Yes it is better than Starcraft. It is the best modern RTS game for the PC available today!
First I'll talk about how addictive the empire building "turn based" portion of the game is. You have a map screen that is in full 3-D and looks gorgeous and it is from here that you manage your cities, buid up your armies and move them around the map. One of the coolest aspects is that when you clash with another enemy army, the battle takes place in the same location based on where your armies were on the campaign map. For instance, on the map if you attack an ememy that is shown on a mountain-side with a river in between, when you enter the real-time battle the enemy will be positioned on the high ground on that mountain and you will see a river in the middle. Likewise, you can also use map terrain to your advantage by hiding in a forest and ambushing passing armies or create choke-points between mountain ranges.
City building is also fun and addictive because it directly effects what units you can produce and what upgrades you can obtain. You can construct lots of military buildings in one city and build it up into your central military powerhouse and have another city focus on generating profit for your empire by having lots of agricultural and market bonuses. The important thing is that you don't just build cities for the sake of it, they are the incubators for your armies and defense of your empire. Another very cool feature is the ability to zoom right into any of your cities in real-time and see how it changes over time. You can even see little romans (or barbarians) roaming around.
The real-time battle system in RTW is simply astounding! It is definitely not like your typical RTS game. You will be in control of vast armies literally numbering in the thousands. If you have a powerful enough PC you can have even larger armies that give you a truly massive, epic feeling. You don't directly control every single soldier but units (groups) of 80-120 soldiers. The game is historically accurate in the types of units you can field. Early on in the campaign Roman armies can only train velitites, principes, light cavalry and other lightly equipment units. Over time you will gain access to ever more powerful units such as legionnairs, urban cohorts and legionnary cavalry.
Although every type of unit has strengths and weaknesses where another unit can easily counter, it is not a simple rock-paper-scissors affair. RTW has an innovative morale system that is an integral part of battles. You basically have to keep your troops morale high enough so they will not rout and run off the field. Say for instance you have a front line unit that is tired and taking a beating. They will soon rout but if you can get your general's unit over to them quickly, they will fight harder and probably turn the tide of battle. You will find lots of depth in the tactics you can use. Although you could just send every unit charging forward it is better to position each unit for maximum effectiveness. For example instead of just having cavalry charge head on into foot soldiers, have them run around the unit's flank, then have another unit charge them. While the enemy is fighting that unit have your cavalry charge in from the side and watch the mayhem that ensues! It's great fun and these are just a very few examples of what makes the battles so great and entertaining.
The battles can sometimes get pretty complicated with thousands of units engaging each other over a large area but luckily you can pause the game at any time and re-issue orders, then resume when you're ready. There is very few problems I have with the battle system but the stand-out problem I did find is that hot-keyed grouped units do not all respond to your commands so you usually have to order each unit one at a time. It's not a big problem though. Also there is some pathfinding trouble when assaulting cities. Of course this is just another great kind of battle you can engage in so it's not that noticable if some units stray off.
One more thing worth mentioning about the gameplay is that your generals can improve in experience as well as your units over time. The more battles they survive, the more traits they will have such as improved morale, brutality, stealthy etc. Of course they can also inherit some unsavory traits as well such as "heavy drinker".
There is a diplomatic and trading system here as well although you won't find it all that usefull. I found that allies don't really help you that much and diplomacy is usually only worthwhile when you have tons of cash and need to quickly bribe a few armies to get them out of your way. You can auto-resolve battles as well if numbers are in your favor. It helps keep the game from bogging down when youre empire is huge. The game has an incredible amount of depth that I can't even explain here in this review but you won't find it too overwhelming due to the options allowing you to automate some tasks.
Regarding difficulty, there are many settings from which to choose but I found there is an annoying increase in difficulty between easy and medium and it is much harder to win using a barbarian faction but there is lots of challenge here if you want it.
RTW is not quite as impressive visually but it definitely gets the job done. Just seeing thousands of detailed, individually animated units on screen at once is very impressive. Unfortuantely the environment textures are a little bland looking and sparcely decorated. The game also suffers from some crippling slow-down but only if your system is weak or if you somehow end up in an epic battle with 3 or more armies clashing within a city.
This game is quite an experience that you will become addicted to very quickly. Building up an empire from humble beginnings into the most powerful military force on the planet in this game has such huge appeal. Seeing thousands of soldiers racing towards each other and clashing in massive battles with artilery exploding everywhere gives you such a rush. The game does a superb job of making you feel like you are in charge of massive armies and when you're playing this game, you won't be thinking about anything else, it is so immersive. I am so pleased the developers put together a one of a kind game like this that I will never forget and will go down in my books as the best RTS of all time. Yes, I do mean it is better than Starcraft!