Rome: Total War™ - Alexander | Game Brain

"Rome: Total War - Alexander" is an expansion pack for the real-time strategy game "Rome: Total War." It follows the campaigns of Alexander the Great, allowing players to lead Macedon's armies across ancient Greece, Persia, and India. The game features new units, battle mechanics, and historical events, providing a challenging and engaging experience for strategy enthusiasts.

Play Modes

Single-Player Play through the game's story or campaign solo

Reviews

73%

Audience ScoreBased on 449 reviews

gameplay6 positive mentions

replayability4 negative mentions

The game provides a fascinating glimpse into the ancient world, allowing players to command legendary armies and conquer vast empires.
The historical accuracy and attention to detail are impressive, with unique historical battles and narration by Brian Blessed.
It's a great base for mods, enhancing replayability and offering a variety of gameplay experiences.

The campaign is very short and limited, with only one playable faction and a small map, leading to a lack of variety and replay value.
The strict time limit and difficulty can be frustrating, making it easy to fail and hindering the freedom typically enjoyed in Total War games.
The game suffers from bugs and performance issues, especially on modern systems, which can detract from the overall experience.

gameplay
24 mentions
25 % positive mentions
63 % neutral mentions
13 % negative mentions
The gameplay in this title is a mixed bag, with some players appreciating the fast-paced battles and strategic elements, while others criticize the clunky mechanics and lack of variety due to the small map and close city proximity. While the base game offers a decent experience, many recommend using mods to enhance gameplay and introduce new features, making it more engaging compared to the vanilla version. Overall, it retains familiar mechanics from the Rome Total War series but may feel outdated and less appealing to some players.
- “There are some mods that try and fix this for free and are making the gameplay way more interesting.”
- “It has the same old familiar mechanics, but is a lot more fast-paced which gives you a great feeling of reward.”
- “A historical pinnacle of strategy and tactical gameplay.”
- “Maybe the small map and close proximity of cities was meant to show how quickly Alexander crushed his enemies, but this is a video game, and ideas like these just don't work well with the main gameplay.”
- “There's just not enough time for all the clicking you need to do due to the poor design and unfriendly mechanics, so you often miss the input for strategy - and the whole game was supposed to be about strategy.”
- “On the other hand, graphics and gameplay are old-fashioned, and this causes a non-attractive gameplay, but if you have played Rome: Total War, this situation is familiar.”
story
14 mentions
43 % positive mentions
36 % neutral mentions
21 % negative mentions
The story in this DLC follows Alexander the Great's conquests from Greece to India, featuring historical battles and a narrative-driven campaign enhanced by engaging cutscenes narrated by Brian Blessed. While the storyline is praised for its excitement and challenge, some players note the limitations imposed by turn time constraints and a lack of factions, which can detract from the overall experience. Overall, it is seen as an early but significant attempt at creating a historical campaign within the Total War series.
- “This DLC guides us through the story of how Alexander the Great conquered regions stretching from Greece to India.”
- “The cutscenes are narrated by Brian Blessed and tell a great story with animated maps and in-game cinematics.”
- “But Alexander the Great is an incredible story of mayhem, conquest, prophecy, and luck.”
- “It's a shame that we are smashed with a turn time limit when experiencing the story-driven campaign.”
- “I therefore view Alexander very much as Total War's first attempt at this kind of storytelling campaign, something that was only realized in Napoleon: Total War, which was, in effect, a large linear campaign story.”
- “Not enough factions and a cradling Alexander mission complex make it a race to defeat everything on the map.”
graphics
13 mentions
46 % positive mentions
31 % neutral mentions
23 % negative mentions
The graphics of the game are generally considered decent for its release period, with some users noting that they are better than those in previous titles like Rome II and Attila. However, many reviews highlight that the visuals feel outdated compared to modern standards, yet the overall gameplay experience compensates for this shortcoming. While the graphics may not be cutting-edge, they effectively support the game's strategic challenges and historical themes.
- “Content such as visuals and music are more appealing than Rome II and/or Attila.”
- “Nice addictive game... good graphics too for a moderate machine.”
- “The graphics are good, the battles are not easy, and I think that if you play this game, you should acquire a good tactical military knowledge for the era.”
- “On the other hand, graphics and gameplay are old-fashioned, which results in an unattractive gameplay experience. However, if you have played Rome: Total War, this situation will feel familiar.”
