They're better by leagues, with lots of sad building models getting remade, especially on the campaign map, but they're nothing compared to any modern Total War. The music especially is much higher quality than the old game, and whatever magic was worked there has revitalized one of the best soundtracks of an entire era. That's not to say the graphics or sound are lacking. The somewhat-aged rig I played it on was able to chop along at maximum settings and peak unit sizes quite happily, with no stuttering in even the largest battles.
The old Rome: Total War didn't always play well with modern hardware. As a remaster, a lot of attention is going to be given to how it looks and sounds, but what you really get out of this remaster is how it plays.
