Banzai
Shogoun 2 Total war is as of yet the latest entry into the Total War series and its simply fantastic.This time we go back to the series origins ant yet again visit the the scene were it all began, the time of warring nations in Japan.And to say the least things have changed in the 11 years since when we last visited the period.
While the core of the game is still the same, build up your provinces and recruit your army to take over more provinces, they have added all of the new mechanics introduced to the total war series throughout the years.
Most notable of these is probably the addition of naval battles this time around , and while its understandably less interesting ones than in Empire since of the time period and setting, it still adds an extra dimension to the overall game play. Other additions to the game since last time we went to japan is that armies move around the map now instead of the grid style it had in the original(although the grid map does make a return in the games avatar multi player mode)and the implementation of quests from your council to preform.
It´s not only goodies from the other game that makes it into the fray though, Shogun 2 has a really robust ranking up system with different abilities and traits to be gained for both your generals and special units ( ninjas, monks etc). These can be things like better morale for the unit under generals command or a bodyguard that decrease the likelihood of assassination.
the things i found frustrating in the game though is that its diplomacy system still hasn't become as dynamic as one would like and you can pretty much say that keeping friendly relations with neighbours is pretty much impossible in the long run sine it deteriorates very rapidly over time.
I guess they do call it total war but it´s still very frustrating to have to go and crush a small clan province that would never pose a real threat to you and logically would not break alliance and go up against so superior odds when trade would have been more beneficial to it.
Also although much better ( probably largely due to lack of big cities) the path finding is still hooky, especially when moving large number of units. Also it is understandable from the setting they choose but there is a lack of variation when it comes to the units you can recruit since they are pretty much the same for all the factions.
The greatest improvement to the game outside of its campaign mode is its multi player which is really interesting. In the multi player you can conquer your own map of japan just like in single player mode , but this time each province must be won in a battle against another player. On your way through them ap you will unlock new units from the areas and new traits and even gear for your avatar. This adds a nice little rpg mechanic to the multi player and hopefully makes it allot less intimidating for new players to try it out.
All in all its a great game and there still isn't much other games besides total war that offers this type of strategy gaming. I like the changes to the multi player sine it give you a god carrot on a stick kinda thing and the fleshed out single player campaign makes it allot more dynamic and interesting to play than before.
Whether you should get this game or not really comes down to if you like the period in history or not. Or if you feel robbed of the scope of the game, which is decidedly smaller, but on the other hand filled with allot more content than before.
