The first expansion pack for Rome: Total War, Barbarian Invasion takes the action forward in time 349 years after the end of the original game. Beginning in 363 AD and ending in 476 AD (although the player can choose to continue beyond this point if they see fit), it depicts the great migrations of the Germanic and steppe peoples (notably the Huns) and simulates the religious tension of the time as the three religions of Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Paganism fight for dominance.
Rome has become an empire, grown and split into the Eastern and Western Roman Empires, ruled from Rome and Constantinople. The various regions of the Empire represent the factions of the original game, all of which have been absorbed into the Empire. The ‘Barbarians’ in the title take the form of the Huns, the Goths, the Vandals, the Franks, the Burgundians and the Lombards and it is their respective unification and resulting strength that allows them to invade the Empire itself, acting as the catalyst for the action of the campaign.
| Minimum System Requirements | Recommended System Requirements | |
| CPU | Pentium III or Athlon XP | Intel Pentium 4 2.8GHz / AMD Athlon 64 3200+ |
| CPU SPEED | 1.0 Ghz | 2.0 Ghz |
| VRAM | 64 MB | 128 MB |
| RAM | 256 MB | 500 MB |
| OS | Windows 98SE/ME/2000/XP (95 & NT not supported) | Windows XP |
| Graphics Card | 64 MB 100% DirectX(R) 9.0b compatible Video Card (GeForce3+ / Radeon 8500+) | nVidia GeForce 9300 GE / AMD Radeon HD 3200 |
| Direct X | 9.0b (included) | DX 9 |
| SOUND CARD | Yes | Yes |
| HDD Space | 300 MB (uncompressed) | 1.0 GB |
| Game Analysis | Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion for the personal computer game Rome: Total War which takes the action forward to the period of the decline of the Western Roman Empire. The Rome Total War Gold Edition includes both the original game as well as the Barbarian Invasion expansion pack. The campaign begins in 363 AD and ends in 476 AD. If the player has not achieved the campaign goals in 476, an option to quit or to continue the game is presented. The expansion includes simulation of the religious tension of the period, as three major religions (Christianity, Zoroastrianism and Paganism) fought for dominance. Also depicted are the great migrations of the Germanic and steppe peoples (notably the Huns) throughout Europe. | |
| High FPS | 200+ FPS ( GTX 1060 ) | |
| Optimization Score | 10 | |
