The breadth of Europe and the frontiers of the New World are replaced by the Japanese archipelago, as you struggle to unify the nation. Factions, with their shared cultural and technological capabilities, are comparable and balanced, but distinct in their operation and play the AI has learnt new combat techniques and rather than waiting to reach a point of military superiority through which you can steamroll multiple nations at speed, the game has you pay closer attention to clan management and tense diplomatic negotiations to support your war effort.Īlongside the gorgeous geography of Japan’s natural landscapes, and the (albeit inflated) grandiosity of its movie-esque battles, Shogun 2 goes some way of combining a sense of mythology into its historical setting, without delving into the realm of fantasy.Īnd it does it all through ditching the continent-spanning maps of other entries in the series. Shogun 2 learns from the mistakes of its predecessors, and builds on their richest assets. Pay close attention to managing your clan and diplomatic negations With that in mind, we’ve picked out the games that best meet their brief: those that live up to the grand ambitions they set themselves. They might appear functionally similar – mixing the same real-time battles with turn-based empire management into a sleek grand campaign – but their strengths and flaws can change title-to-title. As the series expands, the differences in feel, style, and intention of its games widens with each instalment. We’ve selected the very best Total war games of all, so you won’t mistakenly spend hundreds of ungratifying hours manging line infantry in Empire, thinking you’re having a good time.īear in mind their breadth, though. With 14 entries in the series, there have been a few duds and ignorable instalments along the way, but at their height, the games stand as shining beacons of creative iteration and refinement. They’re ambitious in scope, mix grand turn-based strategy with real-time tactics, and come in such sweet flavours of historical recreation – or low-fantasy – that their settings alone are sure to tantalise even most ardent strategy naysayers.īut quality isn’t guaranteed. The appeal of Total War games isn’t difficult to see.

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