News

Iceni faction latest reveal for Total War: Rome II
Posted: 01.02.2013 15:11 by Simon Priest Comments: 37
SEGA and Creative Assembly have revealed the "Iron Age tribe of southern Britain," the Iceni, as the latest confirmed playable faction in Total War: Rome II. These ASBO louts love their war paint.

Want to make those early day Brits happy? Declare war. They'll have plenty of opportunity to pursue that happiness as they neighbour the Celtic Gaul and Iberia just across the shore.

Their more immediate tribal neighbours are the Coritani and Atrebates. The studio asks "can the Iceni unite" all of Britannia under one banner? Rome might object.

"An Iron Age tribe of southern Britain, the Iceni are a proud and fierce people. They inhabit the flatlands, marshes and fens that border the North Sea, south of the Wash. They are practiced raiders, and frequently engage in battle with their tribal neighbours, the Coritani and Atrebates," describes the Total War: Rome II wiki.

The Iceni favour infantry equipped with large oval or "sub-rectangular shields" with either sword or spear.

"...their main distinction from the Celtic tribes of the continent is the practice of painting or tattooing their skin, combined with a greater use of slings in battle. Although light cavalry are used, the Iceni and other British tribes are famed for their highly manoeuvrable war-chariots," continued the description.

"As a playable faction, The Iceni are brave and warlike; invoking the goddess Andraste as they charge into battle drives them to even greater feats of valour. Their expertise with iron makes the resource a particularly effective form of income for the tribe, as does their skill at raiding and looting."

"And as a warrior society, the happiness of the people increases with every fresh declaration of war."

Creative has released a teasing screenshot of the Iceni in-game. Total War: Rome II releases on PC in October.

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Comments

By nocutius (SI Elite) on Feb 01, 2013
nocutius
I want a ton of playable minor (non-DLC) factions, they really boost the replay value of the game.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 01, 2013
SirRoderick
Sounds pretty good to me! Shields are a little overly decorative, but I can get over that ^^
By Jasca_Ducato (SI Core) on Feb 01, 2013
Jasca_Ducato
Iceni eh? Rome, Carthage and Macedonia were all to be expected, but this announcement genuinely surprised me..
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 01, 2013
SirRoderick
I'm pleased they took the time to actually put together a proper faction with a decent historical foundation for Britain. Much better than the last game's generic "Britons" I'd say.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 01, 2013
herodotus
This is much better than simply having Britons. Ideally, whether through the base game, DLC or inevitably the dedicated modding community, I'd like to see hundreds of Factions represented in the game. I think it will happen, but most likely through Modding. There will be the dripfeed of DLC, and it will sell well but it's the Mods and the opportunity to Mod some more that entices me.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 01, 2013
SirRoderick
I hold the same hope there, the more the merrier :)
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 01, 2013
herodotus
I know they won't do it (always wanting a PG rating), but limb dismemberment would make this a truly brutal game, just like the real deal. I hope the modders can work on this, as these were barbaric times when melee combat was frightfully violent.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 01, 2013
SirRoderick
Yesyes and yes. More modding is more content is more gaming bliss!

I really hope they follow through on that modding support.
By Kres (SI Elite) on Feb 02, 2013
Kres
Can't wait! Huh. Declaration of war makes people happier. Alright, sounds interesting :)
By nikola1010 (SI Member) on Feb 02, 2013
nikola1010
Looks like there will be more wars than in R:TW :) As far as factions are conserned, I hope we won't be seeing those gray provinces that say: "Owner: Rebels).
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Feb 02, 2013
nocutius
That would be an ideal result :).
By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Feb 03, 2013
JustCommunication
'Rebels' haven't really been a thing since Empire/Napoleon days... I think there was a generic 'Pirate' faction in Empire, but a lot of the minor nations had their own identity by then. Shogun 2 especially gave a lot of individuality to the minor nations, so you can easily expect there to be a butt-load of minor nations to interact with in Rome 2, and definitely no 'Rebels' unless they are internal rebels like you get in EU/CK2 etc…

Re: Dismemberment. Well, they did release that blood-pack DLC for SHOGUN 2, so you never know, the same could be done for Rome 2. I think it's an interesting strategy to get around game ratings by separating the content levels like this. So everyone can buy the base game as PG, and then if they want to gore it up then only the specific DLC necessary is rated higher and so avoid cutting out the younger player base.

But yes - was getting kind of bored with all the obvious ones - Carthage, Macedonia etc... Nice to see them do the more surprising ones. I imagine there'll be one or two more Gallic factions playable for mainland Europe, an Iberian tribe, a Germanic tribe or two… And then whatever else they've got.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 03, 2013
SirRoderick
Paying money for gore is just silly -_-
By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Feb 03, 2013
JustCommunication
Not everyone likes it Roderick, and as Herodotus pointed out, it can cause problems with age-ratings. Everyone kicked off in the UK when Spiderman was rated a 12, so they had to create a new "12A" category just so under 12's could go see it. I doubt Total War is going to be afforded such luxury, so why not seperate that content and anyone who REALLY cares about gore and add it into their game for 99p. Considering how good Shogun 2 was, I happily paid that for some added flavour, and I'd do the same for Rome 2.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 03, 2013
SirRoderick
So why not seperate that content and anyone who REALLY cares about gore and add it into their game for free.

