Total War: Shogun 2

Overview

Total War: Shogun 2 returns to Japan's Sengoku (or "Warring States") period, picking up in 1540; slightly later than the original Shogun: Total War. The shogunate lies shattered in the aftermath of the Onin War and the country's various daimyo are warring for scraps of political power. The player takes on the role of one of ten daimyo; it is up to the player to lead their forces to victory, and ultimately to seize control of Kyoto to take the title of shogun and restore order.

Gameplay

Total War: Shogun 2 use the same hybrid of real time and turn based gameplay found in previous Total War games. The turn based portion has the player using a Risk-like map to manage the clan's economy, conduct diplomacy, and move armies and agents across the islands of Japan.

Once two armies meet and a battle begins, the game shifts and the player is taken to a detailed 3D battlefield to command formations in real time. These encounters range from small skirmishes of a few hundred, to epic fights of up to 2000 per side, all using the units the player selected and recruited in the turn based portion of the game.

With this latest entry, The Creative Assembly expands on gameplay features introduced from previous Total War games as well as including some all new additions to the franchise.

Character Progression

In previous Total War games, characters and generals gained skills and experience as they fought and completed missions, but Shogun 2 marks the first time in the series where the player has the ability to customize his agents directly. A general can be a skillful melee fighter, a cunning admiral, or a overseer with bonuses to clan happiness and research; Agents can specialize in different fields, such as assassination, sabotage, and inciting (or quelling) revolts.

Multiplayer

One of the major additions to Shogun 2 is the inclusion of an adversarial (or cooperative) online campaign mode. Rather than fighting one-off, staged battles, players can join together to complete a whole campaign spanning over half a century. Multiplayer battles now also feature upgradeable "General" avatars which the player can customize with gear and abilities as they win online battles and gain experience. Total War: Shogun 2 also features a new type of team play mode in support of clans: something that has never been seen in the Total War series. The total player count is currently eight players online in a single battle.

Naval Battles

First introduced in Empire, sea battles have received a major overhaul. In response to player criticisms, naval warfare has been simplified and no longer relies as heavily on reading wind direction or micromanaging sails and shot patterns. Combat is done mostly through arrow volleys and boarding actions, but contact with Western traders can reap rewards such as the powerful Black Ship and cannons for the standard Japanese fighting ship, the Bune.

Sieges

Sieges in Shogun 2 are very different from the standard field battle. The defenders position themselves within the walls of a castle, which can be a simple ring of stone or a complex, multi-tiered fortress. The attackers must either wipe the defenders out completely, or take hold of the inner most ring of the castle for a fixed length of time.

Unlike previous games, almost every unit in Shogun 2 can scale the walls of a castle. This leads to more dynamic battles with the defenders engaging as the enemy comes over the first wall, only to fall back to the next deepest courtyard in the castle ring when the fighting becomes to intense.Attackers have various strategies at their disposable, including siege weapons to destroy defensive towers and ninjas to sabotage the castle gates before the battle begins.

AI System

Past Total War games were criticized for AI shortcomings such as non-aggressive campaign AI and battle AI that would send forces piecemeal against a strong defensive line. Shogun 2 has improved markedly, and the AI will now take full advantage of a undefended town or a weak flank. Even in diplomacy the player needs to be careful when choosing allies, a seemingly friendly neighbor with dubious honor could strike at any time.

Dynamic Landscapes

The conditions on the battle map will change depending on where on the campaign map the battle is fought and in what season. Grassy plains can be covered in snow in the winter, rain and fog can obscure the enemy, and forests can conceal whole armies. When and where to engage are serious considerations for a smart Daimyo.

Hero Units

Once certain high tier structures are built, the player can recruit hero units. These units are much smaller than ordinary formations, but they make up for their size with more fighting skill, better equipment, and higher morale. They also have special abilities and provide a morale boost to nearby units.

Encyclopedia

The game also includes a new and comprehensive encyclopedia system that shows and explains everything about the game. When playing the game the encyclopedia is your port of call for everything to do with how Shogun 2 works and the concepts behind the game. The player can access the encyclopedia from the in game advisors and from pretty much any information panel in the game. Once you are looking at an encyclopedia page, hyperlinks can take you to any other information in there.

Clans

There are ten main clans in the original release of Total War: Shogun 2 and two more available for purchase as DLC. Each clan offers unique clan traits.

Chosokabe

• Increased income from farms,
• Reduced recruitment cost and upkeep for all bow infantry,
• Can recruit superior bow infantry,

Date

• Charge bonus to all units.
• Reduced recruitment cost and upkeep for no-dachi samurai.
• Can recruit a superior no-dachi samurai.

Hattori

• 2% to the success of ninja actions.
• Specialist Hattori units can hide effectively in battle.
• Specialist Hattori units posses kisho training.

Hojo

• Castles are cheaper to build and repair.
• Reduced recruitment costs and upkeep for siege weapons.
• Can recruit superior siege weapons.

Mori

• Increase campaign map movement range for all ships.
• Reduced recruit costs and upkeep for all ships.
• Can recruit superior ships.

Oda

• Improved morale for all ashigaru.
• Reduced recruit and upkeep for all ashigaru.

Shimazu

• Increased loyalty for all generals.
• Reduced recruitment costs and upkeep for katana samurai.
• Can recruit superior katana samurai.
• Can recruit superior katana heroes.

Takeda

• Improved morale for cavalry.
• Reduced recruitment costs and upkeep for all cavalry.
• Can recruit superior cavalry.

Tokugawa

• 2% to the success chance of metsuke actions.
• Bonus to diplomatic relations.
• Reduced recruitment costs and upkeep for kisho ninja.
• Can recruit a superior kisho ninja.

Uesugi

• +2% to the success chance of monk actions.
• Increased trade income.
• Reduced recruitment costs and upkeep for monks.
• Can recruit superior warrior monks.

Ikko Ikki

• Cannot recruit metsuke.
• Can recruit large units of ashigaru, weak but with high moral.
• Can recruit superior warrior monks.
• Generals can convert provinces to the Ikko faith.

Otomo

• Can recruit cheaper gunpowder units
• Missionary actions are cheaper
• Improved conversion to clan religion
• Faster import of Matchlock Ashigaru units

Achievements

Soundtrack

The original music composed in Total War: Shogun 2 is once again by Jeff Van Dyke, the same composer for Rome Total War, Medieval and Medieval 2 Total War.

Modding

Like other games in the Total War series, a rich modding scene has emerged around Shogun 2. While the game originally launched without official mod tools, in May 2012 The Creative Assembly publicly released TEd, the tool used internally to create battlefield environments, and in September 2012 released the Assembly Kit, a full suite of mod tools. With the release of the Assembly Kit, Shogun 2 supports Steam Workshop for the distribution and promotion of mods.

Total War Editor (TEd)

The Total War Editor (TEd) is a visual battle map editor for Shogun 2 and Shogun 2: Fall of the Samurai. While originally intended for use internally, it was made available publicly by The Creative Assembly in May 2012.

TEd is distributed exclusively through Steam, and is accessible through the "Tools" menu.

Assembly Kit

The Assembly Kit is a full suite of tools that allows modders to make significant adjustments to Shogun 2. The Assembly Kit consists of:

• DAVe database tool
• Unit Editor for changing the look for units
• Tooldatabuilder for unpacking
• Campaign map reprocessing
• Max export scripts for models
• Example Max files for most model types
• BoB processing tool, also capable of building mod packs

System Requirements