Verithiathe honest score on any app
Updated July 2026 · real, multi-region App Store reviews
Head-to-head

ROME vs Age of Empires Mobile

ROME 4.8★ · $9.99 · ⚠ stale 70
Winner ROME
Age of Empires Mobile 3.7★ · Free + IAP 40

ROME is the better choice for players seeking a classic real-time strategy experience on mobile, despite its control and stability issues, while Age of Empires Mobile disappoints fans of the original PC game by being a generic city-builder with aggressive monetization.

Full reviews: ROME · Age of Empires Mobile

ROME, a paid port of the classic PC game, offers a deep strategy experience but struggles with mobile controls and stability. Age of Empires Mobile, a free-to-play title, is criticized for being a generic mobile city-builder that strays far from the beloved PC franchise and features aggressive monetization.

Head to head

Features & Gameplay edge: ROMER8R9R10R14
ROME ROME is praised for delivering the full, complex experience of the original PC game, including large-scale battles and empire management R8. However, some users find the micro-management tedious on mobile R9R10. Players also request features like naval battles and mod support R14R17R20.
Age of Empires Mobile Age of Empires Mobile is widely criticized for not resembling the original PC game, instead being a generic city-builder or 'Clash of Clans reskin' R61R67R87R91. Users express disappointment that they cannot build from scratch or control units in battles as in the classic Age of Empires .
Ease of Use & Controls tieR2R4R10R15
ROME Many ROME users find the controls difficult, complicated, and frustrating on a mobile screen, especially for unit movement and camera navigation during battles R2R4R10R15. Recent updates have reportedly worsened UI and control issues, making the game unplayable for some .
Age of Empires Mobile Age of Empires Mobile has a 'clunky' UI and a slow, lengthy tutorial . Some users find the game too focused on guild interaction, which can be overwhelming .
Reliability & Performance edge: ROMER1R16R19R24
ROME ROME suffers from frequent crashes, especially during campaigns or after recent updates R1R16. Users report issues with units not moving on command, disappearing, or fleeing R19R24. The game can also heat up devices and drain battery R1.
Age of Empires Mobile Age of Empires Mobile has reports of lag and errors requiring restarts . Some users also report issues with server access or game installation .
Price & Value edge: ROMER10R11R17R69
ROME ROME is a paid app at $9.99, which many users consider 'well worth the money' for the full PC game experience on mobile R11R17. However, some users feel it's an 'expensive disappointment' due to mobile playability issues R10.
Age of Empires Mobile Age of Empires Mobile is free-to-play but heavily criticized for being 'pay to win' R76R79R93. Users feel that progression is difficult without spending money, and the game constantly pushes microtransactions R69R79R93.
Support & Updates tieR1R14R17R20
ROME Recent updates for ROME have introduced significant bugs, crashes, and UI issues, leading to frustration among users R1. Users frequently request fixes for these issues and improvements like naval battles or mod support R14R17R20.
Age of Empires Mobile Age of Empires Mobile users report issues with in-game chat translation and a popular game mode being removed . One user also reported being blocked from in-game purchases after writing in chat .
Pick ROME if

You are a fan of the original Rome: Total War PC game and are willing to tolerate mobile control challenges and potential bugs for the full strategy experience R8. You prefer a one-time purchase over free-to-play models with aggressive monetization R11R17.

Pick Age of Empires Mobile if

You are looking for a casual, free-to-play city-builder game and are not expecting a faithful adaptation of the classic Age of Empires PC experience . You are comfortable with in-app purchases and guild-focused gameplay .

Evidence note: ROME's reviews show a significant negative skew in recent feedback due to issues introduced by updates, contrasting with its high lifetime rating. Age of Empires Mobile's lower lifetime rating is consistent with widespread disappointment regarding its divergence from the original PC game and its free-to-play monetization model.

Frequently asked

Is Age of Empires Mobile like the PC game?
No, Age of Empires Mobile is widely criticized for being nothing like the original PC game, instead functioning as a generic mobile city-builder or 'Clash of Clans reskin' R61R67R87R91.
Are the controls difficult in ROME?
Yes, many ROME users find the controls difficult and complicated on a mobile screen, especially for unit movement and camera navigation during battles, with some describing them as 'hard and not ez' R2R4R10R15.
Is Age of Empires Mobile pay-to-win?
Yes, Age of Empires Mobile is frequently described as 'pay to win' by users, who report that progression is very difficult without spending money and that the game constantly pushes microtransactions R69R76R79R93.

