Total war or Civ V?

[✪ ztress]

Hello guys.

I'm an old fan of these RPG games, and I used to play alot of Age of Empires-like games when I was younger (around 15 years ago). After that I had alot to do in university and pretty much forgot about games like that, I spent some time playing CS and WoW when I had some spare time but that was pretty much it.

Now I googled some and noticed that these 2 games seems to be IT when it comes to strategy games as I remember it. I know it's strange that I make a topic here and ask you guys but: Which one should I buy? Since I don't have enough money for both at this very moment (barely any money left at all actually) but I wan't to have a game that I can spend some time playing. Also I have to bear in mind that ROME II is pretty much more expensive then Civ 5.

Which one would you recommend and why?


A huge thanks in advance guys!

[5n4k3d0cToR]

Hello mate :). The main difference between total war and civ franchises is: Total war = turn based +real time battles (i.e from battlefield perspective (1st/3rd persson) with specific orders to untits/troops). Civ = turn based, with battles being fought automatically for you. All you do is select a unit on the campaign map and tell it where to go. Think the old school axis vs allies of the 90's, but with fancier graphics. Looking at the steam activity (global hours per game daily) paints a solid picture.
Personally i have enjoyed both titles, but have clocked double the amount of total war hours in Civ 5. (owned older titles on cd's/dvd's prior to steam). Both franchises should provide you with alot of entertainment (+sleepless nights) and a good £/$ per hour of entertainment value. Be aware that the most solid titles in the total war franchise to date are: rome TW (original), M2TW and Empire TW. Rome 2 however fails to live up to its predecessors (and not worth its current price). As for civ the latest installment is solid, but so were the previous ones. I recall a while back getting access to demos of both, so if you can do that and try them both out=even better. If not I wish you luck in making the right choice, based on the data freely available on the net :).
If you are into space/sci-fi genre id recommend taking a look at galactic civilizations 2 as well. Good luck commander :D

P.S

If you are more of a ''grand strategy'' gamer, then civ is the way. My 2 pence worth.

[Gibzit]

you should consider crusader kings 2 or europa universalis 4 if you are a strategy fan, but rome2 or civ 5: civ 5 by far

[Eifersucht18]

Couple of things you will need to consider / decide:

Gameplay Style: Turn-Based Strategy (Slower Paced Relatively - Civ5) vs. Mix of both Turn-Based / Real Time Strategy (Mixed Slow and Fast Pace - Total War Series) vs. Real Time Strategy (Fast Paced - Company of Heroes 1)

Specs: Depending on your system specs you may or may not be limited to which games you can run

Price: Your budget was a factor as you mentioned you could only afford one of the titles - But you can negate this to a degree if you wait until the Steam Winter / Holiday Sale (December 2014) where all three of these titles will be ~75% off (Civ5 - for $7.50, Total War - $5 to $10, and CoH - $7.50) - so you could potentially get all three for the full price of one today.

Gaming Status - All three titles are genre-defining and you really cannot go wrong with any of them - they are legendary games and must-haves for any PC gamer. You would do well to go to Youtube and watch some gameplay footage of each to see what appeals to your gaming sensibilities.

Good Luck!

[5n4k3d0cToR]

Originally posted by idoherling98:

you should consider crusader kings 2 or europa universalis 4 if you are a strategy fan, but rome2 or civ 5: civ 5 by far

Quality titles (+worth looking into) indeed mate, but not turn based.

[Xandurz]

Originally posted by Lucpol |hg:

Originally posted by idoherling98:

you should consider crusader kings 2 or europa universalis 4 if you are a strategy fan, but rome2 or civ 5: civ 5 by far

Quality titles (+worth looking into) indeed mate, but not turn based.

But the OP said he liked Age of Empires-like games, which is definately not turn based only.
He only mentioned CIV and TW because they stick out the most of the strategy crowd.

[CaptGasworthy]

civ 5 is more expensive imo, best experience if yo get brave new world and such, rome you just need greek cultures pack and then hours of fun. Ive got both games and love em both

[Twelvefield]

My Rome II was so filled with bugs, I uninstalled it - an expensive disappointment. If it's a TW game you want, I'd suggest one of the older ones, modded.

[FuriousFoenix]

Rome2 TW is about field startegists and Civ5 about nation leaders. Different gameplay imo

[The Rock God]

Originally posted by Twelvefield:

My Rome II was so filled with bugs, I uninstalled it - an expensive disappointment. If it's a TW game you want, I'd suggest one of the older ones, modded.

I'm sure that a worse game than Rome2 exists, but I have yet to see it.

[Eifersucht18]

Originally posted by The Rock God:

Originally posted by Twelvefield:

My Rome II was so filled with bugs, I uninstalled it - an expensive disappointment. If it's a TW game you want, I'd suggest one of the older ones, modded.

I'm sure that a worse game than Rome2 exists, but I have yet to see it.

How would the Total War veterans rank the series (Top 5):

1. Rome: Total War (Older but the original, and legendary)
2. Medieval 2; Total War
3. Shogun 2: Total War
4. Napolean: Total War
5. ?

Is this close to fair?

[Terrorbunny]

My advise as a former rts gamer myself, start with the total war series.
Just get Rome1 or Medieval2 to try them.
Than get civ5 in a sale, its very good.
Stay clear of Rome2 till its about 10 euros or dollars or whatever with all the dlc.

[Paano]

Originally posted by Eifersucht18:

Originally posted by The Rock God:

I'm sure that a worse game than Rome2 exists, but I have yet to see it.

How would the Total War veterans rank the series (Top 5):

1. Rome: Total War (Older but the original, and legendary)
2. Medieval 2; Total War
3. Shogun 2: Total War
4. Napolean: Total War
5. ?

Is this close to fair?

I would strongly disrecommend Shogun 2 as it is a terribly buggy game, with various bugs being so severe that they could have an effect on the outcome of your game.

For example Im regularlygetting the bug that turns castle gates invulnerable, forcing you to climb walls instead. In a tight match this can easily result in you losing the fight.

[Incanuth]

If you are lookin for Age of Empire type strategy games get Rise of Nations, it's one of the best games i've ever played.

[Fso]

starcraft 2

[5n4k3d0cToR]

Originally posted by Xandurz:

But the OP said he liked Age of Empires-like games, which is definately not turn based only.
He only mentioned CIV and TW because they stick out the most of the strategy crowd.

Got ya' mate, well spotted :)

Originally posted by Twelvefield:

My Rome II was so filled with bugs, I uninstalled it - an expensive disappointment. If it's a TW game you want, I'd suggest one of the older ones, modded.

Well said mate +1

Originally posted by Eifersucht18:

Originally posted by The Rock God:

I'm sure that a worse game than Rome2 exists, but I have yet to see it.

How would the Total War veterans rank the series (Top 5):

1. Rome: Total War (Older but the original, and legendary)
2. Medieval 2; Total War
3. Shogun 2: Total War
4. Napolean: Total War
5. ?

Is this close to fair?

1.RTW
2.M2TW
3.ETW (empire)
4.NTW (napoleon)

Failures:

R2TW...