And yes you read that right, because yes we're talking about 2013's Total War: Rome II - which got a surprise campaign add-on last year with the release of Empire Divided. The new Rise of the Republic prequel campaign launches August 9 and depicts the events leading to the Second Founding of Rome.

Rise of the Republic's super-detailed campaign map depicts the landmass of Italy and its neighbours, and introduces nine playable factions including Rome, the great city-state of Syracuse, and the ambitious Gallic tribe of the Senones. The new Government Actions feature enables players to activate unique bonuses for their chosen faction, while engaging in new region-specific dilemmas drawn from the annals of history.

The new campaign comes alongside the Ancestral Update that introduces family trees to all Rome II campaigns that lets you interact with and manipulate characters, alliances, and relationships.

Rise of the Republic is available for pre-order now on Steam.

Yeah, the Total War from a few years back. Called Empire Divided it will include new features like cults, bandits, and plagues in a cinematic approach to the final days of the Roman Empire in 270 AD. With ten playable factions each with their own unique leaders, the new expansion showcases developer Creative Assembly's focus on creating new content for a number of its Total War titles.

Including those which we assumed were finished.

Empire Divided brings a brand new grand-scale Campaign Pack to Total War: ROME II with brand new campaign features such as cults, banditry and plagues. Ten different playable factions across five cultures including new heroic factions with elaborate victory conditions, custom event chains and famous leaders from the era. New period specific events, dilemmas, missions, restructured technologies and unique new buildings.

Heroic factions in Total War: ROME II – Empire Divided will have different win conditions and specific event-chains that explore the stories of those leaders from history. These narrative focussed campaigns will also have specific tech trees built around those characters and you will also be able to recruit specific units for them as well. On top of all of this, these characters will not die in battle and will only be reduced to the wounded state. These create rich, narratively focussed campaigns to build your empires around.

Empire Divided will be available December 1 and you can pre-order now via the Steam Page.

SEGA has today revealed that a free update for Rome II is now available and introduces the festival of Lemuria and an all-new seasonal challenge in Nightmare Mode.

Lemuria was an ancient feast during which restless spirits were exorcised from the home with the alternate offering of beans and then clashing of cooking pots. Perhaps an early Roman version of Trick or Treat?

Nightmare Mode can be toggled on from the game options menu, causing your troops to suffer horrifying visions in battle. Harpies descend from the skies as a terrifying atmosphere envelopes your forces. Assailed by such apparitions it is no surprise that your soldiers will find the enemy extremely frightening!

Any generals skilled enough to complete a Campaign battle in Nightmare Mode will earn a new Steam achievement and the adoration of their peers. May the gods help you if you try to complete a whole campaign.

The latest episode of Rally Point explains more of the update, and we've embedded it for you below.

We've also added a host of new screens from the update you can check out via the thumbnails below.

SEGA and The Creative Assembly have revealed a definitive version of Total War: Rome II titled Emperor Edition that collects "all free content to-date", and also features major revisions to the current retail release.

The definitive edition also comes packed with a new campaign expansion titled Imperator Augustus. What's more, this update will be completely free to current players as part of the game's next update on the day of launch.

The new ‘Imperator Augustus’ Campaign Pack adds hundreds of hours of sandbox gameplay across a new campaign map reflecting the geopolitical boundaries of the Second Triumvirate War. Players will determine the outcome of a vast civil war, which saw Octavian, Marc Antony and Lepidus vying to become the very first Emperor of Rome.

Alongside all feature updates from launch (including Twitch.tv integration, touch controls, new factions, new units and now the Mac version), Emperor Edition also features an improved politics system, overhauled building chains, rebalanced battles, and improved visuals in both campaign and battle.

“ROME II was far and away our most ambitious game," claims creative director Mike Simpson via press release. "We see more people playing, and playing for longer, than any other game in the Total War series. However, we take our players’ feedback very seriously. Through the multitude of improvements and free content updates we’ve brought to ROME II since its launch, we’ve worked hard to try and meet their expectations. We want Emperor Edition to be remembered as one of our finest games.”

The Emperor Edition of Total War: Rome II will drop for PC and Mac "soon", but you can learn more (including how to get involved in the beta) by watching the embedded video below, courtesy of The Creative Assembly.

SEGA has announced a new DLC Campaign Pack for Creative Assembly's historical strategy sequel Total War: Rome II. Titled 'Hannibal at the Gates', the DLC drops players into the Western Mediterranean at the outbreak of the 2nd Punic War.

Total War: ROME II’s second major Campaign DLC is incoming on March 27th! Dropping players into the Western Mediterranean at the outbreak of the 2nd Punic War, Hannibal at the Gates features a new campaign map focused on the tinderbox geopolitical situation that brought two ancient world superpowers to all-out war; with sworn rivals Scipio and Hannibal at the very heart of the conflict.

