Rome Total War's expansion, Barbarian Invasion's out!

YESSS!!!!! The game is finally out!!!! I borrowed a pirated copy of it from my friend and got addicted to the game. Yup, spent lot's of hours and hours on it (Shit, hopefully it won't affect my AS and my SAT) I can say that the game is really really fantastic!! Those of you who like strategy games should really try this game.

Urm, since i'm not really good at writing game reviews, i've actually cut and coppied some reviews from other sites. This one is from Total War's official website :

We’re delighted to announce that Barbarian Invasion, the official expansion pack for Rome: Total War, has sacked all opposition and gone straight in at number one in the PC Games chart after its first week on sale. And that’s not all. Rome: Total War itself has also rocketed up the charts to number 8 giving us two titles in the top 10. We’d like to thank all the fans who have helped us achieve these chart positions. As for those out there who’ve yet to get their copy of Barbarian Invasion - just what are you waiting for?

... adds more variety, tactical depth and pure entertainment to an already excellent package.” CheatCC.Com
IGN Editor’s Choice Award For Rome: Total War - Barbarian InvasionIGN.COM
“A must for fans of Rome Total War.”PC Gamer, November 2005
“Refreshes those parts that other strategy games just won’t reach.” PC Zone, November 2005
"...the combat looks absolutely incredible." Gamespy.com
"The first thing noticeable about the game is its graphical beauty"Wargamer

Here's another review from one of the fans which i quite agree with:

Overall: Barbarian Invasion (BI) is even better than the original Rome: Total War (RTW). BI has replaced RTW as my favorite Strategy Game ever. It's that good. BI is deep, difficult (unless you play on easy), and a much more balanced than RTW. And most of all, it makes for a more fun experience, as you constantly have to be on your toes no matter what, because BI has a few more tricks up its sleeves than RTW.Graphics: It's difficult to give an accurate graphics rating for a PC game, because the settings and hardware can have a drastic impact on graphics. However, even at the bare minimum, the landscapes and cities are still quite impressive. Wooden bridges have knots in the wood, stone highways have cracks, and wooden palisades are not uniform in height. All and all, BI has plenty of details, and the characters get done what they need to, even on the most stripped down graphics (which I use, because my computer is outdated). 9/10
Gameplay: Much has changed in the 350 years since RTW. No longer are the Romans the swift, ferocious, and mighty empire they once were. No longer do their warriors strike fear into the most courageous of barbarian warlords. BI reflects these changes. The Senate is gone (By the time of BI, they existed in name only), and the 3 Roman families have been replaced by the two splintered parts of The Roman Empire, the East and the West. This makes for a much more different game, as these two sides are a lot less friendly to each other than the Julii, Brutii, Scipii, and Senate were. They may attack each other at any time.
Also, the Barbarian factions have been beefed up considerably. They can now build much more,and can also form hordes in case of emergencies. Hordes are a new feature to Rome: Total War. A horde is started by sacking a faction's final town, and moving the entire population. Horde soldiers are not paid, but a Horde can not last very long without a place to live. In fact, if all the horde soldiers are killed, then the faction is essentially out of the game, unless the manage to capture a large city using only their professional forces. Once a Horde faction captures a city, all the capturing horde members are disbanded and join the population. This means you can take a few boats, form a Horde, and save your faction from destruction by fleeing across an ocean or sea. While you can march to a new home as well, it generally proves more difficult, as you may get your Horde Soldiers killed. The Horde function, along with the new building abilities of the barbarian factions, makes every faction dangerous if it gets large enough, making BI much more difficult, because a Horde can flee across the Sea, and gather enough strength to come back and stomp you into the ground if you aren't careful.
The second new feature is the Revolution. Rebel Factions, separate from local rebels who simply take a settlement and leave you alone, may form if the conditions are right. These factions are much more militant, and Generals from the former controlling faction may even join them! These rebel factions can even replace their former masters as an empire, and are a very serious threat to all players, if they go unchecked. They also add another stress for Roman factions.
The third major change with gameplay is the massive expansion of religion. There are three overall faiths in BI: Paganism, Zoroastrianism, and Christianity. They play a much greater part in life than religions in RTW did. Not only do they still provide bonuses from before, but religious strife can now cause extreme problems in some towns. If a Pagan town is suddenly flooded with Christians, the results are not good for public order. You can try to convert a town, but that only happens so fast. When all three basic faiths have strong presence in a settlement, the results can be disastrous. The new clashing religions make for a much deeper experience, an area where RTW started to lack after a while.
Overall, BI is worth it on Gameplay alone. 10/10
Sound: Swords grind against shields, hooves pound against the dirt, arrows whoosh by, and the general gives a speech before battle. The sound is well done, and there's not much else to say about it. 9/10
Controls: Very simple. Unless you're using a very sophisticated battle strategy, or trying to manage a dozen different unit types on several fronts, you won't have any trouble. And, you can always pause battle to issue orders more quickly, or target a lone enemy on the run. The controls are efficient and intuitive. 9.5/10
Overall, you definitely should get BI if you already have RTW. BI is an expansion, so it needs RTW to operate. But both games are different experiences, so purchasing both for a mere $80 is no big loss in the long run. You'll enjoy both for hours, and they last a VERY long time.


Final word's from me, if u can't handle addiction well, try to get this game only after you have finished your AS. Err, that's all i've got to say about this game, I think.