Total War: 1942 turns Rome into World War 2

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Swap the legions for tanks.

Across the years, Total War has flung everything from packs of dogs to undead dragons into battle, but Creative Assembly has yet to dabble in an era that lets us finally field the humble tank. Total War: 1942, an overhaul for the original Rome, fixes this omission, adding not just tanks, but planes, battleships and little blokes with rocket launchers. 

V1.0 launched earlier in the month, letting players start a campaign or historic battle as one of 18 playable factions. Not yet playable is the 19th faction, which is the United Nations, confusingly. It wasn't established until after the war, but in this parallel World War 2, it's what holds the Allies together. 

Get a glimpse of the war in the launch trailer below. 

Having animated vehicles duking it out in Rome is a bit of a treat. It is, however, bizarre seeing all the units neatly standing in a row, exchanging fire with the enemy. That style of warfare quickly when out of style with the invention of weapons, like the machine gun, that could wipe out those rows pretty quickly. 

It's possibly one of the reasons that Total War hasn't gone beyond Empire, because the battle system would probably need to be flung out if Creative Assembly wanted to maintain the series' authenticity. It could always get fellow Sega developer Relic to give some advice, though. Total War: Company of Heroes. Gosh.

Authenticity probably isn't a big concern in Total War: 1942, but that's OK. I just want to do terrifying cavalry charges with tanks. Squashing infantry is much more satisfying than shooting them.

Download it here.

Fraser Brown
Fraser Brown
Online Editor

Fraser is the UK online editor and has actually met The Internet in person. With over a decade of experience, he's been around the block a few times, serving as a freelancer, news editor and prolific reviewer. Strategy games have been a 30-year-long obsession, from tiny RTSs to sprawling political sims, and he never turns down the chance to rave about Total War or Crusader Kings. He's also been known to set up shop in the latest MMO and likes to wind down with an endlessly deep, systemic RPG. These days, when he's not editing, he can usually be found writing features that are 1,000 words too long or talking about his dog.