Total War: Rome II Gets Release Date, Preorder Bonus and Massive Collector's Edition

DualShockers

By Giuseppe Nelva

Published May 9, 2013

The Creative Assembly and Sega announced today that Total War: Rome II will be released on September the 3rd, finally bringing ancient warfare back to the Total War series.

The standard edition of the game will cost $59.95 and those that preorder will get access to the Greek States Culture Pack DLC for free.

The Greek States Culture Pack will include three separate Greek playable factions: Sparta, Athens and Epirus. Each of them has exclusive units and building, specific victory conditions and a different tech tree. According to the press release we received, Spartan players will have to face a particularly harsh challenge in order to bring the militaristic city state back to its former glory.

If you want to kick people in bottomless wells while screaming "This is Sparta!" but you don't care to preorder the game you won't be left out. We asked The Creative Assembly for a clarification on the issue and they confirmed that the Greek States Culture Pack will also be available as a separate purchase at launch.

Together with the release date and the preorder bonus info we also get to know about the rich limited collectors' edition will include for the relatively steep price of $154.99:

NUMBERED COPY OF TOTAL WAR: ROME II: The most ambitious and expansive game in the Total War™ series to date, ROME II brings the statecraft, politics, intrigue, diplomacy and epic battles of the ancient world to life in thrilling detail. This version comes in a debossed Steelbook™ case, laser-etched with your unique collector’s number in Roman numerals.
TABULA SET: The Roman forerunner to Backgammon, this Tabula set comprises 30 bone-effect game pieces supplied in their own burlap drawstring bag; the board itself is built into the base of the Collector’s Edition box.
TESSERAE DICE: Three replica bone-effect dice for use in a variety of games. The design is based on original Roman Tesserae, found at the archaeological site of Herculaneum.
TOTAL WAR CARDS: PUNIC WARS: Designed from the ground up to echo elements from ROME II, Total War Cards is a game of skill and luck for two players. Involving combat, territorial control, resource management and technological development, PUNIC WARS consists of 58 high-quality playing cards and a game-board printed with the PUNIC WARS tech-tree.
CANVAS CAMPAIGN MAP: A reminder of the world you must conquer, this ribbon-tied canvas map depicts each of the 57 provinces of the ROME II campaign.
ROMAN ONAGER: A complete, fully-functional Onager, or Roman siege catapult. This easy-to-assemble kit is constructed from weathered wood and steel, measures 26cm x 12cm x 12cm, and is capable of unleashing small projectiles at a variety of inanimate objects which may have affronted the glory of your empire.