Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion gets iPhone support

Rome: Total War - Barbarian Invasion (or Rome: Total War - BI) has been updated to version 1.11 with support for the iPhone 5s and later. Originally rolled out for the iPad only, Barbarian Invasion is the first expansion in the Rome: Total War trilogy. The update also adds 8 more playable factions for a total of 18, a ton of improvements (see full changelog below) and new tools for the iPhone.

For those who have never played Total War, it has been around since 2004 originally released by Activision for the PC. In the main game players control one of three Roman families during the mid and late Roman Republic. Total War is a real-time strategy game with turn-based tactical battles. Barbarian Invasion takes place three centuries after Total War.

In Barbarian Invasion, players assume control of 1 of 18 warring factions defending an overstretched Roman Empire from invading barbarian tribes. Players can also invade the Roman Empire as part of the Hordes feature. The iPhone and iPad versions include touch-controls and mid-battle autosaves, which will come in handy when switching devices.

Rome: Total War - BI is available on the Apple App Store for only $4.99. Check out the trailer for the iPhone version below.

Rome: Total War - BI v. 1.11 Changelog

• Adds support for the iPhone 5S and later (see description for full list of supported iPhones)

• Unlocks 8 more playable factions for a total of 18

• Adds a range marker feature that shows the firing distance of missile units

• Increased zoom-out level on Battle map

• Increased zoom-in level on Campaign map

• Improved Faction Summary screen provides at-a-glance information on your faction

• Improved Character Details screen exposes previously hidden stats and retinue effects

• Battle UI can be hidden, allowing greater control over unit paths and formations (tap with two fingers to hide/display UI)

• First Time Help system; help appears automatically whenever you access a new screen or attempt a new action (can be enabled/disabled via in-game options)

• Improved general help system; tap and hold on units and UI elements to see more information

• Adds an in-game manual for hints and tips on Campaign and Battle play

• Track your progress in Historical Battles; receive bronze, silver or gold ratings depending on what difficulty you completed the battle

• Adds an Auto-Merge Units option to merge depleted units in armies or fleets

• Device battery level now visible on the Campaign Map

• Adds colour-coded tooltips in Battle mode to easily see positive or negative unit condition

• Improved Battle status info; status info can be toggled to appear above each unit, and shows unit alignment (friendly/hostile), unit type, health, current orders, morale and ammo, along with their current path

• Adds tap-to-move controls with improved pathfinding for multi-turn journeys

• Adds Manual Camera Tilt mode - drag with two fingers to tilt the camera (can be enabled/disabled via in-game options)

• (iPhone only) Card bar can be expanded to display larger unit and building cards (can be triggered manually or set to expand automatically via in-game options)

• (iPhone only) Scrolling tooltip ticker; key information scrolls along the panel at the top of the screen

• (iPhone only) Retinue lists; easily track which followers are attached to which characters

• Optimises graphics and UI for the iPad Pro (11", 3rd generation)

• Uses the Metal graphics API instead of OpenGL

• Fixes a number of minor issues