"Rome"

2010 · Action Adventure · PC / Steam

Assassin's Creed Brotherhood refined everything its predecessor built and added a recruitment system that made you feel like a true leader of assassins. Rome is a massive, beautifully realized playground, the Borgia tower liberation mechanic gives exploration genuine purpose, and the multiplayer was unlike anything else in gaming at the time. The story doesn't hit the emotional heights of Assassin's Creed II, the single-city setting reduces variety, and the full synchronization system creates frustration where the original had freedom. But as a mechanical evolution of the Ezio formula, Brotherhood is one of the strongest entries in the franchise.

2013 · Grand Strategy · PC / Steam

Total War: Rome II is a grand strategy game defined by ambition that took years to fulfill. The Emperor Edition patches transformed a notoriously rough launch into a sprawling experience with some of the most visually impressive large-scale battles in the genre. AI inconsistency and battlefield chaos still hold it back from the heights of the best Total War entries, and the memory of that disastrous launch lingers in the community. But for players willing to invest in its systems and its enormous modding scene, Rome II delivers a campaign of real scope across one of history's richest settings.