A Fight To The Death!

Disaster! The Egyptians have turned down your offer for a ceasefire! The Greeks assassinated your diplomat! The Carthaginians have landed on the beaches of Thessalonica, and are going to attack the next turn. Your fleet has been intercepted by the Egyptians, and was nearly annihilated. One ship makes it through, carrying only 120 troops.

You take stock of your options. You have barely 400 troops. The Egyptians have brought a thousand, the Carthaginians 800. And your spies tell you they’ve brought War Elephants! Quickly, you go on a mad mercenary recruiting spree, and manage to hustle up another 400 troops. 920 soldiers, versus double that number. Uh oh, the Greeks are going to attack the next turn too, adding another... 1240 soldiers to defend against.

So there it is, a fight to the death. And to think you’re having the same trouble with Corduba and Gaul as well as getting attacked by bandits on the Germanic plains. Your attention is being dragged all over the place by various military campaigns, in the areas now known as Sweden, Britain, Morocco and Turkey. You check your watch, and settle down for a few hours of warring heaven.

What a scene to find yourself stuck in. For there are going to be many moments like these as you play through the historical tracks of one of the greatest empires that ever governed this Earth (or at least part of it). For the novice, it can be quite intimidating with the attention to detail that Creative Assembly have packed in. Let’s take a look at it all, and try to make sense of it.