[ryandv]

Rome: Total War was probably one of my top three favorite games growing up as a kid. The House of Brutii was probably my favorite faction, even after trying a couple mods like Extended Greek Mod which tried to round out the non-Roman factions with greater strategic depth. The sheer sense of scale and the "just one more turn" mechanic with macro-scale strategy zooming into tactical micromanagement in the battle layer was such a compelling formula, and I even listen to the OST every now and then all these years later. Absolute masterwork of a title.

In contrast, to this day I have yet to play Rome II: Total War after the backlash from its "disastrous launch."

[vundercind]

I played a ton of the Europa Barbarorum mod, which had a heavy focus on historical factions and accuracy (for a Total War mod, anyway).

I’d been meaning to play the “new” Rome game one of these days. Thought it came out a year or two ago. Jesus, time gets weird as you age. Enjoy the first third of your life, folks, it’s 80% of your life apparently.