Best in the series in my opinion and i have played every one of them except Empire
The Creative Assembly Devs got Rome total war and pump it full of steroids, they have improved it in so many aspects from getting rid of the clone armies, now every soldier in a unit is a bit different from the last, and the new graphics engine is absolutely stunning.
The campaign is extremely long and enjoyable and if you are not careful you will be fighting a multiple front war in no time. The pope plays an important role in the game if you are playing as one of the Catholic factions, if you annoy the pope enough he will order a Crusade against you which means every Catholic faction will turn against you. Another very important aspect of this game is the economy. Your faction most have a strong trade to fuel your army and ambitions for world domination,muhaha. But if you don't protect your trade lanes you will be defeated very very soon
If you decide to get this game i advise you to get the gold addition as it has the Kingdoms expansion pack which adds more hours of fun on to the game.
Good:
Amazing Detail in the units
Does not require an immense rig to run
Amazing and Epic Battles
Large campaign map
Good selection of Factions
Excellent range of units
Bad:
For gold edition it requires 12 GB of hard drive space so it is a bit of a hog
It can sap a lot of your time which isn't normally bad but it is when you have exams,oops!:)
Unfortunately no control over sea battles.
In short, whether you are a fan of the series or just like RTS you must get this game!!!