Five playable factions will feature a wealth of new units. Main protagonists Rome and Carthage will benefit from a new civil tech tree based around diplomacy, while the challenge in the shadow of these mighty empires for newcomers Syacuse, the Arevaci and the Lusitani will be formidable.

Those interested can find pre-orders now open through SEGA's official store or through Steam. Expected release is March 27th for PC.

“ROME II was hugely ambitious for our studio,” said Mike Simpson, Creative Director at CA, “We do regret that some reviewers and core fans didn’t get everything they wanted from it. We are committed to improving and adding to the game over the coming months; we very much want ROME II to be remembered as one of our best.”

As with any strategy title, balances and changes are to be expected as the developer tries to ensure that their game is enjoyable to all, and most importantly playable to all. Today's very large patch for Creative Assembly's Total War: Rome 2 is just that, bringing a whole league of new improvements to the game in a number of different categories.

Included in Patch 9 is quite a lot of little tweaks, but also a number of large changes to AI, technical performance and support for multi-gpu configurations. The list is actually that large and substantial that it's quite hard to pick a favourite change, so how about this one: "Reduced pike damage". Those pesky pikes.

FInd the full list of changes at the official Wiki over here. Patch 9 is now live and marching its way towards your download queue so be prepared soldier.

Eager fans wanting to get their hands dirty with code will find Total War: Rome 2 has become a lot more easier to mod with the release of the official Assembly Kit through the Tools section in Steam.

Though it's still in beta, the Assembly Kit allows modders to edit the game's database and variants, modifying textures, models, animations and campaign-game start positions. Exporters also open up the possibility of changing unit models and animations with third party software, a key milestone in previous Creative Assembly titles.

For those just starting out there is example data in the toolkit, and once done with your creation you can upload it directly to the Steam Workshop to show off, though you'll have to be creative in comparison to the ever-growing list already available. More in-depth information can be found at the Rome Wiki.

Creative Assembly has revealed the first campaign expansion for their grand strategy title Total War: Rome II, offering to "brings Caesar’s Gallic war to life in thrilling detail."

Titled Caesar in Gaul, the expansion will be offering a tighter scope in terms of time and geography than Rome II, the Caesar in Gaul campaign map offers an expanded, more detailed vision of Gaul and the south coast of Britannia. Players can choose from four playable factions in this conflict: the Gallic Arverni, the Germanic Suebi, the Belgic Nervii and Rome; in a campaign inspired by Caesar’s Commentarii de bello Gallico (Commentaries on the Gallic war).

“We’ve released a number of DLC packs and free content updates for Rome II, but this is our most substantial so far”, said Mike Simpson, Creative Director of the Total War series. “We’ve always planned to focus more closely on some of the key conflicts of the ancient world, and Caesar’s war in Gaul is the ideal place to start.

“We’ve also improved the game considerably since launch, and that process continues as we move onto substantial feature and gameplay improvements”. You can find more on the expansion at the official forums, or check out the screenshots below for some medieval action.

Caesar in Gaul will be available to purchase and download for PC on December 12th for $14.99.

It wouldn't be medieval war without some head decapitations, and it seems like Creative Assembly is offering a helping hand in recreating the gory scenes of Roman warfare with the new "Blood and Gore" DLC for their strategy title Total War: Rome 2.

Blood & Gore brings the savagery of front-line combat to viscera-splattering life with decapitations, dismemberment and devastating impalements. Featuring hundreds of gruesome animations that play out in combat between multiple different unit types, the massed battles of Total War: ROME II will never be the same again.

The new DLC will feature a more refined particle system that is sure to deliver the gritty nature that you would come to expect from a movie like Gladiator or 300. Gore coats combatants, the ground will become soaked with blood, and you’ll hear every stab, slash and impact with bespoke new sound effects.

The DLC is now available on Steam for PC at a price point of $3, and you can find the trailer below for all your gory details.

Grand strategy title Total War: Rome 2 has gained its first new DLC pack since launching back in early September, with developer Creative Assembly offering up the Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack for free to owners of the game between now and October 29th.

The Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack adds a new playable culture comprising three new playable Factions to Total War: ROME II, for use in Single or Multiplayer Campaign modes and Custom and Multiplayer battles.

The Nomadic Tribes Culture Pack enables ROME II players to take on the ancient world as the ruthless Roxolani, the independent Massagetae and the proud Royal Scythians. Accomplished raiders and legendary horsemen, the Nomadic Tribes are poised to sweep from the steppes and strike at the soft, sedentary targets of more established empires.

Defined by their independence, their excellence on horseback and their ability to swiftly assemble large armies, The Nomadic Tribes bring an entirely new cultural flavour to ROME II.

"We’ve had more gamers playing ROME II, and for longer, in its first month than any other Total War to date. We are going to continue to work on gameplay feature balancing with our community who have been hugely helpful in feeding back on the game," says Mike Simpson of Creative Assembly.

