Sega announced today that the Mark Strong will lead players in the course of the opening moments of Total War: Rome II on September 3. Strong is a movie actor known for roles similar to Lord Blackwood in 2009’s Sherlock Holmes and Frank D’Amico in Kick-Ass. He plays the Roman consul Silanus in Rome II.

Rome II also incorporates a live-recorded soundtrack from the Slovak National Symphony Orchestra. That’s the same orchestra that headlined the 2008 album Games Live: Volume 1, which featured tracks from Kingdom Hearts, Halo, and Castlevania. 

Jeff Atmajian is conducting the soundtrack orchestra. Atmajian did orchestration for The Dark Knight, The Bourne Legacy, and Terminator: Salvation. 

All of this sound work is featured in additional detail in a brand new video from The Creative Assembly titled, Lend Me Your Ears. Test it out below. 

Our Take
There looks a rising trend from game studios to add popular actors and other talents from the film world. For a game like Total War: Rome II, this makes perfect sense. As seen within the Lend Me Your Ears video above, a game with the scale and scale of Rome II can only enjoy the narrative depth provided by quality acting and a whole orchestra.