Stay away from Rome II. FAR AWAY.
Awful performance on low settings for high end machines*? Check. One of the worst UIs I've ever seen? Check. Lots of new game mechanics like army leveling sounding great in concept but turning out to be almost pointless in execution? Check. Awful AI, one of the worst CA has ever shipped? Check. Ridiculously unrealistic run speeds? Check. Reducing morale's importance to the point the game becomes a pure slaughterfest like any run-of-the-mill RTS? Check.
Wherever Rome II is, find the point on the opposite side of the globe and go there. Also, NEVER PREORDER ANYTHING EVER.
*Inexplicably the performance is great in the historical battles, which is, shockingly, what they focused on for promotional gameplay footage! Bravo, CA, bravo.