14 DAY TRIAL // Cannae is one of the emblematic battles of the Ancient period, one that is still studied at military and historical colleges by those who want to understand how tactical flexibility and innovative thinking can overcome, when the conditions are right, a more powerful army.
In the real world, this is the last big victory that Hannibal managed to win over the Romans, who would then shift strategies and refuse to fight the great Carthaginian general on open ground, and which resulted in the destruction of the Roman army as a fighting force and the death of most of the nobles that were in command.
The battle is worthy of close analysis and even a quick read of Wikipedia on the issue will give those interested a solid overview of the importance of the engagement and the way the two armies performed.
In the Hannibal at the Gates expansion for Total War: Rome II, the Battle of Cannae is offered as a standalone experience, with the setup of the two armies and the lay of the land created by The Creative Assembly to reflect historical conditions as much as possible.
The problem is that even after running it about 5 times, I never got a result that matched the big victory that Hannibal delivered, which has left me a little frustrated and disappointed.
I managed to rout the Roman armies as Hannibal using a classic battle line, with my heavy infantry in the center and cavalry on the flanks.
I was able to defeat them by taking out their general and then rolling up the enemy line with skirmishers and cavalry.
I even managed to closely take victory by putting my lighter infantry in the center of the line and by using the pincer movement in spirit, but it was a very close run affair.
The Romans even defeated me once, when I left my cavalry in contact for too long and wound up without enough force to rout their units from behind.
For all the merits of a title like Total War: Rome II, it works best when the clashes that it creates are made up, the result of the interaction of the various game mechanics.
Simulations of classic battles from the Ancient world might attract gamers before launch, but they fail to deliver the promised experience and only serve to emphasize some of the flaws associated with the strategy title from The Creative Assembly.