Have you ever wanted to command a legion of war elephants? Burn entire cities to the ground?  Forge trading treaties and control the economies of the Mediterranean?

“Total War: Rome II” is the strategy game that provides your conquering fix.

The concept of the Total War series has always been the management of some of the greatest civilizations in history such as the mighty Roman Empire, feudal Japan and more. Similar in concept to other strategy games such as the Civilization series, players must build an infrustructure and economy capable of assembling  mighty army with which you can march out and conuer the world.

Each battle is extremely detailed. Everything you see can be used to your advantage, or used against you. Trees, hills, cliffs and more can affect the outcome of each battle.

While I enjoyed previous entries in the series, including “Medieval: Total War” and “Rome: Total War,” there are several major drawbacks to “Rome II.”

Since launch  on Sept. 9, numerous players have been unable to so much as log onto the game.

Other players have had issues with the game crashing on them as they play. I myself have been unable to play due to spikes in frame rate.

In layman’s terms, the image on my screen freezes for several seconds before I am in control again.

When a player is in the middle of a heated battle, losing control of the game for even a second can cost the player the battle.

PCGamer.com cited “Rome II’s” creative director, Mike Simpson, who said on the game’s forums, “We have failed some of you, and we will look at the way in which we launched games in the future. We do intend to fix your specific problem-whoever you are and whatever it is-as soon as we can.”

So far, two game patches have been released for players to download. These patches include a long list of bug fixes and improvements for “Rome II.”

A quick perusal of the game’s forums shows that many people are still suffering from bugs. I am still one of these players.

Thankfully, Mike Simpson and Creative Assembly have staye true to hir word and are working hard to fix these issues.

A third patch, with numerous bug fixes just like the previous two, is currently being assembled and tested, although there is no release date yet.

Players who are still anxiously waiting for “Rome II”  to be fixed, remember this is not the only “Total War” game in the series. The original “Rome: Total War” has kept my interest since it was released back in 2004.

Other games in the series include “Medieval” and “Medieval II: Total War,” “Empire: Total War” and “Napoleon: Total War,” “Shogun” and “Total War: Shogun II” along with an array of downloadable content and numerous expansions.

For those who enjoy intense strategy games with fierce battles, flowing riches and the vibrant histories of the world, “Rome II” and the rest of the “Total War” games are not a series you should pass up.

So load up the game, study your maps and know your enemies.

Your armies await your command. 3.5 out of 5 stars.