The Rome Total War Gold Edition contains the original game and the Barbarian Invasions expansion pack:Rome: Total War is an award winner of best strategy game of E3 (the Electronic Entertainment Expo 2003, held in Los Angeles), Game Critics Awards: Best of E3 2003 , GameSpy and IGN . Runner up for PC game of show from IGN and 4th best game of the show (all formats) from Gamespy.Create, rule, conquer and manipulate the Roman Republic and Empire to become the "Imperator" of Rome in this award-winning game from the highly-acclaimed Total War series. Fight as, or against ancient history's most legendary generals including Julius Caesar, Hannibal and the rebel Spartacus.From the Punic Wars against Carthage to the death of Augustus, the first Emperor of Rome, control mighty armies of up to 10,000 fully polygonal, highly detailed, motion-captured warriors clashing in panoramic real-time battles.At your disposal are hundreds of different troop types including legionaries, hoplites, barbarian hordes, war elephants, gladiators and scythe chariots to colossal war machines such as siege towers, battering rams and catapults hurling flaming missiles. The stage is set for carnage on more than 10,000 unique battlefields based on the topography of Europe and North Africa.Conflict is not the only way to gain favor with the senate and people of Rome, however, as politics, diplomacy the gladiatorial games will play key roles in your quest to be declared Imperator.Dominate and reign over one of the most powerful empires in historyRome Total War: Barbarian Invasion ExpansionThe expansion moves the action on 350 years to a time when the Roman Empire is in deep trouble, beset by enemies inside and out, and possibly even dying.The year is 363 AD, and the Roman Empire has split into two parts ruled from the cities of Rome (for the Western Empire) and Constantinople (for the Eastern Empire). If this werent bad enough, barbarian tribes have been massing on the Imperial frontiers in Europe for many years. In the East the Empire faces a renewed threat from the Persian Empire, under new vigorous rulers, the Sassanids.Barbarian Invasion starts just after the last Emperor of a unified Rome has died. His successors in Rome and Constantinople are now uneasy allies and rivals for power. The barbarians are massing along the borders, and in some cases are living inside what used to be Roman territory. There are many, many challenges for a Roman to face - and some may be almost unbeatable!New Factions: * Fortunately, you dont necessarily have to play as the Romans! Barbarian Invasion includes 10 brand new playable factions, (and some more that youll get the chance to meet during the game). * Eastern Roman Empire - the rich part of the Roman World, and now reverting to a more Greek and Eastern outlook than strictly Roman. Their heavy cavalry is frightening indeed. * Western Roman Empire - under the rule of a strong Emperor there is the chance that Rome could become the centre of the world once again. The Legions may have changed, but they are still potentially powerful! * Huns - When Roman envoys finally met Attila the Hun they were horrified - the Huns were a new breed of warrior who live in the saddle and could ride and fight all day! * Goths - An ancient people from the Baltic, the Goths struck fear into their enemies thanks to their habit of sacrificing captives to Tyz, the war god. * Vandals - Their name is still a byword for wanton destruction! * Saxons - Unlike the other German tribes, the Saxons didnt look southwards to expand. They look seawards, and westwards towards the rich province of Britannia, creating the idea of England in the process. * Franks - The Free Men are a Germanic tribe of fierce warriors, famed for their steadfast infantry and their utterly dangerous throwing axes. * Allemanni - Although held off by the Romans over many centuries, the Germanic Allemanni people are now on the rise again. * Sarmatians - A fierce warrior people from the steppes, the Syrmatae rule the lands to the north of the Black Sea. * Sassanid Empire - The Persian Empire has waxed and waned over the centuries, but in the Sassanid dynasty its rulers are vigorous and strong. New Game Features: * Barbarian Hordes - A barbarian faction can flee en masse from an attacker and take its entire people in search of a new homeland. * New Units - New factions means new units! This means that there are plenty of new tactical tricks to discover, strengths to play up, and weaknesses to exploit! Every faction in the game has a signature unit that is unique to them, such as the axe-throwing Francisca Heerbann of the Franks to the ultra-heavy Sassanid Clibinarii cavalry. * New Special Abilities - Some units in the game have new special abilities. The Shield Wall allows barbarian elites to lock themselves into a defensive stance and withstand frontal attacks. The Schiltron is a defensive hedgehog formation for spear-armed troops - great for withstanding cavalry, but very vulnerable to missile fire. Swimming allows light troops to cross rivers and flank defenders who think they are safe at one end of a bridge or ford! * A modified technology tree - allows barbarians to build and expand larger settlements. It also includes new buildings to reflect the changed importance given to religion at this time in history. * A new campaign map - Europe and the Empire have changed after 350 years of Roman rule since the end of the main Rome: Total War campaign. The new map reflects the shifts in population and wealth that have gone on. * Religion - is now an important factor. Christianity has become the dominant religion of the Empire, but its your choice whether or not to revert to paganism in the hope that this will bring victory. * Generals - can now be recruited as well as adopted into the family. There are also new vices and virtues as well as ancillary characters for generals retinues. * Rebellions - can now flare up into full-fledged civil wars. Your generals can decide that they would make better kings or emperors than the current rulers and take matters into their own hands! * And goodbye to the Senate! That old favourite enemy of Rome: Total War players everywhere is now a toothless talking shop with no power over the fate of the Empire. Instead: worry about the Huns!
