Rome: Total War (often abbreviated to RTW or Rome) is a critically acclaimed strategy game composed of both turn-based strategy and real-time tactics, in which the player fights historical and fictitious battles set during late Roman Republic and early Roman Empire (270 BC – AD 14). The game was developed by The Creative Assembly and released on September 20, 2004.It is the third game of The Creative Assembly's Total War series.Total War has been critically acclaimed by many reviewers who regard it as one of the best strategy games of 2004, winning numerous awards and high scores from gaming websites and magazines alike. The review aggregator Game Rankings shows an average of 91.7% from 65 major critic reviews, with 48 reviews at 90% or higher.