A Mackerel's disappointing journey through the latest Total War: (Hint: it does not end well).

User Rating: 4 | Total War: Rome II PC
At first, I was stoked. After all, Rome was my favorite Total War, so what could go wrong with an updated version of that? Turns out; a lot.

Step 1: Okay, so the performance wasn't all that great? Well, it's only the first week, and my GPU isn't exactly top of the line anymore. It's still playable!

Step 2: Okay, so the AI is kinda stupid, worse than previous Total Wars. Well it will get patched, it's only the first week!

Step 3: Hmm, the province management is rather weird, I have no clue as to what is going on in regards of food, taxes or happiness. That's not great at all...

Step 4: Why doesn't any factions want to trade, let along make alliances? Shogun 2 was much better in this regard! *rabble, rabble*

Step 5: Why doesn't the AI ever attack me? It's completely passive!

Step 6: Why does the AI only have a bunch of tiny armies that can't do sh*t?

Step 7: Why do tiny factions keep attacking me and respawning even though they have no cities left?

Step 8: Man, this is getting boring. I've conquered almost half of Europe, and still no challenge in sight. Sigh.

Step 9: F*ck this! This is not worth playing at all right now!

Step 10: Uninstall.

Current status: Waiting for patches. Damn, what a screw-up CA. Last time I'll pre-order one of your games.