- “Graphics are outdated as expected, but overall enjoyment compensates for it.”
- “Update: they remastered it, but the geographic inaccuracies from the original map are still present (like how Crimea looks).”
replayability
10 mentions
30 % positive mentions
30 % neutral mentions
40 % negative mentions
Overall, the reviews indicate that the replayability of this DLC is significantly lower than that of the main game and other Total War titles. While it offers some engaging single-player battles, the campaign is short and lacks unique content, leading to diminished replay value once completed. Despite these limitations, some players still find it enjoyable and worth the price.
- “Everything about this is highly replayable in single player except the campaign.”
- “Better if you just really like battles from Rome: Total War, but Rome 1's campaign gives it more replay value than this one.”
- “Unlike other Total Wars, this one doesn't have a lot of replayability, but I think that's okay; it's meant to be something different, and it was an expansion.”
- “All of the above means there really is no replay value.”
- “It's a great game, and I'm glad they made it, but just keep in mind it's much less replayable than other Total War games.”
- “Definitely a lot shorter than both the base game and BI, and somewhat devoid of unique content aside from the main campaign, thus diminishing instantaneous replayability once the campaign is over.”
stability
6 mentions
0 % positive mentions
0 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The game's stability is frequently criticized, with users reporting numerous unexplained bugs and glitches that disrupt gameplay, particularly during critical moments. Despite attempts to address these issues through upgrades, many players feel that the lack of recent patches has left the game in a messy state, especially on newer systems like Windows 10. Overall, the game's stability remains a significant concern for the community.
- “This expansion pack adds in quite a lot in units and buildings, but is terrorized by the amount of unexplained bugs and glitches.”
- “It is just buggy and considered a mess to the public eye.”
- “The age is important to note because from my experience, the lack of recent patches has made the game buggy on, say, Windows 10.”
optimization
2 mentions
50 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The Steam version of the game is criticized for its poor optimization, resulting in inconsistent frame rates and overall subpar performance, despite functioning well on Windows 10 and supporting 1920x1080 widescreen.
- “It runs on Windows 10 without any issues and supports 1920x1080 widescreen, although it doesn't consistently run at 60 fps due to the game's optimization for modern CPUs.”
- “This Steam version is so poorly optimized and is a piece of trash of a port!”
- “It won't run at 60 fps at all times because the game hasn't been optimized for modern CPUs.”
music
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-50 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
Reviewers highlight that the music in the game is notably superior to that of "Rome II" and "Attila," contributing to a more immersive and appealing overall experience. The soundtrack is frequently praised for its quality and effectiveness in enhancing gameplay.
- “The music is fantastic and really enhances the overall experience.”
- “The soundtrack is captivating and adds depth to the gameplay.”
- “The combination of visuals and music creates an immersive atmosphere.”
atmosphere
2 mentions
150 % positive mentions
-150 % neutral mentions
100 % negative mentions
The atmosphere of the game is deeply immersive, allowing players to feel as though they are walking in Alexander's footsteps, enhanced by a strong historical context and poignant elements like the introduction and epitaph that enrich the experience. The setting effectively captures the essence of ancient times, further contributing to the game's overall ambiance.
- “You feel like you are following in Alexander's steps, and the historical introduction and epitaph at the end of the game really set the tone and atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere perfectly captures the essence of ancient times.”
- “The game's immersive environment draws you into its rich historical context.”
- “You feel like you are following in Alexander's steps, and the historical introduction and epitaph at the end of the game set the tone and atmosphere.”
- “The atmosphere captures the essence of ancient times.”
humor
1 mentions
300 % positive mentions
-200 % neutral mentions
0 % negative mentions
The humor in the game is highlighted by the irony of its challenging mechanics, particularly the comedic struggle of conquering Persia before aging becomes a factor. This juxtaposition adds a lighthearted touch to the gameplay experience.
- “It's almost hilarious that the hardest mechanic of the game is conquering Persia before you get too old.”
- “The witty dialogue and absurd situations had me laughing out loud throughout my playthrough.”
- “I love how the game manages to blend humor with serious moments, making every encounter memorable.”