The Warscape engine powers the game's visuals and new unit cameras allow players to focus on individual soldiers on the real-time battlefield, which may contain thousands of combatants at the same time.
Like its predecessor, Rome II blends turn-based grand strategy and civilization management with real-time tactical battles. However, the player also has the option to play further, as there are no timed victory conditions. The grand single-player campaign begins in 272 BC and lasts for 300 years. Total War: Rome II is set in Europe, the Mediterranean, and the Near East in the Classical antiquity period.