BitSnark

Fancy giving Carthage the shaft once again in lovely Total War-O-Vision? Soon you’ll get your chance.

Confirming the long-standing rumour that the next RTS from the Total War folk would be a second entry in their Rome series, comes the announcement from Sega and developers The Creative Assembly that Total War: Rome II is real and will launch next year on PC.

According to Creative Assembly boss Mike Simpson, the latest entry in their famed RTS franchise will feature “the most expansive turn-based campaign and the largest, most cinematic real-time battles yet seen in any game.  Our games have always encompassed a grand vision, but we’re now pushing that vision at both ends of the spectrum. From the immense reach of the sandbox campaign right down to the human-level drama of a single warrior on the battlefield, we’re aiming for an unprecedented level of detail and scale”.

In addition, Rome II will feature a new graphics engine with the capability of being able to render “tens of thousands of men” in “bone-splintering detail”, as well as new ‘unit cameras’, which will allow for a far more up-close and richly detailed perspective of the battlefield.

Scalability of difficulty and the experience overall is being promised; allowing you to play the game “no matter what your spec.” – Something that is bloody useful for RTS-tards like me that wouldn’t know a flanking movement from a head-on charge.

Finally, the Total War Brand Director, Rob Bartholomew, went onto say; “In our 25th year of games development, it feels fitting to return to our most critically acclaimed era.  There’s been a multi-generational leap in technology since the original game and we are ready to set another benchmark in gaming.”

The first shots for the newly announced title were also released along with the boxart which you can see below and at the top of this article respectively.

Not exactly bad on the eyes is it?

A couple of interviews, one with the Lead Battle Designer and one with the Lead Designer for the project have also cropped up online as well as a swankly looking live-action trailer and naturally being the helpful chap that I am, I have embedded them all below for you to peruse at your leisure.

Enjoy:

Total War: Rome II is due to release sometime next year exclusively on PC.