Rome: Total War: Alexander promises all the fun of playing Alexander the Great without having to deal with Oliver Stone.  On the downside, there’s no Angelina Jolie to be found in this expansion pack either.  Ok, maybe that’s a plus.  Well, whatever your disposition when it comes to full-lipped movie stars, know that Alexander offers some new content for Rome: Total War, but that the bulk of the content is fairly average in quality.

Rome: Total Rush

Not surprisingly, this expansion pack centers on the exploits of Alexander the Great. The meat of the game is the brand new campaign that follows Alexander as he stomps around Persia.  The ultimate goal is to hold a set number of key regions before 100 turns have elapsed. This is a marked departure from Rome: Total War where, although there were obvious objectives, players had lots of tasty strategies to try out.  Where as Rome: Total War supports a more casual and methodical style of play, Alexander is all about the rush.
 
This was obviously done to encourage the player to appreciate the massive amount of conquering Alexander accomplished in his lifetime.  Unfortunately, this hyper-focused campaign limits the kinds of meaningful decisions the player gets to make.

Where’s Kratos when you need him?

At the start of the campaign, Alexander has a large, powerful standing army.  But because the costs of maintaining such a large army are so exorbitant, Alexander’s home cities of Sparta and Pella are unable to cover the cost.  From the very first turn, your treasury will be bleeding money.  And because the clock is ticking, you really don’t have enough time to bother building up stable cities to support your army.

So instead, Alexander’s only recourse is to be a colossal dick.  In order to secure enough funds to continue, you need to raze each and every city you conquer.  A scorched earth policy is the only way you can replenish your flagging troops with mercenaries before you go back into the red.

“I’m a Uniter,  not a Divider.”

Aside from the fact that this isn’t exactly what Alexander did in real life, this dearth of strategic choice makes the entire campaign feel extremely limited in scope.  All that’s left is for the player to concentrate on the battles.  That’s not necessarily a bad thing; it’s just that we really like the interplay of grand strategy and battle tactics. And that’s really not to be found in this expansion pack.

So, knowing that, Alexander is really all about the great battle engine in Rome: Total War.  In addition to the Macedonians, the campaign will introduce you to three new factions: the Indians, the Persians, and the Dahae.  You’ll only be able to play as Macedonia in the campaign, but the custom battle scenarios allow you to try out the rival armies as well.

Behold the Battles!

As you might expect, the battles in Alexander are remarkably epic thanks to the Rome: Total War engine.  And even through R:TW is practically ancient by video game standards, no game does large scale military skirmishes better.  The most interesting difference between battles fought in Rome: Total War and those fought in Alexander come from the fact that Alexander the Great was such a difference tactical leader.  The instruction manual suggests that Alexander and his retinue be used aggressively in battle, and true to form, in the game he proves to be practically super human.  The downside, of course, is should Alexander fall, the campaign comes to a premature end.

If you wish to forgo the campaign, there are several historical battles that chronicle Alexander’s conquests.  These battles are heavy on historical contexts and expertly narrated by Brian Blessed.  They start easy enough, but quickly ratchet up to ridiculously difficult in short order.

Only Total Warriors need Apply

In fact, given the tall order Alexander the Great was charged with, ridiculously difficult is a pretty apt description of this expansion pack.  If you’re looking for some new units and features that integrate directly into the Rome: Total War core campaign, this is not the expansion pack you’re looking for.  Alexander will really only appeal to the super hardcore Total War fans who are looking for a true test of their tactical mettle. 

Article by: Greg Bemis
Video Produced by: Mark Fahey