"Offering this DLC for free for the first week it’s on sale is a celebration and a small thank you to them for helping us make this the biggest TW yet."

To nab yourself this sweet deal just head to the Steam page and "install" the DLC to have it added to your account and continue your rampaging across the greater continents of Earth.

The second patch for grand strategy title Total War: Rome 2 has now gone live, with developer Creative Assembly posting up the official patch notes to their Wiki page.

One of the big changes seen in this patch is the reduction of calculation time for AI, which should hopefully see players less frustrated with the time it takes for AI to complete their turn. According to Creative "more than 100 changes and fixes" have been made to the game through the new patch including technical and performance changes.

Those with the game on Steam will find the update applied automatically upon your next login, and you can find all the path notes over here.

While the game may have just launched earlier this week, developer of Total War: Rome 2 is not stopping the updates with the first schedule for this Friday.

Creative Assembly revealed the notice through their official Facebook, stating that the update will serve as the first of many changes to come, noting that their intention is to update the game on a weekly basis in the immediate future.

At Creative Assembly we are very pleased with the response to ROME II, with hundreds of thousands of players enjoying the game so far; but we do know that, as with all large PC releases, the variety of hardware and general system specifications can cause issues for some people and we are urgently working to help get them the right experience.

As announced last month, we are also planning to tweak the balancing, AI routines and other features now that we’re getting real-time metric feedback from thousands of players.

Full patch notes on Friday's update will be made available soon, but the update will address "known instances of crashes due to hardware conflicts alongside several other performance fixes." Creative also encouraged those experiencing graphical issues including low resolution textures to seek out support on their official forums, which contains suggestions for tweaking in-game options to get the best out of your system.

If you may have been too busy fending off your precious empires, you can find our review on what we though of Total War: Rome 2 over here.

As we near the end of another console generation, it's a great time to be a PC gamer. This week sees the launch of another new title from a studio that has always treated the desktop platform right, with Total War: Rome II from strategy veterans at The Creative Assembly touching down on September 3rd 2013.

Rome II is the eighth game in SEGA's long running franchise, and the sequel to 2004's take on strategic combat in the ancient Roman Empire, already famed for its epic battles, and now dialling that up further with some 173 regions and 117 factions, and already the promise of a post-launch content schedule.

Fortunately, all that quantity does not appear to have come at the expense of quality, as you can find out in AusGamers' Total War: Rome II review.

Creative Assembly has revealed a new "Lets Play" video for upcoming RTS Total War: Rome 2, this time taking a look at how the multiplayer battles formulate in-game.

Community Team’s Trish Ryniak and Multiplayer designer Elliot Lock go head to head in this first look at Multiplayer for Total War: ROME II. With Trish playing as Parthia vs Elliott as Pontus, they battle it out in Gor in an unfortified city assault.


Elliott takes the opportunity to talk us through some new features in multiplayer and how the stunning interactive campaign map allows for thousands of battle grounds and new battle types.

Check out the playthrough below for a look at just what the multiplayer side will be like.

For those looking to pre-order ahead of the official launch on September 4th, Creative Assembly are offering the continued trend of unique Team Fortress 2 items that are sure to go up in value once the game is out. Pre-ordering on Steam will snag you the Greek Hellenic Armor for The Pyro, Egyptian Cheetah, the Barbarian Set for the Demo and now the Laurel Wreath for all the classes.

Laurel Wreath wearers will not only be treated to looking dashing, but will also unlock a special "Romebot" invasion in Team Fortress 2's Man Vs Machine mode, so prepare yourself for the invasion.

Total War: Rome 2 will be available exclusively on PC come September 4th.

SEGA has sent word that Creative Assembly's upcoming large-scale strategy game Total War: Rome 2 will be making its way to Australia on September 3 for both digital and physical formats. Those looking to pre-order the title can do so through the SEGA store but a handy collection of other retailers is available here and also Steam for PC (thanks TiT).

Those who do pre-order any of the editions on offer will receive the first DLC for Total War: Rome II for free. This first DLC, the Greek States Culture Pack, adds three additional playable factions to the game: Epirus, Athens and Sparta. These factions have their own unique units, buildings, missions and win conditions alongside a distinct tech tree and, in the case of Sparta, will present a considerable challenge to the advanced player wishing to restore the famous city state to its former glory.

For anyone in need of the full package, a Collector's Edition will be available for pre-order through select retailers and will include an impressive amount of physical ware including a complete, fully-functional Onager, or Roman siege catapult.

The Total War: ROME II Collector’s Edition will be produced in a single, extremely limited run; only 22,000 individually numbered copies will be manufactured. The CE contains a wealth of custom, Roman-themed games and items, bound in a leather-effect presentation box, complete with gold logo and magnetic closure

For the full Collector's Edition run down swing by the SEGA store.

