Rather than tamper with the gameplay of Rome: Total War, the Barbarian Invasion expansion transports the action a few centuries ahead, as the once-mighty Roman Empire is threatened by barbarians. The expansion will be old hat for fans of the original, but it's still fun to play as King Arthur (Artorius Castus) leading the Romano-British or Attila the Hun battling Flavius Aetius. The graphics are excellent, the interface is impeccable, and the demo offers hours of fun for historical strategists.
In the tutorial, you lead a Roman legion against a Frankish assault in 363 AD. The Battle of Chalons in 451 AD features the Huns bombarding the Romans and Goths, while the Romano-British and the Alemanni fight the Saxons at the Battle of Baldon Hill in 516 AD.
Though large, the demo is easy to set up. The game runs on a standalone set of files, requiring no installation or Registry changes. Once you're done, you can simply delete the whole directory. The demo doesn't give any taste of the campaign-style gameplay, but the adequate tutorial and two historical battles at three difficulty levels provide an excellent introduction to the epic real-time battles of the Rome: Total War franchise.