See the bit I changed?
By nocutius (SI Elite) on Feb 03, 2013
nocutius
If it's free it might change the ratings perhaps? If you have to pay for it, even if it's a single cent, then it at least provides a legal excuse.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 03, 2013
herodotus
It's a tricky one. Won't stop anyone downloading the DLC whatever age, but 'legally' their arses are covered. Censorship - you've gotta hate it.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 03, 2013
SirRoderick
Then still it could be a cent instead of 99

It's is beyond stupid to be looking for a profit for something as basic as blood effects.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 03, 2013
herodotus
Actually I quite liked the blood pack for "Shogun". Very Golden Harvest.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 03, 2013
SirRoderick
Well I'm outnumbered....but still right :P
By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Feb 04, 2013
JustCommunication
If you can't even bring yourself to pay 99p for something you enjoy, then I'm afraid you'll never be right :P
By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Feb 04, 2013
the_fourth_horseman
Looking nice!

From the R2TW wikipedia i got this regarding the Roman Faction:

" the player will choose to conduct the affairs of Rome as the head of one of three great Roman houses: The Julia, The Cornelia, and the Junia, each of which brings further economic, military and cultural benefits."

Aside from the obvious misspelling, it seems they're adopting the unrealistic game mechanic from Rome 1 again. What do you think of that?
By danfreeman (SI Core) on Feb 04, 2013
danfreeman
I am totally fine with the way they did that in Rome:TW,after all the romans were corrupt as all hell.
By SirRoderick (SI Elite) on Feb 04, 2013
SirRoderick
Looks like they aren't to me. THe Cartheginians have a similar mechanic with three factions. I'm thinking you play as one factions, then control ALL of Rome. This makes a good deal more sense.
By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Feb 04, 2013
JustCommunication
Yeah, the technology allows for more subtlty and sub-systems than the original Rome days. From what I've heard and what they've told me when I've talked to them, Rome is a united faction that you control, but you pick which family you control it as and you still have to compete with the other families politically as well. Or something like that.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 04, 2013
herodotus
Don't forget, your Faction could be overruled in the Senate or even have uprisings against it within Rome and Italy itself. If not a game mechanic on release, it certainly will be by the the time some modders get their hands on it.
It' all about money, power and the right connections just as it was then, just as it is now.

POP QUIZ: What did Gladiators speak to the rich and powerful (including the Emperor) who ran each 'game' before beginning a duel?
Careful, it may not be the obvious....
By JustCommunication (SI Core) on Feb 04, 2013
JustCommunication
In 'Gladiator' they go "We who are about to die, salute you". I don't think Spartacus bothered with anything like that, so those are the only 'sources' I have to draw on. I'm preparing my body for when herodotus decides to drop some knowledge :P
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 05, 2013
herodotus
Hehe.
In fact NO Gladiator ever said those words. They merely saluted then fought. They were also Vegans, just by way of interest.
The first time, and subsequently on similar occasions, the words were spoken by Christians, and/or criminals, facing death by public execution, or to put it in entertainment terms "Death By Lion".
By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Feb 05, 2013
the_fourth_horseman
Morituri te salutant, or so they say. I don't think anyone can be certain about the merits of that story, but I deem it likely.

I was hoping for a political mechanic like that. I know it got bad reviews but I really enjoyed how the senate was worked out in Rome Vae Victis. I hope they take a peek at that game to see how it's done.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 05, 2013
herodotus
The Senate will no doubt play a role, as it ran the nation in The Republic years but not to that extent I would imagine. Gamers en masse will want action, and I think that will be the focus. "RVV" appealed to a niche gaming group, like the pure strategists that Paradox Interactive attract.
By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Feb 05, 2013
the_fourth_horseman
True, true.

I do think that a simplified version of that mechanic should be implemeneted. For example with fewer political characters and less complicated decision making. Real progress in the RTW franchise can be made by using a simple but equally entertaining version of this.
By nikola1010 (SI Member) on Feb 05, 2013
nikola1010
All that hustle about Senate, and players controlling it. If someone causes trouble for your side, you hire an assassin and let him solve the problem :)
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 06, 2013
herodotus
Or as in the Mega Mod "Rome Total Realism" you start the game with the Senate being dissolved. Then just become a Dictator, basically like Julius Caesar did.
By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Feb 06, 2013
the_fourth_horseman
But then you have the problem of timeframe. R2TW starts at 278 BC , after the Pyrrhic wars. From then on you'd still have a republic for a long period.
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 06, 2013
herodotus
Alternate history?
By the_fourth_horseman (SI Veteran Member) on Feb 07, 2013
the_fourth_horseman
ain't that the solution to every problem ;)
By herodotus (SI Herodotus) on Feb 07, 2013
herodotus
Seems to be.
Just do a 'Julius' a lit earlier.