In the event you do not own this game buy it right now and call in sick.

User Rating: 9.5 | Rome: Total War PC
This is a great game, one of the best if not the best.

I bought this game after M2TW, Shogun 2 and Empire, in part because the historical era wasn't my greatest interest (Empire takes that category) but also because I was worried I would be disappointed taking a step backwards in terms of graphics, technology etc.

And of course technologically I was, Rome is nowhere near as pretty as Shogun, but Rome has something in spades, playability. Having installed Rome first Shogun 2 fell by the wayside, then MTW and finally maybe even my beloved Empire.

Every element of RTW is superbly crafted and thought through, the strategic element has just the right balance of investment and reward. The factions are differentiated enough to provide variety, but balanced for fairness (although not completely - the Parthians suck!).

Most units have a special move that if used correctly adds variety to your tactics (why did they almost eliminate that in shogun?) while 'formations' allow easy and effective execution of complicated moves (no 'flying dragon' other such BS - 'straight line, archers at the back' as it should be).

And 100 hours later, just when you think you've mastered it you'll find another feature of the game, the learning curve is superbly balanced, this game keeps giving.

This game is absolute excellence, I can only recommend this in the highest terms.