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This week, gamers can step into the shoes of a Roman general in strategy game Total War: Rome II.

A sequel to 2004's Rome: Total War, the game introduces a number of new features, such as army stances, a revamped political system and combined naval and land battles. Players can make their way through more than 300 years of history, starting from 272 BC.

Sega announced that Total War: Rome II is the fastest pre-ordered game in the history of the Total War series. Day-one DLC will also be available for download, and includes a ninth playable faction, Pontus.

The game's release will follow a worldwide activation time of midnight US Pacific time on September 3, which translates to 5:00 p.m. Australian Eastern Standard time.

For those who prefer a little more hack and slash in their battles, Diablo III makes its debut on the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 this week. The game was originally released for PC last year to positive reception, but was criticised for its online connection issues.

Blizzard apologised for the game's rocky launch, saying that it did not do enough to ensure a smooth debut.

According to Activision, the console versions of Diablo III have been custom tailored for play with controllers, including an all-new user interface. The console version supports single player and multiplayer, with up to four players via same-screen local play or across PlayStation Network or Xbox Live.

For more details on games out in Australia this week, check out the list below.

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A Different Kind of Strategy - Total War: Rome II