Total War: Rome II will be available on PC.

Creative Assembly has today unveiled a new trailer for upcoming RTS Total War: Rome 2, featuring the very overwhelming Battle of Teutoburg Forest in 9AD. Masterminded by Arminius, the trailer showcases some of the new mechanics that Creative Assembly are implementing in their newest RTS title, including true line-of-sight and deployable battlefield technology.

In 9AD, Teutoburg Forest was the scene of a crushing defeat for the Empire. Masterminded by Arminius, the son of a Germanic chieftain taken as a child and raised as a hostage in Rome, the battle saw his betrayal of the Roman general Varus.

Arminius united the tribes, ambushed Varus’ Legion and struck a fatal and shattering blow to the Empire’s expansion.

Teutoburg Forest features as a playable historical battle in Total War: ROME II, and demonstrates some of the game’s thrilling new features, including our true line-of-sight system, deployable battlefield technology, and our tense new style of ambush scenarios.

Check out the trailer below which is sure to get any strategy fan's heart pumping, and also check out a few screenshots below (more at our game page).

The Creative Assembly has released a couple of new developer diary style videos promoting the upcoming Total War: Rome II, offering even more new gameplay of the hotly anticipated PC strategy title.

First up in "The Unmaking of Carthage" trailer, several members of the dev team discuss some of the great ambitions and challenges this time around, and walk us through the new tactical map feature (a first for the series).

For the second clip, Lead Unit Designer Jack Lusted goes it alone to show us more detail on the battle of Carthage, and explains a lot of the features and decisions behind the direction they've taken.

Watch both videos below. Total War: Rome II is due on PC in October 2013.

Sega has today announced the reveal of their first playable faction for upcoming turn-based title Total War: Rome II, the not-so-surprising Rome division. The Roman faction is the first of eight factions to be announced, with its notably different and deeper form of gameplay experience from those in previous Total War games.

Since throwing off the rule of the Etruscan Kings in around 500BC, the Roman Republic has come to represent a power like no other. Military service is mandatory for citizens, and one of the most profound contributions a citizen can make. This makes the Republic militaristic at its very heart.

As a playable faction, Rome benefits economically from its excellence in metalwork, enjoys enhanced military development, and can exploit the masses in order to maintain public order. Furthermore, the player will choose to conduct the affairs of Rome as the head of one of three great Roman houses: The Julia, The Cornelia, and the Junia, each of which bring further economic, military and cultural benefits.

Sega has also announced that a new makeover for their Wikipedia site has gone live, with the Faction Hub being revealed as the central area for all background information on each of the eight factions. Players will find a range of maps showing each faction’s starting position, plus information on its military, political and civic strengths and vivid depictions of its armies in battle.

With the reveal of the first faction, two new screenshots have been released which you can check out below of the very ferocious Roman empire.

The Creative Assembly has dropped the first glimpse of their hotly anticipated strategy sequel Total War: Rome II, with a new trailer showing some in-game Roman action (Thanks Nerfy).

The video is officially described as gameplay footage, though it's a cinematic cut of in-engine action doesn't really much of what we're likely to see when playing the actual game when it arrives. A more extensive walkthrough of an actual campaign is promised soon, but for the time being, this one's still pretty tasty:

The year is 146BC, brilliant tactician Scipio Aemilianus is dispatched by Rome to break the three-year-long siege of Carthage, an unforgivable blight on the glory of the growing Empire.

Ruthless determination and an almost suicidal amphibious assault is required, but the young consul is uncomfortably aware that the price of victory may be much higher than the senate realises.

Watch the trailer below, or click here for the HD option.

Total War: Rome II is due on PC in 2013.

We reported on a rumour a short while back that Creative Assembly were once again revisiting one of their more popular periods in history with Total War: Rome 2.

Overnight this rumour was confirmed, and in 2013 we will most definitely see a sequel to one of the team's most popular Total War entries, following on from the success of their equally popular revisit of Japan with Total War: Shogun 2.

"In our 25th year of games development, it feels fitting to return to our most critically acclaimed era,” said Rob Bartholomew, Brand Director via press release. “There’s been a multi-generational leap in technology since the original game and we are ready to set another benchmark in gaming."

"Our games have always encompassed a grand vision,” Mike Simpson, the game's Creative Director added. “But we’re now pushing that vision at both ends of the spectrum. From the immense reach of the sandbox campaign right down to the human-level drama of a single warrior on the battlefield, we’re aiming for an unprecedented level of detail and scale.”

Currently Total War: Rome II is marked for release in 2013, with no other release specifics revealed. We do, however, have a new batch of art and screens you can check out via the thumbnails below, as well as more info on what to expect from the game through our Total War: Rome II game page. Stay tuned for more as it becomes available.