What reviewers actually said

Built only from these 120 real reviews (foreign ones translated). Superscripts jump to the quote here. Apple has no per-review links, so [ref] opens that app's reviews on the App Store.

  1. [R8] ROME 5/5 · US 100% of everything you remember: This is the real game and it’s great you could sit here and play it on your phone for 4 hours straight if your battery would let you lol
  2. [R9] ROME 3/5 · US Too tedious: The campaign is fun but then it’s death by micro management
  3. [R10] ROME 1/5 · US Original awesome, this one not so much: This game is not manageable in a fun way: on a mobile sized screen, nor within the spans of attention that I as a mobile player can invest in a round of play. The original game was amazing, this was a relatively expensive disappointment.
  4. [R14] ROME 4/5 · US Battle: I would like sea battles
  5. [R2] ROME 5/5 · US It’s okay but needs a improvement: It’s fun I like it but it would be cool if there was better controls the game is very fun tho but controls are hard and not ez but cool!
  6. [R4] ROME 2/5 · US Please read: It’s so hard to get the controls down and it is so complicated to start a war. Also when u do start a war u can barely walk. Have to tap were u want to go and as e z as that sounds its not cause the way the u look around is so weird u have to like pinch ur fingers in a weird way. Any ways i DONT recommend this game.
  7. [R15] ROME 3/5 · US Good: Super awesome, just large battles are difficult to coordinate on a phone haha
  8. [R1] ROME 1/5 · US -+30: Heats up after the update
  9. [R16] ROME 2/5 · US Keeps crashing: Love the game . Had it on pc back in the day with all the disks and what not . However I’m in the middle of a campaign on my iPhone and each time I hit the same part the game crashes on me it’s happened 4 days in a row I can’t get past it . Could really used a solution, other then that’s its 5 stars
  10. [R19] ROME 1/5 · US Terrible: When I'm in a battle and I close the game, when I log back in, my troops are fleeing with heavy losses or some have disappeared. This sometimes makes me lose battles. Terrible game.
  11. [R24] ROME 3/5 · US terrible but decent i guess: troops won’t move on command commonly issue that definitely needs to be fixed needs more troops and better physics too then it would be a hella decent game still good tho but a lil terrible
  12. [R11] ROME 5/5 · US Best game hands down: Hesitated before but 100% the best thing I ever bought. Well worth the money
  13. [R17] ROME 5/5 · US Naval battles could be a great thing in this great game: This is a great game, and if you’re thinking of buying it, it’s worth the price, and there’s a reason why it’s still alive after 20 years. Now, for the reason that I wrote this review: naval battles. Actual naval battles where you can control the ships would make this game even greater. Because naval ships are a very important part of this
  14. [R69] Age of Empires Mobile 3/5 · US Ads: Too many ads for micro transactions. You have constantly find the x (that blends in) to cancel the micro transaction.
  15. [R20] ROME 5/5 · US We need mods: Game great but it needs mod support like android I’m on iOS iPad
  16. [R61] Age of Empires Mobile 2/5 · US Nothing like the original, annoying ads claiming it is.: How did this take 7 years?
  17. [R67] Age of Empires Mobile 1/5 · US Not what I expected: Nothing like the original game on pc. It’s more like a role playing game. Where you don’t get anything accomplished. Very disappointing
  18. [R87] Age of Empires Mobile 3/5 · US Disappointed: As someone who played a ton of age of empires and age of mythology as a kid, i was excited to try this game. After playing through the tutorial i am disappointed to say it seems like a clash of clans reskin. It feels like any of the other numerous city builder games on the app store. The main difference i see so far is that there doesnt seem to be exactly the same gacha type thing as
  19. [R91] Age of Empires Mobile 1/5 · US False: This is not age of empires! This is clash of kings, on the way it’s played!!!!! Don’t get dooped
  20. [R76] Age of Empires Mobile 1/5 · US P2w: Pay or lose!
  21. [R79] Age of Empires Mobile 1/5 · US Played for over a year, quit because the game has no path forward: I played for over a year and was a mid level spender (think more than a few hundred dollars, less than a thousand). I was in the best alliance in our server which was an upper mid server. Nevertheless, very few of the inter server events were even close. Because the biggest thing that matters is fully upgrading your heroes, and
  22. [R93] Age of Empires Mobile 3/5 · US Bring your wallet: Such a fun game but as others have stated the power difference in free players to paying players is insane. Goodluck

Synthesized from 120 recent App Store reviews · updated July 2026 · View on the App Store