14 DAY TRIAL // I am now in 259 BC in Total War: Rome II and Carthage has been doing nothing but gather enemies, upstart powers like the various Celtic tribes from Spain, but also the increasingly powerful Roman Republic, while I have only managed to conquer three cities to add to my empire.
I am trying to get the entire region of the city of Carthage under my control, which involves sharing a border with the Ptolemaic faction, another civ that’s not too friendly.
At the same time, I am trying to expand a little in Spain, but that effort is impeded by the fact that I have only one active army that is currently focused on keeping order in a province and might also have to defend when the Celts try to claim it back.
I also lack the money required to create big forces, native or mercenary, because none of my neighbors is inclined to trade with me.
On top of that, my lone Sicilian city has revolted after cultural differences became insurmountable and is currently under the control of rebels.
Oh, and I have won all my battles so far apart from the rebel city assault.
This kind of early game experience is pretty different from what the first Rome offered, where the initial rush was too secure rebel non-faction cities and expand trade deals and infrastructure as quickly as possible.
The Creative Assembly has made it much harder to expand fast in this new Total War release, which means that gamers have to think big but act small when it comes to their conquests.
I might have been better served with an initial focus on Africa and a lack of movement in Spain and in Sicily, which probably led to the multiple war declarations.
Now that I am engaged, I plan to stay defensive overall, conquer my coast and try to see how offensive the Romans are.