Total War: Rome II will contain "a darker vision of war," says lead designer

Jamie Russell, lead designer of Total War: Rome II has said the game will contain "a darker vision of war" than the previous outing.

Speaking during a Rezzed developer session attended by Eurogamer, Russell said it will be more "close-up," as the team at The Creative Assembly wanted the "men to feel more human."

"We've got facial animations, emotional interactions between men, so that if the guy next to me gets hit by an arrow, I'll react to that." he said. "It's all about a darker vision of war. We want the combat to feel more brutal, more visceral. And we want the form-combat to really get a sense of that Roman war machine, that unique fighting style of the Roman meat grinder legions."

Russell said the campaign map will be much larger than Rome I, and there will be a large 'variety of fighting styles, cultures and environments".

"Our aim, is for Rome 2 to deliver some of the most spectacular sights you've ever seen in a video game, and I really believe that we can deliver that - I'm not being hyperbolic there." he said.

"Realism is the servant of the game, not the master," he continued, stating that there will also be political rivalries in the game which will leave the player wondering whether they should "save the Republic," or "become Emperor."

"This was a time when the personal decisions of Julius Caesar and Cleopatra shaped empires, they forged history with their personal decisions," said Russell. "[This is] the game our player base really wants us to make, and the game we want to make."

Total War: Rome II will release for PC next year