Total War Games

Empire, Medieval 2 and Rome Total War

I first started playing computer games years ago on a British Army machine in the late 70's. After that I enjoyed the old arcade games like Space Invaders.  I learnt BASIC programming back in 1981 and 1982, but did not continue, and vaguely recall creating some sort of crude game(s). Subsequently, I played a few games in the days of the Vic 20 and Commodore 64 in the early 80's. It was not until recently however that I started playing computer games regularly as for me, until recent times, I had found them lacking somewhat.

Playing Rome, Total War changed all that. The game, which was released in 2004, was a ground breaking development and involves a good mix of strategic and tactical thinking/depth, along with fascinating details, good graphics and readily mastered complexities. A later release, Medieval 2, has developed the genre even further with more advanced graphics and other aspects. The games are supported by a very creative, talented and helpful mod community who contribute enormously to the enjoyment and challenge of the genre.

Rome and Medieval 2 are actually excellent personal development tools because they engage a number of key thinking types - managerial, problem solving, tactical & strategic to name some. When playing the games I have learned a great deal about my previously unknown flaws and thus have been able to correct them.

You can find out more here: www.totalwar.com

March 2009 - new game in the Total War series released: Empire Total War. You can read about it in my blog post here.

Another game I occasionally play is GuildWars - this is an online game with NO subscription fees. Find out more here: www.guildwars.com

• Is playing computer games really the way to the top?

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