Developer The Creative Assembly wants players to get online and face off against one another in the multiplayer mode for its upcoming strategy title Total War: Rome II.
It’s due out Sept. 3 for PC, so the studio just trotted out a new video that shows off the online multiplayer in action. In the clip, The Creative Assembly’s community coordinator Trish Ryniak and multiplayer designer Elliott Lock explain some of the features in the competitive mode before playing a match against each other. The actual match starts at about the five-minute mark.
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Lock confirmed that Rome II will use a laddering system to help ensure that players only get matched up against opponents of a similar skill level. The studio is stressing fairness and balance.
“We’ve picked a bunch of handmade maps that are really, really balanced and really interesting,” said Lock.
The developer also confirmed that the strategy game will feature nine different battle types. It will have land, naval, and sea battles, but it will also feature modes where one player ambushes the other or assaults the other’s city.