![rome total war 2 review rome total war 2 review](https://assets.rockpapershotgun.com/images/2018/08/ss_2e62636842bec1a9c82fe91fcb59a87c2c7de1a0.jpg)
The battle maps are huge and there is a lot of variety on offer even if a city feels similar in style to another you’ve besieged or defended, the layout is different or the objectives have changed. However, what makes Total War stand apart from other games are its huge scaled battles, and Rome II is no different in that regard. The size of the campaign map also brings a nice change from Shogun 2 the dry, arid nature of North Africa stands in stark contrast to the heavily forested and maze-like Northern Europe. Zooming in on the map provides more ambient audio as well as you hear the hustle and bustle of the cities or the crickets in the forests, with animals grazing on the plains and eagles flying overhead. The animation stands out, with cities growing visually on the map when buildings are added, as smoke plumes and cranes move within the city on the map. “The dry, arid nature of North Africa stands in stark contrast to the heavily forested and maze-like Northern Europe.”