You, with the gift of 1500 years of separation, feel fine. It's the end of the world as they know it. Even early in one of my games, I saw that huge numbers of provinces were in the hand of independent rebels В– which in Barbarian Invasion is a sign that someone has sacked the settlement then moved on В– and the Eastern Roman Empire had divided into three warring factions. Nation after nation becomes tribal, heading out to find new homes, burning places to the ground en route and the Roman Empire visibly falters. More than any of the other expansion packs, there's an apocalyptic feel to Barbarian Invasion. The world's burning! Awesome! Get him! He looks different to us! That they headed off in westward, along with the hordes which they had created. By the time I'd settled in Constantinople, one of the hordes I'd created wandered into my territory В– and with my armies now citizens, I didn't have anywhere near enough force to stop them taking a city away from me. My annihilation of a couple of tribes lead to all them becoming mobile, and heading off. They've got the initial tactical question В– do you settle early, and so transfer as much of their roving armies into useful population, or do you push on as far into the rich Mediterranean lands as you can, and risk depleting their troops? Or do you employ a scorched earth policy, attacking people on the way, sacking (which is a more extreme version than the previous settlement-destruction options) all the passing settlements, so gaining masses of cash, at the cost of a quicker depletion of troops? Either way, the fall out is going to chase you. Several of the races В– such as the Huns I've become terribly enamoured with В– actually start in the horde formation, and are the catalyst to the general destruction of the world. That is, find a new homeland and kick out its current tenants. As well as whatever troops you've managed to amass, you get a whole selection of new armies to march off and find a new homeland. In game terms, this means when the final settlement of your empire falls, as long as you're a tribes-type, you're not knocked out, but rather your entire population become mobile armies which don't require financial upkeep. The Vandals, starting in Europe, ended up in North Africa. This is to simulate exactly how mobile the tribes-people were in this era, knocking over each other like a row of dominos, with progressive waves of tribes pushing everyone westward.

The biggest change, in terms of how it alters how the game plays, is that the more barbarous races are able to form hordes. If I'm not allowed to reach for the jar of special words for this, what am I allowed them for?) And this is В– er - Bob Ghengis Khan It's a familiar tune but the improvisations make it feel like game-jazz. Not in a case of wondering what they're actually going to do, because its always the same thing (Barbarians Invade the civilisation that was built in the main game В– Mongols into Japan for Shogun, Vikings into England for Medieval) but rather wondering what bits of design they're going to use to illustrate it. In some ways, it's interesting to see just how Creative Assembly approach the mission packs. But it's still not love.ДЄnd then the Huns sweep into Constantinople, I find myself grinning like a steppes-riding maniac and the magic consumes me. In games, for me, love doesn't fade into loathing but respect. Sure, the game's as solid as ever В– I wouldn't be able to slag it because I'd seen its tricks before in a review. But there's a question that nags me as I start to play this latest add-on.ДЄs I settled into the saddle of the horse I was born in, and consider the new options there's a half hour or so where there's a genuine sliver of worry.

It does something that nothing else does even half as well, and at times seems to be the keeper of the progressive spirit for the whole damn genre. And, yes, it's been deposed twice, but only by its sequel. Total War's been reigning champion of the strategy game for the last five years.

Rtw barbarian invasion units