War Alexander game’s overview is pretty narrow with no option of taking control of other factions. This really hurts the game as it is a step away from the what-if style of previous games with a player’s view of history. With Medieval 2:Total War to be released by November, this game is only for hardcore total war gamers who cannot get enough of the game.