The Decline and Fall of an Empire
In 2004, Creative Assembly treated strategy fans to one of the most celebrated entries in the genre, Rome: Total War. In 2005, an expansion pack followed up the core game, focusing on the decline and fall of one of the most prosperous empires the world has ever known. 14 years later, Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion has new life on the Google Play Store.
A decade ago, the idea of emulating large, lauded PC titles on a screen small enough to fit into your pocket would have been laughable. Today, however, many of the greatest games of the 2000’s are available on Android, but like the excesses of the Roman Republic, some things may belong in the past.
An Embarrassment of Riches
Barbarian Invasion reminds players of just how much content can be squeezed into a single release two console generations ago. One campaign can last upwards of a dozen hours depending on play style or settings. What’s more, there are 18 vastly different tribes or civilizations to play as. Conservatively, players can put well over 100 hundred hours into completing the campaigns alone.
Beyond the multi-hour campaigns, there are several game modes for more bite-sized battles. Barbarian Invasion includes two historical battles that faithfully recreate the most famous skirmishes of the era. Also included are quick battle and custom battle modes, enabling players to experiment around with different factions, enemies and tactics.
Battles remain faithful, for the most part, to the original. Units are controlled individually, grouped into larger parts or an entire army can be directed towards an individual objective.
In almost every way, Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion is a faithful port of the original PC title. One of the few exceptions here is the absence of cheats like “God mode” missing from this version.
Castles Made Out of Hexagons
The faithfulness of the port comes with clear downside — Graphics reflect the era they were originally rendered in.
In the heyday of PC RTS titles, Rome: Total War was known as a standout graphically. Unfortunately, the visuals have not aged well, especially with reduced lighting effects on mobile. Character models reflect the early days of 3D gaming, sculpted out of 30 or so hexagons. Environments and particle effects are similarly an assault on the eyes, making the final moments of battles, whether winning or losing, difficult to watch.
The first thing that longtime players of the series will likely notice are the integrated touch controls. Instead of using hotkeys or a mouse to select units, players draw lassos around them or tap them individually. This change means that the UI during battles shoves a litany of buttons onto the screen, leaving the viewable area cramped.
In 2005, players sat down to Barbarian Invasion on a screen with square-like resolution, but on most Android phones and tablets in 2019, resolutions tend to be more rectangular. Due to the updated resolution, players must pinch and rotate around maps in order to give commands to their generals. The arduous nature of executing turns during the campaign or controlling units during battle gets more exacerbating with touch controls that only work as intended about 85% of the time. In some cases, units will need to be tapped three or four times before they are selected, other times routes drawn for units will zig and zag off in strange directions.
The Same Old War
Barbarian Invasion lingers in the memory of strategy gamers of the 2000’s thanks to endless replayability and mountains of content. In the ensuing years since the game’s release, strategy games have evolved in a number of ways. Now, titles have life cycles that add to the game and balance it over the months following its initial release.
Like the weapons of even the most menacing medieval hordes, Barbarian Invasion feels hopelessly dated by today’s standards. Players who have fond memories of the original game will enjoy campaigning across the old empire, but for everyone else, the game may simply be too wieldy and too ugly to warrant the heavy time investment.
Is it Hardcore?
Not Hardcore.
Summary: Rome: Total War: Barbarian Invasion is a great reminder of the differences between strategy games of the mid 2000’s and the ones released today. Unfortunately, the translation across time and devices is far from perfect.
