The Second Punic War is ripe for dramatisation, so it’s odd that Hollywood hasn’t picked it apart. Maybe it’s because the “bad guys” win in the end. Rome initiates yet another war against its old adversaries, Carthage, kicking off a conflict that engulfs the Mediterranean. So the Carthaginian general, Hannibal, crosses the Alps with ferocious elephants and angry Gauls, beating up Romans up and down Italy.
Of course, it didn’t end well for Carthage. The Romans took back their fallen cities, chucked the North African powerhouse out of Iberia and eventually turned once mighty Carthage into yet another client state. In Total War: Rome II’s new DLC, Hannibal at the Gates, you’ll have a chance to change the fortunes of Carthage. Or you can put yourself in Scipio’s shoes, trying to make the war play out just as it did historically.
The DLC comes with a new campaign map focused on the Punic conflict, featuring five playable factions. Joining Carthage and Rome are Syacuse, the Arevaci and the Lusitani.
Both the Roman and Carthaginian factions will get a new civil tech tree, built around diplomacy; it’s not all about charging into armies with giant elephants or laying siege to cities surrounded by formidable wars. Though there will be plenty of that, no doubt.
An update for the core game will be dropping soon, as well, available to everyone, regardless of whether or not they pick up Hannibal at the Gates.