List of Factions here: http://wiki.totalwar.com/w/Factions_in_Total_War:_Rome_II Edit: You have no choice! I've decided to play as the Romans. I will update with more info late, but now you do have a choice: Option 1: Magna Graecia (I probably butchered the spelling) - Sicily and the bottom portion of the Italian Pennisula. The Carthageans control the west side of Sicily, along with Corsica and Sardinia, while the Syracusae control - you guessed it - Syracuse and the east side of Sicily. Do I go to war with them early, to take the Islands from Carthage and unify Magna Graecia? Note: Know your Geography and Factions! Option 2: Barbarians! Modern day Genoa, Milano, and Venice are controlled by three Barbarian Tribes. Milano is a fortified City. So heading North first, to use the Alps as barriers with the rest of the Pagan, Barbarian Hordes of Europe wouldn't be a bad idea either, but allows Syracuse and Carthage to have their way and see what happens.
Not quite the correct map but until I log on and take a screenshot, the best we'll have. And since I know people are reading this - vote! Option 1 or Option 2! I may make this an 'Rogue Interactive' game where you all decide my big decisions.
Option 1 for me, Carthage and Syracuse sound like the bigger threat(historically Carthage did cause Rome a lot of grief) and eliminating them should secure your southern flank enough to allow you to go north against the Barbarians and complete the unification of the Italian peninsula, my 2 cents anyways.
It would not be a Total War (harhar) against Carthage. It would be to seize those mentioned areas and then make peace with them as, early on, I am in no position to field enough Armies to subdue Carthage.
I gotcha, it should still allow you to go north against the Barbarians while not having to worry about Carthage and Syracuse threatening you from the south as much.
Once the Balkans are secure, I will shift my attention to Carthage. I should have a strong enough economy to afford another Army (or two) and few enemies with borders left with me.
Any feedback on my videos? Feel free to PM me if you want to. Want to get a sense of what I am doing wrong/right.
How is the game overall? Was a fan of the Original Rome but it's been a while since I've sat down and enjoyed such.
I like them. Broken up into a different focus (battle vs updates) is helpful. I'll send a PM with more detail when I can. Furthermore, Carthage must be destroyed.
I use a few mods, which I can showcase in a video if you like. It improves overall gameplay, adds 4 turns per year with season weather affects. I am tempted to try the 12 turns per year - 1 turn per month - as it prevents you from recruiting units during the winter and, well, you don't want to be in the middle of battle in the middle of winter. It also greatly improves the Units in the game. You may have noticed that Unit Cards look amazing, and not the kinda weird looking original unit cards. Same with the cities - it also adds more buildings to the game. In regards to units, Sparta is a great one to look at. Vanilla Rome 2 has maybe 3 Spartan Units for them to start off with. All basically the same. The Divide-et-Impera mod turns that into about a dozen units to start from - it adds a lot more variety and flavor. As you can see from my videos, I have recruited some of the AoR units (area of recruitment). I've got 3 more videos to upload, and may make another tonight. EDIT: Updated the original post with a screenshot of the actual game map. I had to use a No Fog mod to achieve it.
